Civilization II Wonder Ratings

[Martin Gühmann]

Civilization II Wonder Ratings

Original Author: kcottone at tir.com

This is my evaluation of all the wonders of the world available in Civilization II. I rate them on a scale of 1-don't even bother, to 5-priority one. These ratings are purely my opinion, but I back them with about six months experience. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Wonder	Rating	Description
Adam Smith's trading Company	4.5	This wonder is one of the game's best, it solves all of your money problems immediately when built under almost all circumstances. This wonder also allows you to raise the science rate at least 10%, a very helpful move. I try to build it in every game.
Apollo Program	2	The only reason for you to build this wonder is if 1. You are so technologically advanced that you will definitely win the space race, or 2. For some reason, you MUST reveal the world map now.
Colossus	2.5	This is a wonder that is available very early in the game. Since at that time I am so busy trying to expand my empire, this wonder is usually not worth the manpower. Spend those 200 shields on settlers, the cities will do you more good.
Copernicus' Observatory	3	I am the type of player that REALLY likes to be #1 in science, therefore I give good ratings to science wonders. The observatory is the first and worst of the science wonders, build it if you have the time to spare.
Cure for Cancer	2	If at this stage in the game your cities are having such horrible civil disorder problems that you have to build this 600 (alot) shield wonder, you probably won't win anyway. On the other hand, If you are doing great, this wonder could go a long way in promoting "We love the King" days.
Darwin's Voyage	1	This wonder really stinks, and that is coming from me - Mr. science. For 400 shields you can build other science improvements that will reap much better rewards.
Eiffel Tower	1.5	If you really care about your reputation, don't be a jerk. If you are forced to break a treaty or something, the 1 or 2 black marks you get isn't worth building a wonder. If you are a ruthless back-stabber by nature, this wonder is about as valuable as a pile of dirt.
Great Library	4	There are many strategies you can use with this nice wonder, one of my favorites is as follows: Develop your science in a narrow path toward one crucial advance, the library will pick up the pieces.
Great Wall	3	This wonder can make capturing one of your cities nearly impossible, an extremely great asset to any blood thirsty king. But this wonder looses 2 points because of 3 drawbacks. I you like an early republic than the peace offerings can get in your way if you like to wage war. At the time it is available, the pyramids are a much better buy. And probably the most important of all: As soon as ANYONE discovers metallurgy, you are left pretty much defenseless.
Hanging gardens	2.5	I find this wonder to be quite un-necessary, even at the harder skill levels. If you are having problems with happiness than you can, for example, build temples or coliseums to satisfy your citizens.
Hoover Dam	5	This great wonder is helpful to peace-makers and warriors alike. It basically eliminates pollution and gives you a tremendous shield output. Build it, even if you have to spend every cent you own on it.
Isaac Newton's College	3.5	This is a great way to boost your science output. Build it in your top trade city, since high trade and good production are a rare mix, have your other cities make caravans to speed the building process.
J. S. Bach's Cathedral	4.5	This puppy is the second best wonder in terms of happiness. In order to win at harder skill levels, building this and/or Mike's Chapel is mandatory. Don't push this one off, the computer loves it as much as I do.
King Richard's Crusade	2	I really don't like this wonder at all. It seems I always have something better to build at the time. Besides, it lasts about as long as a destroyer would against a battleship. Build this ONLY in you are having bad production problems.
Leonardo's Workshop	5	This wonder is only one of 3 in the game to get a 5, and for good reason. Everyone knows the old "warriors to musketeers trick" but other things get overlooked. Tremies changing to destroyers and settlers to engineers are just a few of the perks offered by this wonder.
Lighthouse	1	This wonder is about as useful as a three-legged racing horse. If you are screwed on a small island and must use tremies to survive, start over.
Magellan's Expedition	3	This wonder is only worth building if you like to have a huge navy. If you do, you can most definitely out-run or catch up to the enemy's vessels if you control this one.
Manhattan Project	2	Definitely having the coolest video in the game, the project is not for the unprepared. The computer LOVES to use nukes on your unsuspecting cities. Build this only if you have an equal or greater passion for nukes.
Marco Polo's Embassy	2.5	Knowing where your enemy stands is a nice asset, but just knowing what your opponent has doesn't change anything.
Michelangelo's Chapel	5	This wonder is the best way to control unhappiness in the game. If you don't have this on the deity level you can pretty much forget about winning. Build this like someone has a gun to your head.
Oracle	2.5	On King level or above, it is advisable that you build either this or the Hanging Gardens, on prince or below, don't even bother.
Pyramids	4.5	Being the best early wonder available, the Pyramids should be your first long term goal. More people in your city means more science, taxes, production, units, buildings, and wonders. The only reason this doesn't get a 5 is that more people means more unhappiness.
SETI Program	4	The SETI program is without a doubt, the best science wonder available in terms of research. Saving you the cost and upkeep of research labs, you should build this wonder if you care at all about science.
Shakespeare's Theater	1	I strongly recommend that you NEVER build this wonder. Those 300 shields can be put to so much better use. There are much better ways to help unhappiness. ONLY build this wonder if you are planning to make a super-duper awesome mega ultra whup-ass city.
Statue of Liberty	2	The only reason why you would want to build this thing is if you are one that likes to constantly change types of governments in the late game. If like to get your favorite form of government and stick with it, this wonder has as much value as a dead rat.
Sun Tzu's War Academy	2.5	Good if you are one to go to war early, still there are better wonder choices out there. I would rather spend the shields on 3 or 4 barracks in my front-line cities. While a barracks gives you that healing ability, the academy does not.
United Nations	3.5	This is a good wonder to build under any circumstances. It totally guards against wars you don't want, plus the embassy thing. Also it lets you override your senate 50% of the time, which is necessary if you are to have thoughts of war in a democracy.
Woman's suffrage	4	With this combined with the UN and a good reputation, you can usually wage war with little problems under a democracy. If you take these three steps, you can hold your rival at bay while still maintaining a booming economy.

Well there it is, if you want to debate or discuss civ2 or this wonder evaluation, feel free to E-mail me at kcottone at tir.com, I love feedback.