size: medium (havent got all day to play

)
habitable planets: occasional
Number of planets: occasional (no too many planets to conquer, thus reducing game time)
Number of stars: common
Star density: loosly scattered
Anomalies: Frequent
Technology rate: Very slow (I like to feel each tech actually counts)
Victory conditions: all possible (with AI surrenders switched off)
Game options unchecked: disable tech trading, disable minor races
Game options checked: allow AI to use CPU-intensive & blind exploration
I find this setup gives me a game that plays out very well and doesnt take too long.