Hey loverevolutionary, good to see you back at the Cafe.
I tend to follow the repressive route, deny every election and provide little by the way of services.
An island of 750 usually has 2 hospitals, I cathedral and 1 church, plus a variety of low-grade entertainment.
Housing is either Tenements, or for the rich, Apartments.
Well, when it comes to ruling this kind of island successfully (i.e staying in power) there are only a few key factors which will drive your game.
i) The army - 3 military bases, perhaps 4, will suffice for an island of 750 Tropicans, and around 50 soldiers. Ensure these are placed near additional entertainment.
When it comes to the army, they will, over time, become unhappy with the lack of elections, so on that basis it helps no end to cull the army every 2 years of those who have low respect/happiness, as well as their family of course.
(A prison, with 2 guard posts, set in the jungle helps keep the murders away from prying eyes, and given the whole family is in prison at the same time, all you do is release them one-by-one and issue the eliminate edict. A soldier from one of the near-by posts will do the deed.)
The army should always be paid well, and try to fulfill their entertainement desires, as well as ensuring none are housed away from the army base, in some shack somewhere.
ii) Money - Seems obvious I suppose loverevolutionary, but without good $$$ coming in, keeping the people under your heel is very difficult.
Given tourism can be hit by the effects of a repressive regime/bad relations with the U.S, you cannot afford to have a huge tourist industry upon which to base your income alone - at least not without leaving a lot of un-educated men out of work and the possibility of empty rooms when you go on a killing spree.
As such it is more beneficial to have, say, 10-12 hotels, with the usual attractions, plenty of beaches and pools, so that the income covers almost all of your expenses.
Ensure the usual tourist edicts to attract them are always issued.
Industry is - following the use of the tourism industry to prop up the expenses - where the profit comes from. Yup, it is fickle, but when the island is run repressively, all the eggs in one basket does not work.
The third element to the money issue, after tourism and industry, is the media.
The media serves the third tool of tyranny, by way of programmes that influence your people positively towards you, yet at the same time also offer a huge $$$ sum year on year. A newspaper on Coupons, 3 TV stations and 3 radio stations can, with a population of 750, cover all of your expense base just as well as tourism.
With the lack of provisions provided, I also find loverevolutionary that folks have more time to work, even if they are unhappy.
When it comes to pay, I tend to set it $2 above Caribbean average, and get a huge influx of people. After that I lower the wage and set it to 'no one gets out alive' then arrest and kill the most vocal/ambitious.
A contraception ban also ensures a good flow of kids, whilst keeping the church happy.
Long-term repression needs huge micromanagement and a yearly analysis of the Almanac, but it is worth it in the end.
If you have any questions just shout.
