Pic relevant. I’ve tried playing the new Civ games several times, and quickly end up quitting because I find them too overwhelming and find it hard to want to deal with the learning curve.
It occurred to me that part of the problem might be that I was jumping into a very old franchise that has been getting increasingly complicated over the years. Had a hunch I would have better luck with the original, so I went onto one of those play-dos-in-your-browser sites, dove in, and sure enough I am hooked!
Do I know what I’m doing? Not really, but stuff is happening and my civilization is growing, and it’s a good time.


Civ 2 is my favorite, plus it has a large collection of fan-made scenarios that cover almost every single sci-fi franchise with some fantasy mods as well, plus lots of historical scenarios that are fun to play.
There’s even a mod that lets you play mafiosi in a SC2K-like NY:
It is also a time capsule in who we were twenty odds years ago.
Any pointers on how I can play Civ 2? I have a physical copy I inherited from my dad when he passed but I haven’t found it on Steam or GOG and don’t even know where to begin to try and get the physical copy to work.
I too have the original box with a CD that can’t be read. Maybe hypothetically one could search for it using the word abandonware and find it. It’s true though it hasn’t yet made available at any of the online stores.
I noticed there is a Final Fantasy mod. I will have to try that.