This game is like a cross between Sid Meier's Civilization series and Will Wright's SimCity.As with SimCity, players work within a budget to build a city complete with roads, homes, retail services, and industries. As the leader of this island, the player has to work towards developing an economically self sustaining community. As with any community, the islanders often have conflicting political viewpoints. During the colonial era, Royalists support the Monarchy that founded this colony while rebels push for independence. In later periods after the colony has won independence, the President must balance the views of the Capitalists, the Communists, and the Militarists while leading the nation through two World Wars, the Cold War, and the "modern era."As the leader of this community, the player sets the tone of the government. Will you be the benevolent leader of a growing democracy? Will you embrace socialist ideals? Will you become a ruthless dictator? Not only do players get to set the tone of their constitutions opting between coming a police state or encouraging the growth of individual freedoms but the game also allows players to zoom in and identify the political affiliations and attitudes of individual citizens who are going about their business. Players who don't like what they hear can either try and accommodate these concerns by creating new buildings or issuing new policies or they can have these individuals banished, executed, or even bribed to change their viewpoints. During the "modern era," players are also able to build a super-max prison and dissenters can be arrested and interned where they undergo political reeducation.As with the game Civilization, players can research various technologies which in turn will unlock various types of buildings and governmental policies. In this game, technology is initially researched by a library which is staffed by foreign employees who have to be hired to work on the island. In later eras, players have the option of building observatories and colleges which generate additional research points.This game includes a military component which during the colonial period is limited to the construction of guard towers and fortresses. Guard towers contain armed sentries. A fortress houses a squad of soldiers. The governor's palace also contains one squad of troops.If pirates attack or citizens rebel, their progress through your city will be deterred by guard towers. The sentries in these towers will engage any hostile force in their immediate vicinity so the strategic placement of these towers is really important. While the enemy is occupied with either torching your city or fighting the sentries of your guard towers, soldiers from the fortress and palace will race through the streets to converge on the enemy. The player has no tactical control over how these soldiers fight or where they're deployed.In later eras, players may build barracks to house their troops. They can build army bases which house a squadron of three tanks. They can even build an aircraft carrier which will then launch jet aircraft to bomb and strafe the enemy.This is a fun economic-political game. I like the graphics. I even like the music.