The best settings?

[Fables]

What is the best way to set up the game?

Best map type/size?
Would not playing with city-states be ideal?
What should I set the resources to...
ect... ect...

[mss73055]

Start it easy, with the "tutorial" setting.

[Ryika]

That's easy. Biggest Map size. Continents Plus. Marathon. Raging Barbarians. Disable all victory conditions but Conquering. A single game that takes weeks to complete - most epic experience ever!

However, the standard settings are well suited for beginners. You might want to use a smaller map and either use Continents or Pangea.

[Eoghammer]

It is very dependant of what you are seeking...
I play nearly allways on continent except when i choose a civ that has huge perk on other map type (polynesian on archipelago)
I love to have a lot of city state as it allow you to limit the number of city you need to build in order to access a good pool of ressources...
I play often with abundant ressources as it multiply the good spot to place cities

[mvon007]

I've been playing a lot on Pangaea recently, thinking to focus on all things land, but the crazy maps it has been coming up with, with single-tile joins and very narrow areas around the place, have put me off a bit. I also feel that it is slightly easier to beat the AI on watery maps.

I do feel that I should play the longer game options, but it throws out knowledge of costings and such enough to be annoying.

I like the idea of multiple victory conditions, but I might have to try the domination epic you mention, Ryika :).