First try

In my first attempt at Civ IV my main focus was food surplus. The book Guns, Germs, and Steel states that the key to a healthy bountiful civilization is food surplus. Once people started farming the land and using the animals, the civilization thrived. That is what I focused on. I started my first city in an area with wheat, rice, cows, and elephants. This was a great start. I first researched agriculture, hunting, and food husbandry, which allowed me to utilize all the food in my land. My city was thriving well, so I branched out and started building other cities. I had a large civilization with many specialists in each, because of the surplus. I also started commerce with other nations of the world, and made peace, and started open trade with many nations. I was the friendly guy of the world. The one thing I didn't worry about at all was military. I soon was attacked by barbarians, which at first was no problem. Then the Barbarians were stronger warriors, who were wiping out my forces, which were very few and mostly archers (which was the highest form of defense I had). Then I had Tokugawa declare war on me. I soon had my major three cities destroyed and was left with the two least developed cities. This conquest help me learn that food surplus is very important, but you have to make sure your military is up to snuff. Next time I play the game I am going to focus on a smaller empire that is easier to defend. Then when my defense is ample enough I can start more development and expansion.