Borikén: The Taíno Resistance includes three separate games, each covering a distinct period of the history of the Taíno people of Borikén (modern day Puerto Rico). Each game uses the same map and the same basic system, but with different additional rules and objectives to model the particularities of its era. In my previous article I played through the first game, covering the fifteen centuries prior to 1492, and was able to successfully establish myself on the island of Borikén as High Chief on the Taíno. Now, in the second game, the conquistadors have arrived, and I must attempt to resist their incursions onto the island while also completing certain historical objectives. This game can be played cooperatively with multiple players, but I will be playing solo, without the help of anyone else!

Borikén: The Taíno Resistance includes three separate games, each covering a distinct period of the history of the Taíno people of Borikén (modern day Puerto Rico). Each game uses the same map and the same basic system, but with different additional rules and objectives to model the particularities of its era. The first game, taking place in the centuries prior to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in 1493, is competitive, with players aiming to establish their own Taíno faction on the island, competing against each other and the rival Caribe people, with the dominant player at the end of the game becoming Agüeybaná I, High Chief on the Taíno, in the second game. The second and third games then chart the players’ cooperative struggle against the conquistadors from 1493 to 1528, and finally their desperate attempts to escape and survive after 1529. All three games can also be played solitaire, with the first (competitive) game coming with additional rules and objectives for solo play. In this series of articles I will play through all three games, providing an introduction to the rules and themes as I go (all art featured in these articles is prototype material that will be replaced before publication).