New in 4x gaming - what do I play?

Hi! I bought Humankind this week and I like it very much in the beggining, but after a couple hours of gameplay I started to find it a little boring. I tried to create a new save with a bigger world and more civs/AIs but a couple hours later it got boring again. I've watched some videos on Civ 6 and I thought I might like it, but since it's so expansive I'm afraid to buy and dislike it just like with Humankind. Should I play something else (please tell me what are good 4x games for begginings) or do I wait until Civ 6 have a sale?