The Concept:

Defend with skirmishers and spearmen to secure your base. This build excels against archer civilizations.

Execution:

• Dark Age:

  • 6 villagers on food
  • 4 villagers on wood
  • Build a mill on berries once you have 100 wood
  • All remaining villagers to food until you have 21 villagers
  • Research Loom and advance to Feudal Age

• Feudal Transition:

  • 10 villagers on wood (with 2 lumber camps)
  • 5 villagers on berries
  • Rest on food under the TC and straggler trees
  • Build a barracks when you can

• Feudal Age:

  • Build an archery range and start producing skirmishers and spearmen
  • Upgrade wood and farm technologies
  • Transition to straggler trees and farms
  • Once you have 400 food, send villagers to gold
  • Make a blacksmith and prepare for Castle Age transition

I hope you now understand the power of villagers. Villagers are the most precious unit in the game, and most things you will learn later will be about having more of them.