This is my method. It takes quite a bit of food but it works. This is based on the Fast Bronzing article in the Academy section of this site.
1. Build a villager straight up. Have two villagers build two houses and the other search for berries.
2. Build a granary by the berries have 6 villagers on berries. Take a seventh villager off to find wood. Build a storage pit and have 6 villagers cut wood.
4. Keep building villagers until you have at least 20 (but no more than 25). Remember you are gonig to need more houses. Your villager distribution should be as follows:
- 6-8 on berries (don't run out of berries. Keep searching for more.
- 6-8 on wood.
- 3-4 on gold.
- 2 scouting for more resources, enemy, etc.
- Any other villagers can be used where you don't have enough of a resource.
5. Go into the tool age and immediately build a stable and a market. Use all of your woodcutters. Advance to the Bronze age real fast. Wait at the TC for the completion of the market then hit the advance but immediately.
6. During the upgrade, get woodcutting upgrade and build a scout. If you can, get cavalry armour and goldmining upgrade.
7. When you arrive in the bronze age, you can build cavalry (max 4) and attack the villagers in the enemy towns. This will hold them back in the tool age. Don't go for infantry unless they attack, ignore towers and leave the buildings alone. Kill villagers until you are satisfied they'll stay in the tool age for a while.
8. Whilst this is happening, build a range and a siege workshop (range req'd for siege workshop). Build a ST or two and a few more cavalry. Advance to the Iron Age if you need to. Charge!
Hope this helps. Gonna stop now coz this is getting long and I'm running out of things to say. Full credit must go to the author of Fast Bronzing in the academy. As an example, I can bronze in 12mins against a computer player. Not sure about human.
Live long and thump butt.
Josh the Great