You have to generate a map with the editor and then change the number of civs. I have not done this in a while, but iirc it is in the properties tab.
someone calculated that on pangea tiny, 31 civs would have something like 11 tiles each
I find the tech pace gets ridiculous. I was in the middle ages by the time I could aquire iron for my Gallic Swordsman. Some glitch allowed me to build them though.