First, you need Civ MPE, not just regular CivII. Then, make sure you have loaded the latest patch since everybody in the game has to be using it, and most people have already loaded it.
(you used to be able to download it from microprose.com, but the last time I tried, it said it couldn't find it... so you can find it at Apolyton)
Then the fun begins...
I would also recommend you download ICQ from ICQ.com.
This instant message software is what most people here use to set up games. You can post your intent to want to play... but most of the details usually get decided over ICQ. A list of players ICQ numbers can be found at
http://apolyton.net/forums/Forum2/HTML/002014.html?7 on these forums.
Good luck!
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Ming
CivII & Off-Topic Forum Moderator
Ming@Apolyton.net
<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by Ming (edited February 13, 2001).]</font>