A board game in Taiwan invites players to imagine a Chinese invasion by Reuters

By Fabian Hamacher and Angie Tew

TAIPEI (Reuters) – A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict over Taiwan is set to launch in January 2025, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to take part in a mock Chinese invasion 20 years from now.

China has intensified its military activity near democratically ruled Taiwan in recent years, including building up naval forces around the island this month.

The new game, titled “2045,” tasks players with navigating the turmoil of war using colorful action cards and role-playing characters taking part in operations 10 days before the fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

This includes members of the Taiwanese armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents, and pro-China politicians working to sabotage the island’s defense, as well as citizens who take up arms to defend their homeland.

China claims Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s president and government strongly object to China’s sovereignty claims and say only the island’s people can decide their future.

Taiwanese board game maker Mizo Games began crowdfunding for the game in August. Within two and a half months, the company received more than NT$4 million (US$121,966) in financing for the project.

“The situation is not entirely peaceful around the island of Taiwan and the western Pacific as we speak,” Chang Shaolian, founder of Mizo Games, told Reuters in his office in Taipei.

Zhang said he wanted “the players to feel that they want to win and think about what they will do to win.”

The game, which is scheduled to go on sale in the US and Europe later this year, was developed at a time when Taiwanese officials have stepped up preparations for scenarios including conflict with China.

Last week, Taiwan’s presidential office conducted its first “tabletop” exercise involving government agencies outside the armed forces, simulating a military escalation with China.

The exercise included scenarios, including the island being “on the verge of conflict,” to test the readiness of government offices and civil society.

Players who participated in a test run of “2045” said they learned what would happen in the event of a Chinese invasion and that they hoped the game would help people understand the effects of war.

“I’m not very familiar with military affairs, so through this game I learned where the army could land and launch an attack,” said Kalin Lai, 23, who played the game.

Mizo has previously created two other Taiwan War-themed board games – one about surviving an air raid in Taipei and the other about a bombing in Kaohsiung during the Japanese colonization of the island between 1895 and 1945. ($1 = 32.7960 New Taiwan dollars)