Building Wonders Before Other Nations

[DieBartDie]

What tricks can you use to ensure you build a wonder first? Do any of the following work:

- building mines around a city to maximize shield production (even on plains)
- using settlers to join and grow the city building the wonder (or does this cause inertia as resources are switched from production to food?)
- planting and harvesting forests (do the shields accrue to the worker's origin city)
- ensuring your cities are sufficiently spaced (how far apart should cities be spaced?)

I like to always trade my advances (if I don't the other civs will) so this typically makes each new available wonder simultaneously available and all the other civs start building at the same time as me - so I need some tricks to ensure I build first.

What's the quickest way to ensure I build wonders first?

Die Bart Die

 

[DiamondzAndGunz]

1. Yes, it could work, just make sure you still get enough food from mining the plains.

2. Yes, that works, if there are more productive squares around the city that can be utilized (ie, if you add pop to a city that will only add workers to sea tiles, it wont help).

3. No, it doesn't work for building wonders. You can't 'rush' wonders in any normal way. (no disbanding units, cutting forests, etc.)

4. I usually space my cities to allow them to work most of the squares, allowing usually a maximum of 2 squares to overlap.

You can prebuild wonders to help you get them first. Start building an expensive improvement before you get the tech, like a palace or other wonder you don't want, and then as soon as the wonder becomes available, switch to it. This is the best way usually. There is also the option of using a great leader to rush the wonder, which is the only way to rush a wonder.

 

[DaveMcW]

Edit: Doh! DiamondzAndGunz beat me

Another method is to spend your shields on an army, then take the wonder when your neighbor finishes building it.

 

[Angmar]

I think the trick is pre-building a wonder. I always like to be building my "palace" somewhere at all times. When required this Palace instantly turns into a fine book that provides barracks in all my cities

I never get wonders at the higher skill levels without using this trick, or getting a Great Leader.

 

[philippe]

first make your cities grow to 12.(preferably your capital with a river and 1 or 2 cows + some schielded grassland+plains +1 or 2 hills)
then make them producting make mines dont mind that cties dont grow you have to wait 2 ages and a improvement to build them again.
make a beeline for the tech you want so much.expansionist helps you a lot for ancient wonders....
(free techs,who can refuse them?)
micromanage that citie and voila you can make the great wall in 8 turns!(sucky wonder but it is an example)