To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory.
The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack.
Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion.
Photo: I-hwa Cheng, AFP
“The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation, and these choices can alter the entire history of Taiwan in an instant,” Zhong, 36, said at Sunny Board Games store where she played 2045 with friends.
“I saw [the nuclear bomb] as a necessary move to ensure the survival of the entire island,” she said.
The game’s release comes as China maintains military pressure on Taiwan.
Launched by Mizo Games last month, 2045 is set in the first 10 days of a theoretical Chinese invasion and before help from friendly forces has arrived.
Players represent different Taiwanese characters, including a person who has taken up arms, a collaborator working with China and an arms dealer.
Mizo Games founder Chang Shao-lian (張少濂) said 2045 was different from its previous war games, which required players to cooperate in order to win.
“We decided to move away from romanticism and create a game rooted in realism,” he said.
In the game, if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) captures a critical number of key cities on Taiwan proper, Taiwan loses.
“Some players assume the game caters only to pro-Taiwan independence players, but in reality, anyone with a strategic vision for the Taiwan Strait conflict can find ways to win,” Chang said.
Mizo Games raised more than NT$4 million (US$121,988) through a crowdfunding site and went to great lengths to ensure 2045 was as close to reality as possible.
The creators consulted experts on military personnel, national security and political analysts, and also made maps based on real-life PLA exercises.
They also studied actual attacks to ensure the “directional logic” of Chinese fighter jets attacking Taiwan’s tallest building, Taipei 101, which features on the box cover.
“We repeatedly refined details, how much damage should be shown, the intensity of the explosion, the light effects and even the presence of aircraft in the background,” said Lai Boyea (賴柏燁), the game’s visual designer.
China has ramped up deployments of fighter jets and war ships around Taiwan over the past few years, and carried out major military drills that have simulated attacking and blockading the nation.
In December last year, the Presidential Office staged its first tabletop simulation of China’s military actions in the region to boost the nation’s readiness.
In reality, Taiwan would be massively outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower in any war with China.
While the 2045 creators hope conflict stays on the game board, Lai said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 made the threat of a Chinese attack seem more real.
“You imagine, if they were to attack, how would they do it?” Lai asked.
“Many of the game’s cards depict these possibilities, from amphibious landings on Taiwan’s beaches to aerial incursions over central and southern regions,” he said.
While 2045 cannot capture the brutality of an actual war, Zhong said it showed the limits of people’s willingness to assist others in a crisis.
“Its value lies in showing players that even in a game, or in real life, your allies won’t necessarily help you unconditionally,” she said. “Everything ultimately depends on interests.”
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
The Taipei City Government yesterday confirmed that it has negotiated a royalties of NT$12.2 billion (US$380 million) with artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp, with the earliest possible signing date set for Wednesday next week. The city has been preparing for Nvidia to build its Taiwan headquarters in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park since last year, and the project has now entered its final stage before the contract is signed. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city government has completed the royalty price negotiations and would now push through the remaining procedures to sign the contract before
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania was agreed by both sides, after Lithuania’s prime minister described a 2021 decision to let Taiwan set up a de facto embassy in Vilnius as a “mistake.” Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene, who entered office in September last year, told the Baltic News Service on Tuesday that Lithuania had begun taking “small first steps” aimed at restoring ties with Beijing. The ministry in a statement said that Taiwan and Lithuania are important partners that share the values of freedom and democracy. Since the establishment of the
Taipei Zoo welcomes the Lunar New Year this year through its efforts to protect an endangered species of horse native to central Asia that was once fully extinct outside of captivity. The festival ushering in the Year of the Horse would draw attention to the zoo’s four specimens of Przewalski’s horse, named for a Russian geographer who first encountered them in the late 19th century across the steppes of western Mongolia. “Visitors will look at the horses and think that since this is the Year of the Horse: ‘I want to get to know horses,’” said zookeeper Chen Yun-chieh, who has been
RSS