Tropico 3 is a an amusingly cartoonish construction/resource management/politics simulator set on an Cold War-era Caribbean island republic. The player, in the role of “El Presidente,” seeks to develop the economy, increase their own wealth, achieve other objectives—and above all, stay in power. While doing so, he or she faces competing demands from the various factions on the island (communists, capitalists, militarists, environmentalists, nationalists, religious, and intellectuals), and can lose power through elections, coups, and even revolution. The underlying political model is actually quite interesting, and I’ve assigned different versions of the Tropico series as a class “game review” assignment in the past to my introductory course in political development.

I certainly recommend it.

h/t Alex Langer