AHapka
Chieftain
I usually play as the Americans. While the F-15 comes too late to do much good, I usually try to build the right wonders so that my GA comes in the middle ages as much as possible. I make an early rush to Republic so that I can rush improvements and units with gold. Generally, I wait until I am one or two turns short of my next advance, then lower my science as low as it will go without waiting anymore turns. Sometimes I have been able to go from running a 25 to 30 gold per turn profit to a 250 gold profit for one or two turns. It doesn't always work, but I try it with each advance. You can build up a lot of gold, which is helpful in the early wars you are bound to encounter. I usually play warlord (easier than most of you, I know) on small worlds and if I don't declare war it's only a matter of time before someone declares war on me.
The two most important Wonders to me are the Pyramids and Sun Tzu's. Even though I play defensively (I usually win by culture or space, though i've won every way possible) I find that the Pyramids allow me to quickly build the larger cities with better defensive ratings and Sun Tzu allows me to use my excess gold to upgrade my defenders without spending time building new units. Also, when forced to go to war, I can build veterans and almost just as important I know my enemy does NOT have Sun Tzu.
The two most important Wonders to me are the Pyramids and Sun Tzu's. Even though I play defensively (I usually win by culture or space, though i've won every way possible) I find that the Pyramids allow me to quickly build the larger cities with better defensive ratings and Sun Tzu allows me to use my excess gold to upgrade my defenders without spending time building new units. Also, when forced to go to war, I can build veterans and almost just as important I know my enemy does NOT have Sun Tzu.