wonders

[bryanwallace]

just a quick question on wonders-i get very frustrated when wasting a lot of resources to try to build a wonder and someone else gets there before me(and cant switch to another wonder)
is it poss that best strategy is not to build wonders just to steal them??

 

[megistatos]

Certainly. In general I would advise against building a lot of wonders. In general, expansion is more important early on in the game, and yes, wonders can often be captured.

Check out this article for more information http://www.civfanatics.com/civ3/strategy/wonder_addiction.php

Of course, a wonder can be very powerful, but always think hard about whether you really need it. Only build one if there is a good strategic reason to.

 

[Optional]

Certain wonders are great to capture, Sun Tzu and Leo's for instance. You get their benefit where ever they are located.

It's different with most of the scientific wonders. Copernicus and Newton's both boost the science rate in the city where they are built. You will like to build them yourself, because in your core you've got the best science rate, so their boosting effect is much bigger there then in a hopelessly corrupt town.

There's nothing as frustrating as setting out to build a wonder and then getting it snatched away from you by one turn. Especially the Ancient Age doesn't lend itself well to building wonders. If you're playing with a lot of civs, they more or less all will start building wonders. Then the cascade effect is your biggest worry.
If you for instance want to build the Lighthouse, but a number of civs are already building the Colossus, maybe better forget it. If one of those civs completes the Colossus, the others are likely to transfer build to the Lighthouse. If you still have to start, you're likely to miss out. One of the civs that is now building the Colossus can probably beat you to it.

So learn to assess the situation, monitor what other civs are building, count turns and shields, and be picky about it. I wouldn't say 'no' to building wonders, but it's also a valid strategy to just build up military units if you see your neighbors building Pyramids, Oracle, Lighthouse, Artemis and so on, and then trying to grab one or two once they're built.
Artemis will even still give you huge culture points because of all the temples it erects, so that's definitely one that should awaken the vulture in you when you see a neighbor getting on well with that! So just build up units, and hope and pray that he gets it. Or alternatively, hope and prey that he gets it, if you get my drift.

 

[EvilConqueror]

I usually shoot for one or two wonders and then steal the rest from other civs later on. I feel that I can but my resources to better use that way, especially in the beginning of a game.

 

[AznWarlord]

I only try to build the Lighthouse (which is cheap and efficient for exploring those other continents), Leonardo's Workshop (because we all know how much money upgrading can cost) and Smith's Trading, for the extra income (because we all know how much money upgrading can cost. It's so high I have to mention it twice.). Then I try to capture Temple of Artemis and Sun Tzu. The rest I'll build if I'm the first to discover it (leading in techs) if it's useful, like Magellan's Voyage or those science thingies.