Tropico marked the beginning of a whole series. This is a mixture of economic strategy and political simulator. The first part is made in isometry. It has two-dimensional graphics. The player is given the role of a dictator. The user can create his own character or choose as a ruler one of the real historical figures – from Che Guevara to Augusto Pinochet. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, which provide bonuses and complicate the gameplay. The user always starts his career in 1950. The game can last from 10 to 70 years (it is possible to disable the time limit). The ruler needs to maneuver between the interests of various political factions within the country. He also needs to build relations with the USSR and the USA.

Tropico is not only the name of the project, but also the name of a fictional state. It is this island country that the user will have to lead. The small power is located in the Caribbean. The video game has a dozen missions. In each of them, the user is sent to a new island, shown a funny briefing and offered to complete a special task. In addition, gamers are allowed to create their own map by choosing the terrain, size, amount of vegetation and resources. Before the session begins, he can also fine-tune the difficulty and goals for victory. The user can take care of the happiness of the population or his own interests by depositing money into an account in one of the Swiss banks. He is allowed to determine foreign and domestic policies, solve economic problems, build buildings (there are 85 varieties of them), deal with rebels, develop tourism, industry, entertainment and agriculture.