Which period(s) do you play in?

[Passatempo]

early, always early

i just don't feel like starting a game with so much already done...
starting at early i can choose where i want to build each thing and stuff like that

[Noir]

Eversince i found out about the -ian mode, i usually give all the factions to the AI and press autorun until 1204 or something near that.

Then find one relatively weak (or sometimes very weak) faction from the ones that i can take over and play. This tactic has given quite some interesting games so far, with totally new "high" eras everytime.

early suits the trick better for obvious reasons - heh

[Seabourch]

Early! Everyone in High or Late is crammed in more advanced castles and its difficult for me in assualting castles in MTW so I go for early so I can smash their toothpick houses to bits with a catapault or mangonel if its mercenary. You also feel as though your not in a hurry to get things over with like in Late. I'm a bit of a mix really. I build up for a bit before attacking a faction. OF course if it one of those big factions with huge armies mid way through game , I simply attack one province, conquer and wait forthem to tire themselves out attacking me, trying to reclaim their provinces.

[Bregil the Bowman]

early, always early

i just don't feel like starting a game with so much already done...
starting at early i can choose where i want to build each thing and stuff like that

Agreed - Early. Otherwise you are just finishing off the AI's game.

Love VI too but it doesn't the scope of playing the full map for nearly four centuries.