About Island Nations, from BoardGameGeek:
You are the founder of an infant tropical Island Nation that you will build into a great civilization! Your tasks will be to select the buildings you will construct, manage resources, fight off or convert intruders, and keep the highest surplus of goods to score points!
Each player, on his turn, will choose one of 5 actions by moving his/her player token to an action space on the main board. If a player chooses an action another player has chosen on his/her most recent turn, that other player gains a resource card. These resource cards are stacked in face-up piles to the side of the main board. If a player chooses an action that contains no other player's token, the current player gains an advancement on a bonus track on his/her own player board.
Resource cards are used to facilitate 4 of the 5 actions which are building structures, fending off barbarians, converting barbarians, and exploring. The other action of gaining cards also accompanies gaining points for the 5th action.
Resources are managed on individual player boards moving up or down sliding tracks based on civilization structures on that player's island. Each structure requires resources to maintain and grants resources produced.
Stacks of structures available to build are tiles stacked to the side of the main board.
-description from the publisher
