I got a local group here where we all get together once a week or so and all of us get stomped by the same player. Games are typically 3-5 players and on pangea.

No one ever plays the aggressor towards him but me and no one really seems to have a solid end game. Meanwhile... everyone ends up falling to his science/domination gamestyle.

He's pretty much not been beaten since before the last Civ5 patch and the streak has carried over to 6...

I'm willing to try to forget everything I know about the game and start from the ground up. These are the areas I seem to struggle with:

1. I need to plan better, does anyone know of any decent offline tech/religion/policy planners I could just browse on my phone during my free time?
2. What's the best way to get your science up without outgrowing your amenities? We keep having to compete for space really early so it's difficult to find decent plots for cities once I hit about 3.
3. ???
4. Any tips or strategies are appreciated!