You are correct that Windows 9x era games are in an awkward spot and it can be hard to make them work properly. But Civilization 1-2 games are a bad example of this, it's fairly easy to handle them.

Civilization 1 is a DOS era game and works just fine in the DOSBox.

Civilization 2 original release is a bit trickier, but manageable. For it you would need to run Windows 3.1 inside the DOSBox and then run the game under this setup.

Civilization 2 Multiplayer Gold is probably the easiest one. There is a fan-made patch that makes it work under modern Windows systems. See:
https://github.com/FoxAhead/Civilization-II-64-bit-Editbox-Patcher
https://github.com/FoxAhead/Civ2-UI-Additions - same patch as the previous link but also includes a number of additional optional features, mostly bugfixes and quality of life stuff.

Oh, I got it to run, but it's very picky when it comes to directory names and changing drive letters. I have the original CD and I tried to get it to run with all the data in the installation directory without needing the CD. That didn't work, so I'm experimenting with ISO mounting. Jungle Strike CD worked a lot better :)
And I was not all too convinced about the vidual quality with dgVoodoo2. Have to tweak a bit, see if I can improve it a bit.
I also tried the PS version of the game in a emulator and that just felt better.

True, but there is one forgotten game that is actually the best Cilvilization game (IMHO): CivNet.
It's basically the first game with enhancements and some kind of network multiplayer options.

I tried to get my copy running a while ago. I was able to do that actually, so I repeat my comment that I haven't seen a game that is impossible to run at all. But it was running so slowly, and had maybe like only four colours showing, that I found it unplayble. Maybe it could have been tweaked to work better, but I didn't bother to spend that much time with it.

I ended up not playing CivNet (which I have a real copy of, in mint condition), and chose to download an abandonware version of the original game. It was running much better, but obviously isn't as good a game as CivNet version is.

I remind people of this project for running 16-bits windows programs under 64-bits windows. It seems to work although I haven't tested it much.
(as already discussed here)

Good info within this thread. Thanks everyone.
In addition, if a game (3D) has too many fps just use the Riva Tuner Statistics Server, and limit the frames to 30 or as you wish.
Try, dgVoodoo2, or change the graphic mode to Overlay/ Surface/ Direct 3D/ Draw/ OpenGL whichever works best, or even add a 3dfxgl.dll mini driver or so.
Surely you know the compatibility mode. Emulators are useful for different platforms and systems. Windows 95 and Windows 98 in DOSBox do the trick too or build a Virtual Machine. You can always download already patched games from myabandonware.com or download patches from moddb.com
With all of this and more, I haven't found a single game not willing to work on Windows 10/modern hardware.
Should you have any problems with a named game pls let me know, it will work : ) Yet, let's try not to strip GOG of the lovely job they do.

FYI Lure of the Temptress is one of the games included in AmigaForever (a package that includes licensed copies of the Amiga Kickstart ROMs, several versions of Workbench and lots of other software, mostly games and demos, along with the WinUAE and WinFellow emulators). Skinflints...oops...smart purchasers may wish to hold fire for one of Cloanto's sales to get this at a discount.
This was originally released under DOS but a Windows version was later released. GOG only offers this Windows version.

Edit: Whoops, GOG don't have Civ I at all - just a wishlist entry. That's what stressing your brain cells with DOS-era gaming does to you...autoexec.bat...drone...EMM386...drool...SET BLASTER=....dribble...

My experience about Amiga Forever isn't all positive.
Admittedly, I don't have the latest version, I have some older one that was part of some software bundle some years ago.

Anyway, it doesn't even have the same functionality as C64 Forever. C64 version offered 3x scaling without any issues, Amiga version had only 2x.
C64 games were running fine, for the most part, but Amiga games were so glitchy that I couldn't play them as I wanted, so I stopped playing. Back to the OP question, I think they all started though, so nothing that was completely impossible to run there either.

Hopefully they have fixed these issues in the newer versions, I can't tell, because the bundle version can't be updated to latest versions.

In theory it looks like a good software package though, but the C64 version is far superior.

And Civ2: Test of Time

The scaling options available on the toolbar will depend on your WinUAE settings but I have 3x (and sometimes see 4x) - see first screenshot.

The best way to setup your display is to press F12 and go to Settings/Host/Filter (see second screenshot) - there you can adjust scaling up to 8x.
The version of WinUAE you have can be upgraded independently of AmigaForever so you don't need to lose out on new functionality.

I've had a few issues with AmigaForever myself (documentation is poor, many of the disk images are cracked versions and some, like UMS2, are incomplete) but it is the only legal way of getting a copy of the Kickstart ROMs (the Plus edition is best for this as it supplies every version).
If you can find the Civilization Chronicles boxed set, that includes both Civ2:Fantastic Worlds and Test of Time. And Civ 1 (Windows version only), 3 (with both DLCs - whoops, expansions) and 4 (no DLCs) plus a "Making of" DVD and paper copies of all the tech charts. And a Civilization card game. You're not getting my copy though. :p

Zoom's version seems to work fine for me (no stutter), but I can try specific configurations, if you're interested.

Both have been playing flawlessly on Linux for many years, using DOSBox for Worms 1 and WINE for Worms 2.

I finally figured out the names I was looking for in my first post ... Answer: Silver Answer: Project Eternity


That's interesting, thanks. These github pages are always a bit confusing and intimidating to clueless non-coder me, but I will look into it once I find the the time.

Yeah, that's a good reminder.
The one that my Amiga Forever comes with is 3.6.1.0, and apparently the latest version is 5.0.0, so that might indeed help with some issues.

Worms World Party (CD version) and other games with copy protection (not supported in Windows 10).