Without a doubt, this is the most popular game I have ever seen. It appeals to everyone, from my friends who love RPG's to the ones who can't stop playing shooters. I honestly have not come across one person who doesn't like this game. You start the game with about 5 scenarios available in which you have to build up different theme parks to meet certain goals to unlocking new scenarios. You can control almost everything in this game, (and even more with the expansions) from how much a slice of pizza costs to raising the price of an umbrella when it's raining out. Not only that, but you can see what every single guest in the park is thinking, carrying, and doing; as well as pick them up and move them around or name them. There are also tons of rides, from Merry-go-Rounds to haunted houses, and plenty of scenery options and themes, but where the game really shines is on the construction of roller coasters. The game has pre-built ones for you, but you usually need (and want) to make your own. It takes practice to build ones people actually want to ride on, but once you get it down, it's awesome. You can spend hours and hours playing this game, it keeps you every bit as glued to the screen as Civ II did. Although the game doesn't let you build a park from scratch, the Loopy Landscapes expansion does, so that problem is solved. The only detracting flaw of this game is that it's sometimes hard to see what you're building if there are too many other rides around you, but you can usually fix that by rotating the view and making things transparent.  Buy this game, you'll absolutely love it.