Tropico

It has been months, maybe even over a year, since I’ve had the time and energy to play any of my computer or PlayStation games. Since the wedding planning is going so well, and I have the next two weeks off from work, I’ve been playing Tropico every night for the past three nights.

Tropico is a game where you play the dictator of a small tropical island. The game starts in 1960 and goes for 10-60 years, depending on how you set up the game. The goal is to develop the island for one of several goals: capitalism, military strength, the size of your own Swiss bank account, the overall happiness of the citizens, or some combination of these.

In the past when I played, I never reached the end of the game — I usually got frustrated after about 20 years when I was getting very far into debt. These games, however, I seem to have gotten the hang of the first 30 years now. However, once again, the economy goes south after 35-40 years. At that time, the people start to rebel, and I’ve been ousted through a coup in each of these games (but I’ve lasted several extra years each successive game).

I’ll probably play again tomorrow. Here’s hoping I make it through my entire 50 years of rule!