Power play: the Lebanese board game with a political point to make

The characters of Machrou3 Ra2is have been drawn to resemble personalities from the 1950s. The corrupt characters are drawn in green and the reformists in deep red. Photograph: Jenny Gustafsson

In a dimly lit room in Beirut, five friends sit around a table with a map of Lebanon in the middle. They each have a handful of markers and a card placed face-down in front of them.

The card, which has a drawing of a vintage chair on the back – symbolising power – determines the entire game. It assigns you the secret role of either “reformist” or “corrupt elite”.