Imperialists are jerks. All their land-grabbing, indigenous people-exploiting, environment-degrading antics are on full display in countless historical documentaries. Nobody does that anymore, right? We’ve moved on and the modern world is a much more enlightened, equitable, and well-meaning place.

Sure, it is. And if you really believe that there’s a bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in purchasing. In fact, the modern world is just as chock-full of imperialists as any previous age. They just hide it a little better. Now, we have the Neoimperialists.

Neoimperialism is a 3-5-person, 90-150-minute, geopolitical strategy board game set in the current and near-future modern world. Each player takes on the role of one of the major powers; for this game defined as The United States, Western Europe, China, India, and Russia. Each major power pursues a unique (and variable from game-to-game) objective to achieve victory through some combination of world citizenship, domestic satisfaction, power, and prestige.

The rest of the world is the neoimperialists’ playground. Through a combination of influence, protection, and occasionally some good old-fashioned invasion, each major power seeks to leave their own special mark on the globe while making and breaking alliances with other major powers and dealing with global and local (sometimes beneficial, sometimes catastrophic) events, all the while constantly seeking to avoid nuclear Armageddon.

Through its depiction of the sometimes ugly realities of modern global geopolitics, Neoimperialism is an ideal game for anyone with even a passing interest in statecraft, from middle school through old age. We all live in various political units on this earth and would like it to last a whole lot longer, after all.

Neoimperialism currently exists as a thoroughly playtested prototype with a complete rule set, board, player aids, and components. Look for an opportunity to play it at GenCon in August, 2024.