How to proceed after getting the basics down on Trajan?

Hey guys,

I recently got the game and have been playing way too much. At this point I’ve only been playing Trajan, and after a couple of games, winning against the king ai is getting a bit boring. I always seem to stockpile money, kill the continent, and then late game it doesn’t really matter (domination, science etc)..

How do I make it more fun, but also engage more with the mechanics of the game? Do I randomize civs, maps, bump the difficulty?

I love the early part, but at some point, I always seem to end up going for an afk/build cities/have 5000 gold Strat and it’s kinda killing the fun.

How did you go about playing/learning/enjoying civ