Despite all that I have read here, and despite agreeing with the overall tone of the discusion, I would argue that Wonders play a crucial part of an effective stratergy below Emperor level.
Pre C3C it would be OK to maybe only build the Pyramids in the ancienct era as all the others become obsolete, but after they introduced the Temple of Artemis and Temple of Zeus it becomes critical to deny your opponent (AI or human) these two wonders. I usually still stick to the pyramids and one of the happyness wonders in my capital BUT only after sending out 2 or 3 settlers.
I know that strategic addaption is the focus of this debate and being flexable against any opponent is ey to success, but is it not better to deny your opponent the oppotunity to a key advantage (such as quick terretorial expansion with the temple of artemis)?
At the end of the day it makes a difference if you can quickly build 10 or 15 cities with temples but then your opponent is able to expand in 5 turns with any new city they get. Even a rapid conquest on opposing cities would be negated by this.
C3C seems to make a moot point of wonder feasabillity. One way to get around the tech gap is to use scouts and goody huts with an expansionist CIV (I usually manage to remain on parity through trade, discoveries and research) - the other is to rely on warfare which is unrelyable at best (no battle plan ever survived contact with the enemy) and unless you manage to overwhelm your opponent you will end relying on others to finish the task
.
At the end of the day wonders provide the monach or below with a valuable tool through which they can exersise precise control of CIV weakness. Over reliance (as stated so eloquently elsewhere) leads to disaster and frustration due to player not learning to addapt.
Here are is a 5 point practical guide for using wonders that I find helps
:
1) Always have one wonder on the go and if the AI grabs it switch to another - this falls flat obviously if there are no wonders left, but thats what diplomacy, research, and trade are for.
2) Think strategically; do you NEED this wonder or is it just a want? Are the pyramids going to provide more long term benefits than the temple of zeus?
3) Life is like a box of chocolates; you never get the one you want. Never assume you are going to get the wonder you aim for. Have a reserve on your wish list.
4) Place wonders as the last item on your wish list. Wonders are a luxury (a fabulous one), but they will rarely bring you victory.
5) Lastly, is this wonder a pet project or a vital tool to my CIV?
Finally Ision thankyou for opening up a can of worms
and giving a very usuful insight in to a key are of the game.