by qqzm
Top of Tech Tracks (TTT)If you max it out, it gives you 33 VPs. In order to max it out, you need to spend 18 resources and 5 actions for the 9 tech bumps. (You can reduce this with starting wealth tiles or particular buildings but for the sake of comparison we'll ignore those as you can probably do equivalently in most cases). The monument itself costs WSGGG. The tech bumps themselves have some incremental value. In particular the resource track ones help greatly with getting the needed pile of resources to advance the others. It's also worth noting that you can max this monument out entirely by yourself without relying on others to help, which is a not insignificant advantage over some of the others.
23 resources, 5 actions, 33VPs.
Let's compare that to each other monument:
(WWSSSG) Your Civic Buildings+Monuments = 4VP
(WWSSSG) Your Shrine Buildings+Monuments = 4VP
(WWSSSG) Your Tomb Buildings+Monuments = 4VP
For all of these you need to have 8 total buildings (including themselves) to be comparable to TTT. The buildings themselves offer some incremental advantage, giving back resources, VPs, tech/temple bumps along the way. Assuming enough buildings of the same colour come out and aren't built by others. (Which is a big assumption given that there are only 8 of each in total, and you need at least 7 of them). So we're looking at:
~27 resources, 4 actions, 32VPs.
Outcome: Close. Slightly less VPs for slightly more resources. Can be interfered with greatly by other players/random chance.
(WSSSGG) Your Buildings+Monuments = 2VP
As above but you lose the downside of being screwed over if not enough buildings of the right colour are available at the cost of doubling every cost.
~48 resources, 8 actions, 32VPs.
Outcome: Miles away.
(WWWGGG) Workers: 3->0VP, 4->6VP, 5->12VP, 6->18VP
6 resources, 3 actions, 18VPs
Outcome: Less resource/action intensive (haven't counted the extra feeding cost) but a lot less points even maxed out.
(WWSGGG) 3VP per tech bump
With the exact same bumps (max out 3 tracks) this is worth 27VPs. The only advantage is that is gives more points for the 4th track as well, but you need 2 steps just to equal the 33 points, and all 3 to better it. And it costs 1 extra resource to build in the first place.
Outcome: A useful backup plan if someone grabs TTT before you, but you'd be disappointed.
(WWSSGG) Built Monuments by anyone: 2P -> 6VP per, 3P -> 5VP per, 4P -> 4VP per
Relies on what others are doing, and doesn't seem likely to get much above 20VPs (and can't ever get above 24/25).
Outcome: Different ball park.
(WGGGG) 4VP per taken wood tile
(WSGGGG) 4VP per taken corn tile
The wood one is easier to get lots of without angering the gods or being lucky when people take tiles but then big piles of wood are harder to use than corn. Either way I think getting more than 7 in the course of the game is optimistic, so:
Net + resources, 7 actions, 28VPs
Outcome: Not a million miles away.
(GGGG Skull) Placed skulls by anyone = 3VP
10 skulls, 14 actions, 4 resources, assuming thind theology tech (which costs 6 resources, 2 actions), 24VPs (27 - 3 VPs you lose for spending a skull to build it).
Yes, that's assuming you are working entirely alone but even in a 4-player game you can't rely on your opponents helping out *that* much. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find another player who is aiming for filling Chicken Pizza and then grabbing this monument but you just beat them to the punch. Other times the only skulls will be the 5 you placed yourself and this monument will be worth a net 8VPs.
Outcome: Not close.
(SSSGGG) Highest Temple = 3VP per step
(SSSSGGG) Score temples again
Temple steps are useful in and of themselves, and give resources on the way. With so many different ways to gaining them estimating cost is difficult. Using just Uxmal 1 to max out HT=3 would take 7 actions and 21 corn. Using Tikal 1/3 and a maxed-out agriculture tech track would be 6 actions, 13 resources. Either way the monument maxes out at 21VPs so I don't think it's very close. STA maxes out at 31VPs so is comparable to TTT points-wise but requires a whopping 18 temple-bumps (18 actions, 54 corn at U1 or 11 actions, 24 resources on Tikal).
Outcome: HT3 is nowhere near. STA is close, but still no cigar.
Summary
All-in-all, I agree that it's the most powerful monument available in the game (IMHO). Some of the others come close, though, and there's not a huge variation in power across-the-board. So I don't *think* it's overpowered, but many more games of losing to it may prove me wrong.