Love reading through people's experiences with this game so I thought I'd share mine.

1st Playthrough:

-I chose to play as Egypt on a decently large continents map.
-Founded Thebes in the middle of the continent.
-After progressing through the early technologies, I explore north and discover Russia.
-Russia was thankfully peaceful and we traded marble, stone, and horses for a bit.
-Egypt has access to a specialized Chariot Archer which doesn't require horses to produce so the handful of barbarian camps were easy pickings.
-A little southeast of my third city is Almaty, which has among the only iron deposits on the entire continent.
-After producing my first set of catapults, it was time for war against Almaty.
-They offer little resistance and succumb to my invasion.
-Russia, meanwhile is not happy with Almaty's fate as she apparently was trying to befriend the city-state.
-Another war ensues.
-Russia has a whopping O N E city to their name as well as a handful of spearmen.
-She loses incredibly quickly to my ranged units and horsemen take her capitol.
-A few hundred years pass by with nothing of note except for founding a couple more cities around the continent and some diplomacy with the other two city-states on my continent.
-I eventually gain the ability to sail across deep ocean tiles and migrate west in search of new territory.
-My scouts find another large continent and I send settlers to found a coastal city in the "New World."
-Speaking of the New World, my scouts also discovered Siam and the United States.
-Siam was friendly, but the US was a bit guarded for some reason.
-After founding a new city on the second continent, I negotiate an open borders treaty with Siam to scout around their territory.
-When I reach the western edge of the continent, I discover what little remains of Arabia, who had been warring with the US for a while.
-Washington had taken most of the Arabian cities and Arabia was practically bankrupt.
-After Arabia lost its capitol, Siam approached me asking if I wanted to assist in a war against America.
-Washington had recently denounced Siam and Siam and I were allies, so I agreed.
-America, despite its strength against Arabia, crumbed quickly to the combined Egyptian and Siamese military.
-After the war, peace ensued for many years as Siam and I developed Medieval technologies.
-Out of nowhere Siam declares war.
-The war started in the mid-Medieval period and lasted until the mid-Renaissance, displaying an evolution of armed forces.
-Siam all of the cities it took from the United States and a couple of its own after hundreds of years of combat.
-My frigates also decimated Siam's minuscule fleet which had attempted to blockade one of my coastal cities.
-Siam eventually offered peace which I accepted.
-I dispatched scouts and caravels to scour around the world in search of additional land, resources, and other empires to trade with since Siam was a poor loser.
-Found a few city-states on tiny islands and a German scout.
-A while later, my caravel found Polynesia and China.
-Germany denounced China and the two bicker for a while but nothing comes of it.
-I establish trade with Polynesia and Germany which China is not happy about.
-It's time to industrialize!
-I improve my military with industrial-era units and discover flight before anyone else.
-Siam meanwhile is trying to compete in this little arms race while also befriending city-states.
-Germany denounces China again, which still lead nowhere.
-I discover the last nation, that being the Ottomans.
-Establish trade with the Ottomans which were just denounced by Siam.
-Siam and the Ottomans could not be farther apart geographically.
-Find the Ottoman Empire on a small landmass north of my main continent.
-The Ottomans denounce Polynesia which leads to war between the two.
-While those two duke it out, Siam wants a part of the joy of war and declares one on me.
Cool.
-Siam vs Egypt round 2 begins and my air force proves to be more than a match for their navy hanging out around one of my cities.
-After dealing with the blockade, I advance my army into Siamese territory and lay siege to multiple cities.
-Manhattan project.
-You know where this is going.
-After a back-and-fourth battle around the Siamese capitol, I retreat my forces.
-I load an atomic bomb onto an aircraft carrier and send it north of Siam.
-Air raid sirens blast as the first developed atomic bomb is dropped on Siam.
-The Siamese military, the brunt of it stationed around the capitol to repel my invasion is eradicated.
-The world goes quiet.
-Siam's capitol fell days later.
-While irradiated, I now owned one of the largest cities on earth.
-After a small conflict around one of their remaining cities, Siam negotiated peace a few days later.
-Life returns to normal for many years as I refine my empire and grow my army, ensuring I had a healthy supply of nuclear weapons as a back-up plan if peace became impossible.
-Meanwhile, in foreign news, the Ottomans finally made peace with Polynesia after Polynesians captured one of the two Ottoman cities.
-China made an alliance with Polynesia and declared war on Germany.
-Having a pact of defense with Germany, I was dragged into the war.
-Germany fought China while I fought the Polynesians whose navy advanced quicker than I expected.
-It was a costly fight, but eventually the Polynesian fleet retreated allowing my forces to advance to their mainland.
-My submarines dealt with Chinese submarines nearing my cities.
-Germany's turn: Air raid sirens blare.
-Germany nukes China.
-I finally advance my armies into Polynesian territory and take its capitol within a hundred years.
-With Polynesia conquered and its empire in shambles, China negotiates peace with Germany and I shortly after.
-I notice Ottoman settlers trying to settle near me.
-I ask the Ottomans to back off and they reluctantly comply, choosing to settle near Germany.
-Germany gets mad and denounces the Ottomans. Thankfully war is somehow avoided.
-China denounces me and I denounce them likewise.
-I spot a Chinese nuclear submarine close to my territory and promptly declare war to deal with it.
-After sinking it, I ask Germany if it wants to war with China again. Germany declines, seemingly focused on dealing with the Ottomans.
-The war with China is uneventful, mostly just a game of chicken with our fleets exchanging blows here and there.
-We eventually make peace.
-Not much happens after that except for occasional trade between Germany and I...
-Until Siam.
-I had foolishly allowed Siam to survive with three cities after the second war. Now, many years later, it had recovered somewhat. Enough to reform a decently sized military and one singular nuclear missile.
-Air raid sirens ensue as I watch in horror as a nuclear missile detonates in the first coastal city I founded in the New World.
-While my military was spread around, the city was now rich in resources which the nuke demolished.
-After the clicking of my Geiger counter stopped ringing in my ears, the world watched to see how badly Siam would fare in this final showdown.
-I spared no expense (except additional nukes) to crush Siam.
-My late-game army steamrolled through Siam's tanks and infantry.
-My helicopters, mechanized infantry, and death robots captured the remainder of Siam's once-great empire.
-Finally, Siam was no more.
-While I had achieved total victory over my century-long adversary, it didn't come without a price.
-Siam's nuke as well as capturing cities severely damaged my empire's happiness which caused several small insurrections to amass around Egypt.
-After dealing with the rebels, I spent some time building happiness increasing structures in my cities to fix our quite literal crippling depression.
-Take a break from Civ 5 and start several other playthroughs. Those I actually finish.
-Ending is to be announced. Game's a solid 20/10

Love reading through people's experiences with this game so I thought I'd share mine. 1st Playthrough: -I chose to play as Egypt on a decently large continents map. -Founded Thebes in the middle of the continent. -After progressing through the early technologies, I explore north and discover Russia. -Russia was thankfully peaceful and we traded marble, stone, and horses for a bit. -Egypt has access to a specialized Chariot Archer which doesn't require horses to produce so the handful of barbarian camps were easy pickings. -A little southeast of my third city is Almaty, which has among the only iron deposits on the entire continent. -After producing my first set of catapults, it was time for war against Almaty. -They offer little resistance and succumb to my invasion. -Russia, meanwhile is not happy with Almaty's fate as she apparently was trying to befriend the city-state. -Another war ensues. -Russia has a whopping O N E city to their name as well as a handful of spearmen. -She loses incredibly quickly to my ranged units and horsemen take her capitol. -A few hundred years pass by with nothing of note except for founding a couple more cities around the continent and some diplomacy with the other two city-states on my continent. -I eventually gain the ability to sail across deep ocean tiles and migrate west in search of new territory. -My scouts find another large continent and I send settlers to found a coastal city in the "New World." -Speaking of the New World, my scouts also discovered Siam and the United States. -Siam was friendly, but the US was a bit guarded for some reason. -After founding a new city on the second continent, I negotiate an open borders treaty with Siam to scout around their territory. -When I reach the western edge of the continent, I discover what little remains of Arabia, who had been warring with the US for a while. -Washington had taken most of the Arabian cities and Arabia was practically bankrupt. -After Arabia lost its capitol, Siam approached me asking if I wanted to assist in a war against America. -Washington had recently denounced Siam and Siam and I were allies, so I agreed. -America, despite its strength against Arabia, crumbed quickly to the combined Egyptian and Siamese military. -After the war, peace ensued for many years as Siam and I developed Medieval technologies. -Out of nowhere Siam declares war. -The war started in the mid-Medieval period and lasted until the mid-Renaissance, displaying an evolution of armed forces. -Siam all of the cities it took from the United States and a couple of its own after hundreds of years of combat. -My frigates also decimated Siam's minuscule fleet which had attempted to blockade one of my coastal cities. -Siam eventually offered peace which I accepted. -I dispatched scouts and caravels to scour around the world in search of additional land, resources, and other empires to trade with since Siam was a poor loser. -Found a few city-states on tiny islands and a German scout. -A while later, my caravel found Polynesia and China. -Germany denounced China and the two bicker for a while but nothing comes of it. -I establish trade with Polynesia and Germany which China is not happy about. -It's time to industrialize! -I improve my military with industrial-era units and discover flight before anyone else. -Siam meanwhile is trying to compete in this little arms race while also befriending city-states. -Germany denounces China again, which still lead nowhere. -I discover the last nation, that being the Ottomans. -Establish trade with the Ottomans which were just denounced by Siam. -Siam and the Ottomans could not be farther apart geographically. -Find the Ottoman Empire on a small landmass north of my main continent. -The Ottomans denounce Polynesia which leads to war between the two. -While those two duke it out, Siam wants a part of the joy of war and declares one on me. Cool. -Siam vs Egypt round 2 begins and my air force proves to be more than a match for their navy hanging out around one of my cities. -After dealing with the blockade, I advance my army into Siamese territory and lay siege to multiple cities. -Manhattan project. -You know where this is going. -After a back-and-fourth battle around the Siamese capitol, I retreat my forces. -I load an atomic bomb onto an aircraft carrier and send it north of Siam. -Air raid sirens blast as the first developed atomic bomb is dropped on Siam. -The Siamese military, the brunt of it stationed around the capitol to repel my invasion is eradicated. -The world goes quiet. -Siam's capitol fell days later. -While irradiated, I now owned one of the largest cities on earth. -After a small conflict around one of their remaining cities, Siam negotiated peace a few days later. -Life returns to normal for many years as I refine my empire and grow my army, ensuring I had a healthy supply of nuclear weapons as a back-up plan if peace became impossible. -Meanwhile, in foreign news, the Ottomans finally made peace with Polynesia after Polynesians captured one of the two Ottoman cities. -China made an alliance with Polynesia and declared war on Germany. -Having a pact of defense with Germany, I was dragged into the war. -Germany fought China while I fought the Polynesians whose navy advanced quicker than I expected. -It was a costly fight, but eventually the Polynesian fleet retreated allowing my forces to advance to their mainland. -My submarines dealt with Chinese submarines nearing my cities. -Germany's turn: Air raid sirens blare. -Germany nukes China. -I finally advance my armies into Polynesian territory and take its capitol within a hundred years. -With Polynesia conquered and its empire in shambles, China negotiates peace with Germany and I shortly after. -I notice Ottoman settlers trying to settle near me. -I ask the Ottomans to back off and they reluctantly comply, choosing to settle near Germany. -Germany gets mad and denounces the Ottomans. Thankfully war is somehow avoided. -China denounces me and I denounce them likewise. -I spot a Chinese nuclear submarine close to my territory and promptly declare war to deal with it. -After sinking it, I ask Germany if it wants to war with China again. Germany declines, seemingly focused on dealing with the Ottomans. -The war with China is uneventful, mostly just a game of chicken with our fleets exchanging blows here and there. -We eventually make peace. -Not much happens after that except for occasional trade between Germany and I... -Until Siam. -I had foolishly allowed Siam to survive with three cities after the second war. Now, many years later, it had recovered somewhat. Enough to reform a decently sized military and one singular nuclear missile. -Air raid sirens ensue as I watch in horror as a nuclear missile detonates in the first coastal city I founded in the New World. -While my military was spread around, the city was now rich in resources which the nuke demolished. -After the clicking of my Geiger counter stopped ringing in my ears, the world watched to see how badly Siam would fare in this final showdown. -I spared no expense (except additional nukes) to crush Siam. -My late-game army steamrolled through Siam's tanks and infantry. -My helicopters, mechanized infantry, and death robots captured the remainder of Siam's once-great empire. -Finally, Siam was no more. -While I had achieved total victory over my century-long adversary, it didn't come without a price. -Siam's nuke as well as capturing cities severely damaged my empire's happiness which caused several small insurrections to amass around Egypt. -After dealing with the rebels, I spent some time building happiness increasing structures in my cities to fix our quite literal crippling depression. -Take a break from Civ 5 and start several other playthroughs. Those I actually finish. -Ending is to be announced. Game's a solid 20/10