I'm firmly in the "Civ 1 was the best Civ" for this reason, along with being able to play an entire game in a single extended sitting. But surveys show that all other versions of the game poll significantly higher.
I agree. Have played all but Civ 4. Civ 1 has a few faults like way too many game deciding dice throws. Say a turn 6 goody hut spawns either a new city basically doubling your victory chances, or 6 barbarians most likely ending your game really soon. But it's still the best overall. It seems they really understood the power of decisions there. There's no decision clutter about 15% bonuses or so.
