Wonder selection

[Toroga]

I know BGA can't change the rules for a game without the publisher approving it, but just in case the publisher reads this and likes it...
At the very least, it might work for tabletop.

Barring some really bad rolls that favor one player over another, at the higher end of the game winning or losing is almost determined before the dice are rolled, solely on the luck of the draw with wonders. With some luck or a change in strategy it's possible to win with any wonder, but some are clearly far better than others.

Ideally we'd be able to bid points before the game started, in order to select wonders.
A player can bid any amount initially.
On their turn, a player can raise their bid to any higher amount or pass.
A bid cannot match another bid, but does not have to be the highest bid. You can bid for second/third place if you want to.
Passing does not take you out of the bidding, you can still bid later in response to someone elses bid.
If all players pass in a row, bidding ends and players choose wonders in bid order.
Players start with negative points equal to their bid.

Compressed example:
A bids 5, B bids 6, C passes
A bids 8, B passes at 6, C bids 7
All pass, game starts with A, then C, then B choosing wonders

Thoughts?

[Benedictus_7]

Sounds like a fun addition to the game. In my opinion wonders are pretty balanced. You can have a winning (or losing) strategy with any of them. It's also really depends on luck, so you have to adjust your game depending on the rolls you got anyways.
What wonders do you think is stronger than others?

[Toroga]

Most players say Green is easily the strongest, and I'd agree that it gives a definite advantage. I wouldn't say it's as overpowering as most people think, but it's still top for an efficient builder strategy.

I've heard a lot of people say Red is weak, but that's just because it requires a very different playstyle than people are used to, both to win with it and to counter it. I'd call it mid-tier.

If I had to rank them...
1 - Green
2 - VP, Resource
3 - Red
4 - Gold, Die Choice
5 - Ignore Cost

EDIT - There's a possible option for this game that wouldn't take much work; give us a checklist to allow us to select which wonders are in the pool when setting up a game. They'd still be drawn randomly, but we could flatten out the curve by removing the best and worst ones.

EDIT 2 - Dropped Red to its own tier since it has good synergy but can be countered, so how well it does depends more on the early dice than most other wonders. It could be either tier 2 or 4 depending on how many cheap shields come up at the start.