it seems that every time i try to play it i get fairly far and then i am annihilated. seriously. where ever it spawns you you are set up for failure it seems. does anyone else feel this way?

Keep restarting until you get somewhere in Africa. Take Africa asap and hold it. From there, expand, but try to keep even pressure on both teams, otherwise one will get too strong and you'll find yourself playing a 1 vs 3 game. If one side seems to be getting weak, put more pressure on the stronger team. Obviously the fog makes it hard to figure out who has the upper hand, but you can usually guess based on how many enemy armies are visible to you or which side appears to be losing ground, again within your view.

And when you have Africa, South-America and so on. Try to attack to Asia on keep the enemy away from bonus areas.