38, I played 2, but it was pretty bad compared to Warcraft III. Three still holds up just as well as it did back then.
IMO, Starcraft 1 is better than both 2 and 3.
III has a better and more interesting story telling. But gameplay wise I really like the starcraft 1 system without the heros. I think warcraft 3 adds too much complexity and gimmickry that takes away from fun RTS gameplay.
That said, Warcraft 3 mods were the shit. There were so many fun and inventive modes of play that you could just barely do with starcraft and not at all with warcraft.
Not to be a patronizing old fart, but may I assume that you played II after III? If so I can understand it, but II was very special when it came out, and I never revisited it after.
I think it's a case of being better when it came out than another thing was when it came out, despite the other thing being comparatively better without the context of its time.