Tropico is a good time waster, especially if you enjoy research outside of the game itself. To truly master it you should run the numbers, benefits, etc externally from the game so you know just what you want to do when placed in a scenario. Do you need to do this? Absolutely not. But it sure does help to know down to the coin and rep point whats going to do what for you. The economic model is such that you can literally spend hours formulating what/where/how you will make money. And the paths are truly distinct. For example, depending on the size of your island it is increasingly difficult to have a heavy industrial economy and generate tourism. Overall, as someone mentioned before its just another sim builder. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Where it really shines is the theme. Its amusing to be addressed by your adoring public as the paragon of humanity. The music is great and you really get the feel of sitting on a beach earning 20%. Tropico 2 is another story. While I love the pirate theme and did have several hours of fun going through the scenarios, it gets old quickly. There is little to no challenge as the basic game mechanic (your pirate ships) allows you to generate money at will and as needed. Its certainly worth a few hours though if you enjoy the pirate theme. I would suggest that if you are looking to enhance your enjoyment, you resist the temptation to save/load when cruising with your ships. While it is annoying to lose a vessel and it can in fact cost you the game, it is the only thing that will present a challenge to even the most casual of gamers.
