The forgotten wonder...

[Commander Bello]

After having read a lot of discussions about "the very wonder to build", first I have to mention that I don't think there is just this "very" wonder to go for under any circumstances.

Nevertheless, in most of those discussion the "typical" wonders have been mentioned as Pyramids, Colossus, Great Library, whatever.

I would like to put the Mausoleum into discussion.

If you are lucky, and either your capital or one of your first cities is located next to fresh water and they would qualify for a good production site, they will not use the aqueduct for further growth. That growth is limited yet, due to the unhappiness of people. In the early game, you just have the temple (maybe boosted bye the Oracle) and some luxuries to fight unhappiness.
But, if you build the Mausoleum, you get three content citizens in that city!
This will give you almost 60% additional production capacity there. And out of a sudden, a lot of wonders are in reach, even if you start late going for them, since you had to build the Mausoleum first.
Of course, the limiting factor is the access to fresh water. But if you have it, you should give the Mausoleum really a try!

Comments very welcome.

 

[socralynnek]

You're right. This wonder is very nice, with tourism bonus, culture and the happy citizens. And you won't have to fight that hard against the AI to get it.
And for a OCC it is a must have.

 

[Turner]

Agreed. Those three content citizens at a crux point can make the game a whole lot easier. I find that when I do get this wonder that I spend less in lux, so my science is going quicker. And when I do need to spend for lux, a little goes a long way. That extra worker can make the difference between getting a wonder later on or not.

Good points, CB.

 

[Louis XXIV]

Could use more culture, though.