Must have Wonders

[DarkSchneider]

I was just curious, but in Civ 2 there were a number of wonders that I considered absolutely necessary to win on Deity level (ie, if I didn't get them, I would seriously consider turning off the game to save the trouble) The wonders have been toned down a little in Civ 3, so here is my list for the Great Wonders of Civ 3:

Must haves
JS Bach's Cathedral
The Pyramids
Sistine Chapel
Hoover Dam
Smith's Trading Company

Very Useful
The Great Library
Leonardo's Workshop
Cure for Cancer
Theory of Evolution
The Hanging Gardens
Longevity
Sun Tzu's Art of War
Universal Suffrage

Nice to Have
The Oracle
Magellan's Voyage
The Great Lighthouse
The Colossus
Copernicus's Observatory
Newton's University
SETI Program

Don't Build
Shakespeare's Theater
The United Nations
The Great Wall
The Manhattan Project

 

[strollen]

I basically agree with your list (although, I think the Newton, Copurnicus are very useful especially in your capital or forbidden palace location). The UN is very useful to prevent somebody else from winning a diplomatic victory.

However, I don't think any wonders are a must have unlike Civ2.
In a recent game the computer had already beaten me to the Pyramids, GL, and than I foolish traded economy 4 turns away from building Adam Smiths. Sure enough the damn Germans built it two turns latter. I quit the game in disgust. I had no horses, or saltpeter only iron and two luxuries. The only great wonder I built myself in the early game was JS Bach.

I latter went back and won the game (Monarch level) it was very challenging taking on the computer with an army consisting of infantryman and artillery. It turned out that even though my early resources were pretty poor, I had rubber, lots of oil and Aluminum so the end game was pretty easy.

 

[tetley]

Some people would disagree with you quite strongly about the United Nations. You put it at the bottom; they'd put it at the top. Considering it's a game-winner, I'm inclined to agree with them. Besides, it's cheap in shields.

Granted, I've put off building it myself, though, when I had the science lead and wasn't doing so hot diplomatically. But on the high difficulty levels, you're probably the exact opposite--slightly behind in science, but everyone's gracious/polite to you.

 

[jhigham]

It seems to me that longevity comes too late in th e game for the effect. By the time you've built it you have large cities, and while the additional growth is nice, it isn't that important. I'd knock it down a notch.

However, I haven't actually gotten to that point yet (building Cure currently; all in one city for culture victory).

The UN is a must-have, IMO. I am never liked by the other civs (why why why?) so I need it just so they don't vote me off the planet.

 

[LKendter]

I would bump "The Great Lighthouse" to max -
if I am on a smaller continent. I didn't think it allowed it, but galley cross oceans with this It is nice to make first contact with the rest of the board.

You might find a small isolated civ, that nobody knows about. We know what can happen there.

Plus this game - sometimes that "junk" island proves very important. I had a five city island (lot of snow!) that had my ONLY rubber, a second coal source, and oil. Of course, this is why I sometimes WON'T trade maps. I want to make sure I get there first.