Wonder building addiction - Help needed!

So, I would consider myself a moderately experienced civ-player and have some wins on the emperor level. But...

I'm suffering from wonder building addiction. Every time I miss a wonder I feel an urgent need to hit the restart button. It's always the same. I regenerate the map until I find hills/plains/stone and found my capital on it. I go for mysticism and masonry and build Stonehenge, The Great Wall and The Pyramids. Okay, all these are kick ass wonders so if you I have stone, then I guess I gain more than I lose.

But that's not enough: "Oh, Artemis is only 20 turns. I don't sign any open border agreements, but a free priest is a free priest. Plus, it produces Great Merchant GPP". In my last game I went for the 57 turn tech Metal Casting just because it would be so cool to combine that Fetorria and The Colussus. I missed it with a couple of turns and had ruined a great game by researching an expensive tech that most of my opponents had already got.

I'm sure I'm not alone in here with this problem. Any suggestions on what to do? I'm sick of being invaded because I build (and miss) lousy wonders in my productive cities that should be producing military units. Help please!

Give yourself a challenge. Pick a victory condition to achieve. Then add a twist. Attempt to achieve it without building a single wonder. Drop down a difficulty level if you must...this will help you to see that whilst being very helpful, with planning, wonders are not essential.

I used to have wonder addiction in the previous games, but the obscene numbers of wonders mostly broke it by default. I still get the "restart urge" if I miss one of my "critical" wonders, but I am learning.

Most people already suggest picking "a few" that you really want and striving to build just those. I think that is good advice; but from a recovered addict to a someone in need of help, I might also suggest going the opposite direction also. Look at the list of wonders and find a few that you don't want or you clearly think are not useful to you.

Between the two approaches, you can try to weed the list down to a manageable set even though that set may be larger than the experts who play on Immortal and higher. This is kind of what I did at first since there were so many to choose from even in vanilla.

And with all that said, I have finally realized also that it is a game, if building wonders is fun to you, then have fun! If it causes you to lose games, then it you can deal with it in that measure cutting back until you have control again, but you don't have to feel "wonder guilt" as long as you are having fun.

Lightwave said:

An with all that said, I have finally realized also that it is a game, if building wonders if fun to you, then have fun! If it causes you to lose games, then it you can deal with it in that measure cutting back until you have control again, but you don't have to feel "wonder guilt" as long as you are having fun.

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absolutely

EdCase said:

Then add a twist. Attempt to achieve it without building a single wonder.

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when i do this the great library is defined as a throne room addition, not a wonder. is that so wrong? *giggle*

Bad Brett said:

Any suggestions on what to do?

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don't build any wonders

i don't really get what is so hard about it.

KMadCandy said:

when i do this the great library is defined as a throne room addition, not a wonder. is that so wrong? *giggle*

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Must.. Build... Great Library...

Seriously, that is the most addicting wonder in the entire game. I only prioritize 'Mids above it, and only if I have a very good chance at them - even if my chance at GL is slim...

I was addicted to wonder building, but as I've ramped up the difficulty and the number of wonders has increased with add ons etc, I've found I cant build them all anymore. There are still quite a lot I always go for tho

1. The Pentagon - cant argue with extra XP
2. The Great Wall - makes expansion in the face of barbarians much easier (I always play raging babs)
3. The spiral Minaret - free cash!!!
4. 3 Gorges Dam - avoids the unhealthiness from all those coal plants
5. At least 1 or 2 of Rock and Roll, Broadway or Hollywood - Lots of culture and some resources to sell to AI, or bribe them with
6. University of Sankore - Can really help with research

So long as I get those my stratergy works fine, if I miss one, I can end up struggling

Seras said:

don't build any wonders

i don't really get what is so hard about it.

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In humor and seriousness at the same time, most all addictions seem trivial and easy to break to those that have not experienced it.

Just to be different--I say give in to your addiction! Choose a leader with the 50% wonder-building trait, then go all-out for a cultural victory. But you do have to show SOME restraint. Build wonders only in your 3 culture cities. And build military in your other cities so they can protect your culture cities.

eewallace said:

Just to be different--I say give in to your addiction!

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That is funny. That is one way to deal with a harmless addiction like wonders. Embrace it with open arms.

eewallace said:

Choose a leader with the 50% wonder-building trait, then go all-out for a cultural victory. But you do have to show SOME restraint. Build wonders only in your 3 culture cities. And build military in your other cities so they can protect your culture cities.

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I must confess after professing to be a "recovered" addict, I usually do pick a leader with the Industrious trait still . I still like to conquer rather than focus on culture though, kind of a builder/warmonger hybrid.

Another way to kick the habit: choose warlike leaders and aggressive AI. That will get your attention.

I feel your pain, though. I like playing Hattie on the Earth/18 Civs map and trying to build all the historical Egyptian wonders (it's hard getting the Great Lighthouse on that map, grr) while founding Judaism, etc. Will restart if I don't get Pyramids, Lighthouse, Library...

EdCase said:

Give yourself a challenge. Pick a victory condition to achieve. Then add a twist. Attempt to achieve it without building a single wonder. .

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I'll try that, but unless there some button to turn it off, I don't think I will succeed. I mean, a life... um... game without AP is like ...torture!

Lightwave said:

I think that is good advice; but from a recovered addict to a someone in need of help, I might also suggest going the opposite direction also. Look at the list of wonders and find a few that you don't want or you clearly think are not useful to you.

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Haha, that's something for me. Let's see now:

Chicken Pizza
Hagia Sofia

If I don't sign open borders:

Artemis
Great Lighthouse

Also, I don't see why everybody seems to love Great Library. Two scientists... My GP farms usually have six of them. Without representation it seems pretty weak.

eewallace said:

Just to be different--I say give in to your addiction! Choose a leader with the 50% wonder-building trait, then go all-out for a cultural victory. But you do have to show SOME restraint. Build wonders only in your 3 culture cities. And build military in your other cities so they can protect your culture cities.

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Hmm haven't tried a culture victory in BtS yet, so I guess it's time.

I must confess after professing to be a "recovered" addict, I usually do pick a leader with the Industrious trait still . I still like to conquer rather than focus on culture though, kind of a builder/warmonger hybrid.

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Yep, I like to create a massive empire so mighty that I can aim for any kind of victory. It's pretty hard to accomplish this though.

Thank you for your advices. Keep 'em coming!

i used to have a wonder addiction when i started...i got over it like i got over smoking..i just stopped.

ppl always over complicate things

Hello, my name is Ushram and I am a Wondaholic

Hello, my name is Yva!n and I'm a wonderaholic.

Last game as the Maya I was determined to play different style (on monarch). Had a great start with horses, cows, corn, gold, and oddly enough a desert oasis in the middle the grassland forest that was my homeland. Not necessarily terriffic for financial but the oasis nearly assured me of Budhism. So I build a bunch of chariots and go after my neighbor Victoria, who had just built the great wall, next thing I know I have taken out London, which was a great location powerhouse with copper, wooded hills, already cottaged floodplains and nearby stone. Wouldn't you know it, the next thing I know I'm building the 'Mids in London and chopping the Oracle at home for Feudaism. Things go well, and I find myself researching Guilds in the early AD. My Neighbor Mansa is teching well too - but I know he'll be a pain so as soon as my Knights are ready I go after him (which he funded by buying Metalcasting from me). When I get to his capital I can scarce believe it. It's a a coastal isthmus capital city, with the Great Lighthouse, the Colossus, AND the Temple of Artemus, as well as being the Hindu holy city! Another of my neighbors is Capac and he thoughtfully declares war on me in the Middle ages, and then basically gives me the rest of the early-mid-game wonders.

I start a non wonder game, and suddenly I own 90% of them, not to mention EVERY holy city. I'm teching so fast I can scarce believe it. I feel like a drunk on a bender. Hollywood? Sure! that city aint doing anything, the Kremlin? Why not!

Bad Brett said:

Also, I don't see why everybody seems to love Great Library. Two scientists... My GP farms usually have six of them. Without representation it seems pretty weak.

Hmm haven't tried a culture victory in BtS yet, so I guess it's time.

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G Lib; it's 2 scientists i don't have to feed. maybe even better, i don't have to run caste system to find slots for 'em, i've turned into quite a slavedriver recently. even if i don't have the pyramids i want them earning GSs for me, not the bad guys. so that's why i like it. but i'm certainly not trying to make you build it .

i haven't gone culture in BtS yet either but i do already love the change to Sistine . so shiny. it's long been one of my favorite wonders to capture ... 9 times out of 10 it's the french that spent the hammers for me.

MUST BUILD STATUE OF LIBERTY!!!

For some reason, I like to build every single wonder I can, even though I don't need it. I don't know what some of the wonders I build do, I just build them so I have a wonder in my cities.

I've only recently started to save one GE and one GM for the Corporations Era

So is there a 12-step program into overcoming your wonderbuilding, such as giving yourself up to a higher power... etc, etc?

Stylesrj said:

So is there a 12-step program into overcoming your wonderbuilding, such as giving yourself up to a higher power... etc, etc?

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Probably. Haven't needed to try it, though.

I've stepped up to Warlord, and noticed even with I'm not building Wonders all that much right now. Sure, its the first game, but this builder is trying to figure out who to put to the axe (The guys who took the marble first, or the ones with Holy Cities) over what to build for Wonders.

Theres no problem with building every wonder on the lower diffculty settings. It doesnt mean your going to lose. If you want to stop building wonders whack up the difficulty and you wont have much time for wonder building

I have a great way to get over Wonder addiction. Play as Huayna Capac, Quechua-rush your neighbor with Stone who just founded Hinduism, whip the Great Wall and Pyramids in your two new mega-cities, add a third city and just sit there making Wonders and laughing at the Barbs and at Bismarck struggling in the desert wasteland you have choked him into. Then suddenly notice that the warmongers on the other continent are researching Astronomy. Quickly settle 7 new cities to claim your territory and start your war machine, just before you get hammered with a triple-war-declaration and blown into oblivion as your dying Quechuas woozily chant "wow, look at all the pretty Galleons."

Sounds crazy, but it really did happen to... a friend of mine.