Golden Age, or Culture Bomb?

[HaplessHorde]

What do you all think is more valuable, a Golden Age, or using your great artist to culture bomb one of your cities? I guess I'm not that bright, because I've only recently tweaked to the tactic of keeping a great engineer in reserve to rush a wonder.

Unlike most posters it seems, I like the culture war more than actual war. Nothing warms my heart more than when a rival city flips to me.

Happy New Years.

[Will9]

I always use my graet artists to culture bomb at the point where one of my cities is closest to a foriegn city.

[HaplessHorde]

Yeah, that's what I usually do, though right now I'm trying for a win with 3 cities at legendary culture, so I'm concentrating on older cities.

[frenzyfol]

It depends on what your aim is.
If your going for a cultural victory a culture bomb is great in your 3rd biggest culture city.
Culture bombs can be useful for pushing boarders and converting cities, but my preference is to save artists for later game golden ages (don't waste golden ages early in the game). The increase in production and commerce far outweighs converting a single city. Just use the extra production to build an army and take 5 or more cities with it.

[joncnunn]

I find military units so much cheaper than civic improvements that a Golden Age to build military units just seems to be a waste of a GA to me. And the 8 turn span is so short, I also always prefer other uses of the Great People even if 2 of them are born the same turn.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by HaplessHorde
Yeah, that's what I usually do, though right now I'm trying for a win with 3 cities at legendary culture, so I'm concentrating on older cities.

In that case I would either use the great artist as a culture bomb (if it's late in the game) or make him part of the city (if it's early in the game)

I never use golden ages

[wodan11]

If your goal is to push borders, then settling the GA will usually have more effect than a culture bomb. The way the game is programmed to determine borders, the steady push of culture has more effect than the current cumulative total.

In any event, I like settling a GA because you get some gold too, and if you're running representation you also get some beakers.

Wodan

[joncnunn]

That heavily depends upon how much culture the city your thinking of settling / building a great work already has. Less than 60%, it's almost certaintely best to build a great work for the immedate instant expansions

[HaplessHorde]

"In any event, I like settling a GA because you get some gold too, and if you're running representation you also get some beakers."

Just what do those beakers do, anyway? Hammers are clear, but I don't see any clear effect of boosted research. Where does it show up?

[Tattila the Hun]

Well, it's minor boost, but a GA settled in the ancient times will have accumulated plenty of beakers, should you also have the Pyramids. Ads up.