You could know what some nearby civilizations are doing, but unless you somehow get to know all civilizations early on, there could always be another civilization doing what you're planning on doing. First off, you won't know what every single civilization will be going for at the very beginning of the game. As we noted in the Things To Do First page, knowing what kind of victory you'll be going for is extremely crucial as without it, you won't be able to know how you're going to actually win! However, many people could think that playing it safe and attempting to go for multiple victories would be the best option, in the off chance that there is another one or more civilization(s) trying to go for the same victory as you, so that you can switch over to a new one as soon as you realize they're going to be doing the same thing.
