Well, things here are really flying along now.
Inherited Turn 650AD: I decide to plant forests defensively, they are as good as mines unless/until rails come along. I'll be able to shave one turn off our wonder ETA, also, while refilling our granary to max.
730AD: Gunpowder pops out of the Library.
740AD: Chivalry and Theology pop out of the Library. I switch us from Leo to Theo.

Theology renders our Oracle obsolete and one citizen goes unhappy, forcing me to raise lux to 10% (3gpt).
770AD: Rome demands 111 gold from us. On a hunch, and backed by five pikes and a goodly distance, and the hope of buying an ally if necessary, I tell him to take a hike, and he tsks tsks at me. Whew! Caught the SOB bluffing! Took a big chance with that, though. I wouldn't have done it if he wasn't the most distant nation. We really can't afford wars.
800AD: We complete the Sistine Chapel! I start a cathedral. Best to get that out of the way, just six turns, then a good opportunity to revolt to Republic right before Education comes in, and with enough happiness not to need to run any luxuries even without martial law!
820AD: Rome completes Leo! Wow, just two turns behind our pace? And that's with me shaving a turn off our ETA!

On the up side, the cascade is broken! [dance]
840AD: I wish we hadn't sunk all our ships. Was a worthy gamble, as either getting to the other side would have paid off BIG for us! But now we're no longer in a position to rush over there when Navigation comes online. Oh well.
850AD: Rome declares war on England!
Our cathedral is due next turn. I forested all applicable lands, maxing us at 27 shields per turn with break even food. When we come out of revolt, there is a tough choice to make: build some knights, or keep going through a whole other round of wonder building on just five military units. I'm the nervous type, I like the idea of building some knights here. We could crank one every three turns, if we connect our iron and buy a round of horsies from India for ~100 gold, we could build six or seven knights in a row. Barring that, we ought to AT LEAST pause long enough to build a couple catapults at one per round. Those could save our butts someday, and are upgradeable to artillery later.
We'll be building our last 1000-year bonus item THIS coming turn, as 860AD plus 1000 is 1860. We're probably slated to win the game between 1900 and 1940AD, so... our cathedral will be the last item to pull in any bonus points for us. Our priority needs to shift to staying alive now. Yes, get more culture, more wonders, but not at all costs. Remember my OCC game. Wars MAY happen to us! And all victory conditions are on the table, too, meaning the AI's can win by domination.
As far as wonders go, forget functionality and think culture. In order of preference, the remaining middle age wonders would be ranked like this:
Shakespeare's - 8
Newton's - 6 (and useful)
Bach's - 6 (less useful)
Copernicus - 4 (useful)
Magellan - 3 (coastal, easier to get)
Suffrage - 4
Smith - 3
- Sirian
Zed,
Click Here to grab the save file, 850AD.