To Gynnar, To Forrest.

Please, don't abandon the resource discussion; it's interesting to read.

I completely agree. But it would be helpful to post a report to support your claims, describing the beginning and end of the game, and including a map to show the initial resource distribution and the location of castles. Everyone can play and compare the results.

As for the lack of emphasis on gold, it all depends on the random factors: the initial buildings in the castles and the value of chests and piles of gold.

However, the Town Hall shouldn't be built before the second week.
Let me explain: starting from the first day - Prefect's Office, Market, Forge, Magic, Town Hall - there's simply nothing to fight with at the beginning of the week. Starting from the third day - Prefect's Office, Market, Forge, Magic, Town Hall - the growth is even worse.

Without quickly building at least a few Pikemen, there's simply no one to fight with in the Citadel (building Orcs doesn't fit into a fast creature build).

You also shouldn't overdo the number of scouts (4 is enough); they might not pay off quickly, and if they do, all development will be focused on Wonders. So, the tactic is generally correct and fast, but very risky if you don't have a lot of practice using it and don't have a good knowledge of the map you're playing on.