Battle for the Americas

Notes:

1.  All Civs are playable, and fairly balanced.
2.  Computer controlled European civs are generally weak and aren't much
    interested in expansion, especially Spain and Portugal.  England and
    France will sometimes build or capture 2 or 3 cities but that's usually
    all.
3.  Computer controlled Native civs with the exception of the barbarians
    are tough and competitive.  Even though they start out far behind in
    technology, it usually requires some skill to defeat them.
4.  Barbarian villages make easy targets for European and Indian expansion
    alike.
5.  If you are going to play as a European you need to get cities established
    in the New World quickly!  This is the challenge, and where the computer
    controlled civs fail.  Sitting with one city back in Europe won't get
    you a win.

Recommended:

1.  Play one of the European civs and try to colonize as much of the New
    World as possible (challenging.)
2.  Play one of the indigenous civs and see what might have happened had
    the Europeans been fairly indifferent about colonizing america.  (Can
    also be challenging, because the 3 indigenous civs are quite balanced.)

Enjoy!
