I came across Civ1 10 years ago, when I saw they had installed it at a university and everyone were playing civ instead of studying.
I got hooked straight away playing the Aztecs as my first civ.
Didn't learn all the rules before later - but the concept was new for me - and yes I loved the graphics as well (was'nt that bad for that time)
Civ2, I had to wait with for al long time since I was studying and knew that if I started playing it, I could say a long goodbye to my study progression. So later I got into Civ2 as well - which I found great - especially the music and the wonder-videos.
AC Was perhaps the greates game, but as the same reason as above I had to postpone the playing. The new way of customizing everything and creating your own units were Great.
And the 3D map - so cool.
Civ3 is Great! I couldn't understand the corruption in the beginning - which was so different from previous games. But now I actually find it more balancing than before.
I miss the videos and some better music repertoir.