Affirmative reviews

The game has received positive reviews from players, including Huang Xiaoling, a retired investigator of the Guangdong Federation of Trade Unions. "With the explosion of knowledge nowadays, this game provided a creative way to let our society embrace patriotism education," says Huang, a 30-year Party member.

Another player Ren Jinchao agrees. "The game can help people to learn more about Party principles and theories in a fun, relaxing way, to get better motivated toward building our nation together," Ren says. The military veteran adds that, during peacetime, a country needs to build its culture as a soft power.

The board game also won critical acclaim from experts in the field, such as Dan Bass, from the United States, who founded the board game convention Khan Kon a decade ago.

Bass came to China 27 years ago and studied at Peking University as an exchange student majoring in Chinese. He gave the game a thumbs-up.

He says it's pleasant to see that such a game can be enjoyed by people from different ages, and is suitable for the whole family to enjoy together. It was created to spread positive energy and promote the development of the gaming industry, he adds. The game, Bass says, is fun, easy and educational; it evolves great strategies and "by making your citizens happy, you win".