A strategy game about AI power politics

Leverage Lab

Pick a country and run its AI strategy, 2026–2033. Two superpowers are carving up the future of AI. Get your people a seat at the table — before you end up on the menu.

Draft — I want your feedback. The goal of the game: build an alliance strong enough that your country gets a seat at the table — and real access to frontier AI — before the US and China carve everything up. Play a round and tell me what's confusing, broken or great: leave feedback (anonymous, 1 minute).
Curious how the game works under the hood?
It's based on real researchThis game is the working paper Leverage outside the chain turned playable. Every country's scores come from a companion assessment, The map of leverage (PDF) — explore its data in the interactive matrix.
Why some allies count moreCountries like Taiwan or the Netherlands sit on bottlenecks the whole AI industry depends on (chip factories, chip-making machines) — they add full value the day they join. Countries like Brazil or Indonesia hold raw potential that only counts once terms are set on it.
Why your allies keep getting offersThe stronger your alliance, the harder the superpowers work to break it. The research calls this the accommodation trap, and in this game it is your real opponent.
What the line meansYou get a seat when going around your alliance costs the superpowers more than negotiating with it. Faster AI raises that bar; a minerals boom lowers it.
Honest numbersEvery number in the game lives in one open file, each with a written justification in the model notes. Disagree with a number? Change it and see.
Fair replaysThe game code in the URL fixes every random event. Same code, same game — share it and compete on equal terms.