Could a board game help prepare Taiwan for war with China?

A new board game from Taiwanese company Mizo Games allows players to play everything from military leaders to covert agents to civilian resistance fighters fighting a fictional Chinese invasion.

The game, named “2045”, will be released in Taiwan this month. It will also be available in English in Europe and the US later in January.

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.

Chang Shao Lian, the creator of Mizo Games, said in a December interview with Reuters that “I want players to feel they want to win and think about what they will do to win.”

In response to China’s increasing military presence on the island and civil defense organizations’ growing efforts to prepare for any potential invasion, the game is being released.

How does the game operate and how might one go about starting a war?

What is 2045 all about?

Players play the role of characters in the 10-day days leading up to an attack in the board game, which simulates a Chinese invasion of Taiwan 20 years in the future.

Players are evaluated on how successfully they accomplish their character’s specific objectives rather than just the defense of Taiwan.

“There are two types of victories, individual victory and the victory of Taiwan. The players are in a major value conflict because of the two outcomes. Shao Lian told Reuters: “I don’t want players to play the game with just the mindset of learning, but I want them to play the game with the desire to take part and win this war on the table.”

Players in 2045 can participate in different aspects of modern warfare, including cyberwarfare, economic meltdown and civil upheaval.

The creation of “2045” has encountered several challenges, notably concerns about censorship and production limitations.

Due to the controversial subject of the game, Taiwanese board game companies’ customary production methods prevent its production in China.

Has Mizo Games produced other warfare-themed board games?

Yes, Mizo launched its first warfare-themed game, Raid on Taihoku, in 2017. Players must survive the bombing of their hometown in the World War II setting in Taiwan. The US aerial assault on Kaohsiung (then known as Takao) in November 1944 is the inspiration for the video game. &nbsp,

What factors are influencing the popularity of military simulations?

According to Paul Booth, author of Board Games as Media and professor of media and pop culture at DePaul University in Chicago, games with social and political themes are not new.

“A game like 2045 is crucial because it enables us to consider and experiment with the possibilities of what might occur.” In a way that, like a TV show or a movie, we can watch it, we can feel invested. We can feel involved.

” The power of a game like this is to allow players to feel connected, like participatory, connected to this alternate history. “

2045 is part of a longstanding enthusiasm for” gamifying “important social issues, Booth said.

Board games that engage social commentary date back more than a century. Elizabeth Magie’s 1902 novel, “The Landlord’s Game,” aimed to teach players about the negative effects of land consolidation under monopolistic and monopolistic control.

The game was later renamed Monopoly thanks to Charles Darrow and Parker Brothers’ adaptations and commercialization in 1935.

Another reason for the production of games for military and civilian purposes is because of the war.

” War is a significant topic going back centuries. Generals would arrange military maneuvers on a gigantic table and play war games. That is a very common kind of board game antecedent, “explained Booth.

” The kind of war gaming culture is actually still going very strong, and we see it in things like Warhammer]released in 1983], or miniature tabletop games. “

When it comes to the idea of a Chinese invasion, Taiwanese media companies are attracted to more than just board games.

” Zero Day “a 10-episode TV fictional drama series, portrays a potential Chinese invasion. The show depicts a scenario in which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the military force of the People’s Republic of China, attacks the island, a possibility that has cast a shadow over Taiwan for generations.

This year’s release of the show is on schedule in Taiwan.

Why are Taiwan and China at odds with one another?

The Chinese Civil War, which lasted from 1945 to 1949, is where the conflict between China and Taiwan came from. The Communist Party of Mao Zedong’s victory over Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang (KMT), was the outcome of this conflict.

Following the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-shek relocated the Republic of China (ROC) government to Taiwan, while Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. Years of political unrest and conflicting claims over Chinese sovereignty were exacerbated by each regime’s claim that it was the only legitimate government of the entire country.

Taiwan is still viewed as a division of its own territory by China.

In his 2025 New Year address on China’s state TV channel CCTV on Wednesday, China’s President Xi Jinping stated:” The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification. “

However, Taiwan is opposed to any kind of” reunification “and regards increasingly frequent Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait as” provocative”.

What joint military exercises has China conducted in Taiwan?

In response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022, China launched missiles over Taiwan. It described this as a” military exercise”.

Under its” one China policy”, the US does not formally recognise Taiwan’s independence from China. However, it does support its membership of international organisations such as the World Trade Organization. Additionally, the US is committed to providing Taiwan with essential military equipment and support services in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) of 1979 to ensure Taiwan maintains a sufficient capacity for self-defense.

At the time of Pelosi’s visit to the island, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) denounced China’s military exercise, deeming it a serious threat to national security and a dangerous escalation of regional tensions.

In May 2024, China conducted large-scale military exercises, codenamed” Joint Sword-2024″, during Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te’s first week in office. The military exercises around Taiwan involved 111 aircraft, 46 naval vessels and operations including sea assaults, land strikes, air defence drills and anti-submarine activities.

China claimed in October 2024 that the PLA’s Eastern Theatre Command ordered new military exercises off the coast of Taiwan as “repudiation” for a speech by Taiwan’s president Lai, in which he pledged to “refuse” annexation “or” encroachment on our sovereignty. Taiwan reported that it had spotted 125 aircraft and 34 naval vessels close to the island.

In response to the sighting of nearly 90 Chinese navy and coastguard ships in waters close to Taiwan, the southern Japanese islands, and the East and South China Seas, Taiwan put its military on “high alert” and began conducting combat readiness drills and having an emergency center “ticking in enemy threats” on December 9.

In the previous 24 hours, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense reported tracking eight civilian vessels close to the island, including 11 navy ships and 11 military aircraft.

Is Taiwan’s military using games to prepare for war?

To evaluate the government’s readiness for a military escalation with China and to assess the effectiveness of various government agencies in maintaining societal stability and continuity during times of crisis, Taiwan’s Presidential Office conducted its first-ever “tabletop” “war-game exercises” for military and government officials in December.

The presidency’s vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim, and the secretary-general of the National Security Council, Joseph Wu, led the war game simulation exercise, according to a statement from Taiwanese government officials.

Source: Aljazeera