Board Game ‘Civil War’ a Hit in Beirut : Lebanon: A young entrepreneur looks about him and puts a wry spin on ‘Monopoly.’

A young Lebanese entrepreneur has the perfect gift for the man or woman who has everything: “Civil War,” the board game.

Naji Tueini, 32, relied on his experience as a Lebanese in designing the game, which he calls his revenge on reality.

Unlike Lebanon’s civil war, now well into its 14th year, the game can be played in an hour and a half. The winner, according to the instructions, is “the most unscrupulous.”

In the game, players take part as militias. They get involved in racketeering, taking hostages, misappropriating public funds, terrorism, shelling unseen targets, blockades, seizing ports.

These activities are intended to increase their revenues or force down those of their rivals--just as in real life.

Revenues are used to buy chips, which represent military units. The object is to usurp the power of the state and to win, a player must have five more military units than the national army.

On the cover is Tueini’s assessment of the militia rule that has paralyzed Lebanon’s government almost from the onset of the conflict in 1975:

“In ‘Civil War,’ you make a point of reselling products sent as international assistance to the underprivileged. You are allowed to shell city centers at rush hours. You can also starve the whole country and create fictitious shortages in order to make considerable profits.”

The game was to have gone into production last April, but a postponement was deemed necessary in March, after Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun, the Lebanese army commander, began his “war of liberation” against Syrian troops ringing the Christian sector.

Tueini, a Greek Orthodox Christian who lives in the eastern, Christian sector, took advantage of the nights he spent in a bomb shelter to make some timely additions to the game. One adverse development that can befall a player: “Your region is the target of heavy bombardment. The population is constantly under shelter, which means a decrease in your income.”

A board game buff, Tueini claims that “Civil War” is the first such game to reflect real events.

A combination of luck and skill allows the players to take control of such sources of revenue as radio and television, tollgates, banks, taxes from the sale of land, and--the highest source of revenue--foreign hostages. These sources appear on the board much as they do in Monopoly.

Tueini calls the strife-ridden country of his game Nabil, which is Liban spelled backward, and Liban is French for Lebanon. The currency, the Nabilian pound, is used to acquire revenue sources, pay fines and, most important, to buy military units.

Using his knowledge of militia practices, Tueini created 100 “event cards” that reflect the ups and downs that affect the 15 real militia groups operating in Lebanon.

“You have just diverted ships into the ports of your region,” one card advises. “You took possession of the cargo and sold it illicitly. This commercial piracy gives you a throw of the dice multiplied by 10 Nabilian pounds.”

An event card can deal a swift blow to a player’s pocket. One says: “The ‘dollar Mafia’ that you support incurred heavy losses. Pay 120 Nabilian pounds.”

The unscrupulous behavior of the militias is the theme of a number of cards. One tells of a good profit made from the sale of medicines received as international donations.

But good outweighs evil in another situation: “A stock of contaminated meat from Chernobyl, rejected by all neighboring countries, is found and destroyed before the militia can make a profit from its sale.”

Drawing on actual incidents, Tueini proves that truth is stranger than fiction. Event card No. 46 is based on an incident that occurred about four years ago: “The persons in charge of the water company are keeping trout in the distribution tubs, which results in a scandal in your region and a blow to your credit. Pay 50 Nabilian pounds.”

The game is available in English and French. It sells for $23 and has been distributed to toy stores throughout Lebanon. It is selling briskly to well-to-do Lebanese heading for Europe and the United States for the holidays.

For Westerners still living in Beirut, one event card has a silver lining: “You have kidnaped a foreigner. The intelligence department of his country forces you to release the hostage at once. You lose 250 Nabilian pounds.”