I think its only right and fair to give a huge thumbs up to Sid Meiers Pirates! (the new one). I bought this game second hand today and I love it, there's so much to do, its more a collection of linked pirate-themed minigames than anything else, and its superbly playable, I think I'm enjoying it as much as Half Life 2.

Recent work on democracy included getting the anger and cynicism stuff in, so there are now 'end game' moments between elections if you upset people badly enough for them to assassinate or overthrow you. I probably need something more in the way of graphics for those bits, but then its a case of finishing up save games (could take a while, probably a weekend task) and doing a bunch of playtesting before I start the first beta testing round.

I've even had preliminary discussions about banner ads, that's how confident I am :D