Be sure to manage your resources in tandem with government and religious development. Your path is your own and can be fit to your play style or to match any unfolding circumstances.
You can attempt to conquer all of the other players, surpass them in technology, out produce them economically, prove that your civilization is more powerful by completing civic objectives, or sit back and use agents and covert operations in order to disrupt other players from winning!
Research and civic objectives can be completed to reach a peaceful victory, or you can take the path of war. But be wary, a lack of forethought can lead a starving army to be defeated in an unforgiving landscape.