Best Civ for a newbie to learn with?

[joncnunn]

I figure people just starting the game are likely to want to build a lot of wonders.

So if that's the case: Egypt for the faster wonder production. When combined with the low level of difficulty, the player will be able to build lots of them.

Also Egypt's UU doesn't require a resource (unlike the unit it replaces); so less worries about resources early on.

If he's instead interested in world domination: Probably Mongolia for their UU.

 

[PhilBowles]

I figure people just starting the game are likely to want to build a lot of wonders.

They may want to, but probably shouldn't be encouraged to - if they don't have past Civ experience they'll already need to work out what all the buildings do, without adding considerations about which Wonders to aim for. What's more, on the lower difficulties the AI doesn't really go for Wonders, so producing them faster isn't an important bonus.

France is probably one of the best to go for, as mentioned. Greece/Siam has been suggested, but city-states are a layer of complexity beyond what's needed at low levels of play (and Greece is the better Civ to familiarise yourself with them - Siam only comes into its own once you have a few on your side, so you need to already know how to use them).

Songhai may actually be one to look at - you need to be able to produce gold, and some of your first combat experience is likely to be against barbarians. New players often like conquest, and what better than a knight that suffers no penalty attacking cities? It's another somewhat general-purpose civ - gold is useful for everything, the UU is fine generally and great against cities, and super-temples with no maintenance helps with cultural expansion and (with the right policy) happiness control, which in turn allows greater pop growth/expansion.

 

[Golem of Prague]

I'm a complete newbie to Civ, and I've tried a few civilizations so far to get a hang of the game.

Egypt is indeed very good as a starter, especially on Pangea map. Not just because of the wonder bonus, but because of the War Chariot. It's fairly cheap, fast and doesn't require horses, which means you can build a few very early on and send them out to patrol the wilderness for Barbarian encampments, earning you some gold, culture and city state influence.

Babylon is a nice starter as well, both because of the speedy science that allows you to rush to the Medieval era, and the Bowman that can handle an occasional melee with a Barbarian brute.

 

[drubell]

I agree with France being the best newbie civ. I wouldn't suggest a warmonger civ like Japan or Mongolia because they're not quite as versatile for you to discover your best playstyle; they are good civs for war and nothing else. France's bonus culture helps you to the SPs you value most very easily which will define the playstyle you enjoy. France also does have good unique units down the line.