( CNN ) -- Politics might well be a dirty game , but in Malaysia where allegations of vote-buying , sex scandals and violence are a feature of the political landscape , a group of disaffected activists have distilled these predictable shabby tricks into a popular card game . Called Politiko , players are asked to woo voters with cash handouts , use elements of Sharia law to lay low rivals , or pour petrol subsidies on troubled electoral waters . `` Hire phantom voters . Control the media . Cook up a sex scandal to alienate your enemy 's supporters - or to betray your own allies ! '' says the game 's website . `` Choose from 10 distinct ( and familiar ) political parties to lead to victory . Play with up to six friends , of any race . But are they really your friends ? Remember : it 's not about the people -- it 's about Putrajaya , '' it adds , referring to Malaysia 's administrative capital . The tongue-in-cheek game is loosely based on Monopoly Deal but instead of dealing in property , players compete to get voters - the first to hold eight voter cards gets elected to parliament . Before that can happen , players must negotiate the pitfalls of the `` scheme '' cards - either rising on the pork-barrel politics of free highway tolls and urban metro projects , or falling on crumbling allegiances and misplaced racial scapegoating . Typically , the richest person at the card table gets to deal the first card . In an ironic twist , the game has even become popular with some politicians in Malaysia 's ruling UMNO coalition , according to the group that developed the card game . The brainchild of 31-year-old designer Mun Kao - part of a group called Loyar Burok , which is affiliated with the Malaysian Center for Constitutionalism and Human Rights ( MCCHR ) - the game has quickly sold out of its initial run of 850 decks . `` I had the idea about two years ago when there really was a political circus going on - we had some ridiculous things happening in Malaysia , '' Mun Kao told CNN . `` You had people being arrested for the color of their T-shirts and things like that and to me that period was really absurd . `` It prompted a lot of emotions in a lot of people and it 's being expressed in different forms . If you have Malaysian friends you can see it on Facebook and online - I think there 's a creative expression tsunami going on , '' he said . Malaysian media reports say about 2.6 million of the country 's 13.3 million eligible voters will cast their ballots for the first time in a bitterly fought poll that could see the ruling Barisan Nasional ( BN ) coalition - which has been in power for 56 years - lose to opposition parties for the first time . The number of new voters , many of them without party loyalties , has increased markedly since elections five years ago when there were 638,000 new voters . Analysts say that many young voters may have been encouraged to register by the closeness of the 2008 poll which the ruling coalition only narrowly won . `` We do n't have a reliable mainstream media in Malaysia , '' said Chi Too , a communications officer with MCCHR . `` The government owns pretty much all newspapers , all radio stations and TV stations . A lot of people are now relying on social media and alternative media that can be found with online newspapers and the like . '' Websites such as Malaysiakini have become popular with young voters , streaming news and views generally unobtainable in Malaysia 's mainstream press . Even so , it claims that it has been the victim of censorship tactics that have involved denial of service cyber-attacks on its streaming videos . The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission investigating the attacks said there were no such restrictions , adding that the public should not speculate until a proper investigation has been carried out . The power of the online campaign has not been lost on the ruling coalition which this year launched the UMNO New Media Unit ; a team of 2,000 of what it calls `` cyber-activists '' tasked with logging opposition attacks . On Sunday , voters will be asked to choose between the Barisan Nasional ( BN ) coalition , which -- with its predecessor -- has ruled the country for more than five decades , and Pakatan Rakyat ( PR ) , a loose coalition of opposition parties formed after the last election in 2008 . BN is led by Prime Minister Najib Razak , the son and nephew of former prime ministers , who has held the post since 2009 . PR is headed by Anwar Ibrahim , a former finance and deputy prime minister who served time in prison on corruption and sodomy charges which he says were politically motivated . The first sodomy charge was overturned in 2004 and in January 2012 he was acquitted of a second charge of sodomy , a serious offense in Malaysia which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison . In a hard-fought campaign , both parties have been trying to entice voters with promises of generous government spending .
Tongue-in-cheek card game is based on Malaysian dirty politics . Players must out-scheme each other to be voted into parliament . Contestants are asked to buy votes , hire phantom voters and control the media . In an ironic twist , the game has become popular with some Malaysian politicians .