Taiwan board game invites players to imagine Chinese invasion

By Fabian Hamacher and Angie Teo

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is set to be released in January 2025, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now.

China has ramped up military activity close to democratically governed Taiwan in recent years, including massing naval forces around the island this month.

The new game, titled "2045", tasks gamers with navigating the troubles of war by using colourful action cards, and role-playing characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

That includes members of Taiwan's armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians working to sabotage the island's defence, as well as citizens picking up guns 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 his 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 started crowdfunding the game in August. Within two-and-a-half-months, the company had received more than T$4 million ($121,966) to fund the project.

"It is not quite peaceful around Taiwan island and the Western Pacific as we speak," Chang Shao Lian, the founder of Mizo Games told Reuters at his Taipei office.

Chang said he wanted "players to feel they want to win and think about what they will do to win".

The game, which is also set to go on sale in the U.S. and Europe later in the year, has been developed at a time when Taiwan officials have intensified preparations for scenarios including a China conflict.

Last week, Taiwan's presidential office held its first "tabletop" exercise involving government agencies beyond the armed forces, simulating a military escalation with China.

The exercise involved 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 learnt about what might happen in the event of a Chinese invasion and that they hoped the game could help people understand the implications of a war.

"I'm not very knowledgeable on military matters, therefore through this game I learnt about where the army may land and launch an attack," said Kalin Lai, a 23-year-old who tried out 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 Japan's colonisation of the island between 1895 and 1945. ($1=32.7960 Taiwan dollars)

(Reporting By Fabian Hamacher and Angie Teo; Editing by Kate Mayberry)