diff --git a/src/game/engine/scenes/tests/auto_play.gd b/src/game/engine/scenes/tests/auto_play.gd
index 6ed5928b..325bf8c9 100644
--- a/src/game/engine/scenes/tests/auto_play.gd
+++ b/src/game/engine/scenes/tests/auto_play.gd
@@ -1005,7 +1005,7 @@ func _next_building(city: Variant, player: Variant, city_count: int, has_founder
 	## 14 factors — priorities emerge from circumstances, not prescriptive order.
 	var tech_req: Dictionary = {
 		"library": "scholarship", "barracks": "military_doctrine",
-		"monument": "ancestor_rites", "castle": "fortification",
+		"castle": "fortification",
 	}
 	var candidates: Array[String] = [
 		"warrior", "forge", "walls", "marketplace", "temple",
@@ -1116,12 +1116,19 @@ func _next_building(city: Variant, player: Variant, city_count: int, has_founder
 		_score_add(scores, "ale_hall", 3.5); _score_add(scores, "bathhouse", 4.5)
 	if happy < -8:
 		_score_add(scores, "ale_hall", 1.5); _score_add(scores, "bathhouse", 1.5)
-	if city_count >= 2 and not city.has_building("library"):
-		_score_add(scores, "library", 3.0)
+	# Library: strong priority once scholarship is researched — science/turn
+	# from a single city starts at 1 so a +2 library doubles research pace.
+	# Gate only on tech, not on city count, so first city still builds it.
+	if player.has_tech("scholarship") and not city.has_building("library"):
+		_score_add(scores, "library", 8.0)
 	if own_mil >= 4 and not city.has_building("barracks"):
 		_score_add(scores, "barracks", 3.0)
 	if city.has_building("walls") and _turn_count > 150 and city_count >= 3:
 		_score_add(scores, "castle", 3.0)
+	# Monument: cheap early culture for border expansion. Gate on first city
+	# and missing forge-after (don't delay production infra).
+	if not city.has_building("monument") and int(city.population) >= 2:
+		_score_add(scores, "monument", 3.5 if city.has_building("forge") else 2.0)
 	# Siege sustain: while committed to ATTACK, missing stack slots near the
 	# target dominate everything else — +15 per missing warrior below 3.
 	if _in_attack_phase and _active_attack_mil_count < 3: