Wonders may be treated as exceptional and unique buildings. They are typically expensive and provide a very powerful bonus or effect. Additionally, each Wonder may be built only once per game; multiple cities and civilizations may simultaneously attempt to construct the same wonder, but only the first city to complete the wonder will obtain it - all other constructing cities must change their construction objectives. If you have been beaten to a wonder, you may reassign the accumulated hammers to another building, wonder, or unit – but only during the same turn. If you wait, the hammers will be lost.
The World Bank and United Nations wonders are unlike the other wonders in that their completion will constitute an economic or cultural victory, respectively, for the civilization that constructed the wonder. All the wonders are listed in order from left to right in the Hall of Glory in-game.
Certain wonders will be obsolesced by the discovery of a corresponding Technology by any civilization, even if the wonder's owner and first discoverer of the obsoleting technology are the same civilization. For example, the East India Company is made obsolete when any civilization discovers Flight. Once the wonder is rendered obsolete, the unique effect of the wonder is negated. However, the wonder's Culture and contribution towards a Cultural Victory are unaffected.
List of wonders[edit]
| Cost | Effect | Required Tech | Obsolesced by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ancient Wonders | ||||
| Stonehenge | 50 | Temples generate 50% more Culture | None | Literacy (3) |
| Great Pyramid | 150 | Provides access to all forms of Government | Ceremonial Burial (1) | Monarchy (4) |
| Colossus of Rhodes | 100 | Current city produces double Science and Gold | Bronze Working (1) | Invention (5) |
| Oracle of Delphi | 125 | Provides warning if one of your attacks will fail | Alphabet (1) | Religion (5) |
| Hanging Gardens of Babylon | 100 | Current city gains +50% population | Pottery (1) | None |
| Great Wall | 150 | Forces all civilizations to make peace with your civilization | Masonry (2) | Engineering (4) |
| Great Library | 150 | Automatically obtain any technology discovered by at least two other civilizations | Writing (2) | University |
| Medieval Wonders | ||||
| Shakespeare's Theatre | 150 | Current city produces double culture | Literacy (3) | Mass Media (9) |
| East India Company | 200 | +1 Trade from Sea regions | Navigation (4) | Flight (8) |
| Magna Carta | 150 | Courthouses now produce +1 culture per citizen | Democracy (4) | None |
| Himeji Samurai Castle | 150 | +1 Attack to all military units | Monarchy (4) | Communism (8) |
| Trade Fair of Troyes | 250 | Current city produces double gold | Currency (4) | Globalization (11) |
| Oxford University | 150 | Immediately gain one high-level tech (one-time bonus) | University (5) | None |
| Leonardo's Workshop | 150 | Immediately upgrade all obsolete units (one-time bonus)[1] | Invention (5) | None |
| Modern Wonders | ||||
| Manhattan Project | 750 | Gain a single ICBM unit | Atomic Theory (8) | None |
| Military-Industrial Complex | Reduces costs of all units by 20% | The Corporation (8) | None | |
| Hollywood | 600 | Easier to Culture Flip cities. May culture flip cities with Walls | Mass Media (9) | None |
| Apollo Program | Immediately gain all technologies | Space Flight (10) | None | |
| Internet | 750 | Double gold production in all cities | Networking (10) | None |
| Victory Condition Wonders | ||||
| World Bank | 500 | Win by an Economic Victory | 20,000 Gold | None |
| United Nations | 500 | Win by a Cultural Victory | 20 Great People or Wonders | None |
- ↑ The "Leonardo's Workshop" wonder will not work if you rush it.