Previous Next

Dictator is a simulation game whih places you as the dictator of Ritimba, a small banana republic in Africa. Sharing all your border is Leftoto, an even smaller country with slightly hostile inhabitants. According to the instructions to the game, which are in tiny print on two sides of the cassette insert, this country will never invade Ritimba, but this is not so.

Your population is divided into three factions - the army, landowners and peasants. Their interests nearly always oppose each other's, except in the matter of deposing the secret police. The secret police are another group which are supposed to protect you from assassination. The other groups include the guerillas, based in Leftoto, who are well and truly out to get you, and the two Superpowers, Russia and America, from whom money can be borrowed.

The object of the game is to stay alive and popular for as long as possible, (Your rule is measured in months) while siphoning as much money as possible from the state treasury into your Swiss bank account. Your final score takes into account your final popularity, length of rule and money in your Swiss bank account (Only if you are still alive at the end of the game!).

Every month, one of the three factions will mae a request to improve, or otherwise, the country. Granting this request will usually mean addition to or subtraction from the treasury (you start off with $100,000) and will alter your popularity with various factions and their strengths.

By paying $100,000, the secret police wil give you a report of your popularity with all the groups, and their strengths. They will also warn of an assassination attempt or revolution. An assassnation attempt can be mounted by army, peasants or landowners, and if one occurs, your safety depends on the strength of the secret police.

A revolution occurs when your popularity is very low with one or more factions, if their strength is at a reasonable level. In this case, you can either stay and fight the revolution, banding with a loyal faction, or make an escape attempt, either on foot or in a helicopter (you have the opportunity of buying one during the game). If you reach Leftoto, you will find refuge there. However, occasionally the helicopter does not start, and you have to travel on foot, which gives the guerillas a chance of catching and killing you. If you stay behind and fight you will be killed if the combined strength of the revolutionaries exceeds yours and your ally's. Otherwise you will win. (Your strength can be built up during your rule, but at a considerable cost in dollars.)

During your rule, the treasury will become depleted due to monthly costs of running the country and various extra payments. The only way to replenish it to any major extent is to any major extent is to borrow from the two Superpowers. You can do this once, and the amount you are given depends on your popularity with them. Once the treasury is bankrupt, your popularity and strength will decrease, and you will receive no more secret police reports. After a while in this condition, you will either by assassinated or a revolution will occur.

Due to the limited amount of money available, it is impossible for you to last indefinitely - a survival time of three years is extremely good.

At £4.95, Dictator is a very good buy, with its attractive graphically-decorated text and superb sound effects.