Taiwanese company Mizo Games has launched a new board game which allows players to take on roles from military commanders and undercover operatives to civilian resistance fighters battling a fictional Chinese invasion.
The game, named “2045”, will be released in Taiwan this month. It will also be released later in January in English in Europe and the United States.
In August 2024, Mizo Games launched a crowdfunding campaign raising more than 4 million New Taiwan dollars ($121,707 USD) within two and a half months.
In an interview with Reuters news agency in December, Chang Shao Lian, founder of Mizo Games said: “I want players to feel they want to win and think about what they will do to win.”
The game is being released amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan, with China increasing military activities near the island and a mounting effort by civil defence groups to prepare for any potential invasion.
So how does the game work and could it be used to prepare for war?
The board game simulates a Chinese invasion of Taiwan 20 years in the future and players role-play characters over the 10 days leading up to an attack.
Rather than focusing solely on the defence of Taiwan, players are evaluated on how effectively they achieve their character’s specific goals.
“There are two types of victories, individual victory and the victory of Taiwan. The two outcomes pose a huge conflict of values for the players. I don’t want players to play the game with just the mindset to learn but I want them to play the game with the desire to participate in and win this war on the table,” Shao Lian told Reuters.
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