Let's say I'm currently building a world wonder, and through my spy I find out a rival civ is also building the same wonder, and are likely to complete it before me, even if I try to rush mine in a variety of ways.
So getting the wonder is nearly hopeless. Should I just immediately cancel the construction and divert my production elsewhere, or should I keep constructing it for the gold reward? And if the answer is "depends", then under what conditions should I choose one way or the other?
Best Answer
If you're say 95% sure that the AI will beat you to completion, absolutely switch construction immediately. The gold to hammer conversion is better than producing gold but it's still a horrible use of hammers. You should build a different wonder or a building to use the opportunity cost of producing something that will help you in the long run. Remember you still get the gold for the production you've already invested whether or not you're currently building that wonder, so it's not wasted production.
Alternately use the production to build units and then go relieve the AI of the wonder that way.