• Each civilization is designed to achieve its height of relative power during different phases of the game:

Rome: mid-late game power
Persia: early-midgame power
Carthage: midgame power
Macedonia: early-midgame power

• Control of resources important in this game. Strategic resources (like iron and gold) can disappear so always try to have at least two sources.
   
• Make frequent use of the "e" key to tell a unit to explore on its own. Sending a scout or a ship off with the "e" key is a no-hassle way to reveal the map.
   
• When building improvements, look for bargains. Some improvements have no long-term maintenance costs. Also, be sure to note the cultural value of an improvement before you build it. The role of culture has been expanded in this mod pack.
   
• If you are having economic problems, look for maintenance-free things to build (like Collegias).
   
• Consider using captured slaves to boost the populations of your new cities.  Also, Roman Slaves can be sacrificed as gladiators to increase the culture of a city (a quick way to expand the cultural borders of frontier cities).
   
• Being the first to build the Great Library is very important because it gives you two free techs (allowing the possibility of a Republic early in the game, which is a huge advantage).  Note: being the first to achieve Philosophy does NOT grant a free tech.
   
• Be aggressive about upgrading your type of government.  Rise above Despotism and Tribal Council so you no longer have the 2 resource per square limitation.
   
• Here are some important things to keep in mind when moving ships:
  1)  Moving ships in a stack is always safer than moving them alone. When a stacked ship is attacked, the strongest unit accompanying that ships get a free shot off at the attacker.
  2) Always leave one movement point of your ship free so you can fortify the ship at the end of the turn. This gives you a big advantage if you are attacked on your off turn. The AI makes frequent use of this tactic.
  3) Keep your small vessels in shallow water. In scenarios with relaxed shallow water rules, sticking to the shallows can help protect your little ships from big ones.
   
• If you are conservative in your attacks (using bombardment instead of a direct attack) you can greatly extend the life of your ships.
   
• It is highly recommended that you let the local Governor control citizen moods in your city. A civil uprising can have very unpleasant consequences in cities that have slave markets.
   
• If you have colonized a small island, consider placing units on every land square. This will help prevent any invasion of that island. However, you still need to keep a few units inside the city to ward off amphibious raider attacks.
   
• One nasty trick is to make a right-of-passage agreement with a civ and then blockade their ports.
   
• When trading maps, always trade with the weakest civ first and work your way up to the powerful civs. As you build up your map, a trade will look more attractive to the powerful civs.