Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Start out small. One of the easiest things you can do to give yourself a simple start is to begin with a very small map. A smaller map means less space to deal with and fewer opponents to content with. If you need a further advantage, create an Archipelago map (the one with a bunch of small islands). This will prevent your enemies from getting to you until they build ships.
Step2
Pick a good spot to found your first city. The game will typically point out good spots with a blue ring, but barring that, you want a city that isn’t too near mountains, has abundant resources near it and is, if at all possible, near water.
Step3
Build a Worker first. Workers can build roads to make your units move faster, trade routes to make caravans faster and land improvements to make your cities more productive.
Step4
Defend all of your cities. Your people will probably wind up demanding this because it’s a good idea. Station (choose the “Sentry” command) on at least one military unit to garrison it in your city. Archers are a good choice to start with, but nearly any military unit will do.
Step5
Choose a research path. There are several ways to “beat” Civ4. You can have a military victory where you destroy everyone, a technological victory where you blast off to Alpha Centauri or a religious victory where you transcend the human form. As your civilization progresses, you can choose to research different technologies that will advance your path. The game will typically highlight which technologies are best for certain paths.
Step6
Talk to the neighbors. Aside from trying to kill your opponents, you can make treaties with them. If you’re interested in a religious or technological victory, fighting with your opponents is a low priority. Making treaties and dealing peacefully with neighbors may occasionally involve some appeasement.
