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Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator, often abbreviated as ConfMEPS or simply Conflict, is a turn-based government simulation game designed by David J. Eastman and published by Virgin Mastertronic in 1990 for DOS, Atari ST and Amiga (with extended graphics). The game is available for free download at abandonware sites. The game was at one point ported to Mac OSX by a third party.
The game is set in 1997. The Prime Minister of Israel has just been assassinated, leaving the player to run the country. The player's objective is to cause the defeat of the neighbouring four states, either by invasion (not necessarily by Israel, as the other states can and do invade each other) or political destabilisation.
As gameplay progresses, the player must build up a military by purchasing tanks, aircraft, surface-to-air missile batteries and other military hardware. They must also carefully and peaceably manage their diplomatic relations with their neighbours - or spoil relations and engage in war with them. Neighbours start with a random diplomatic stance each game and can be friendly or hostile; hostile nations may go to war against the player.
Part of the game involves players performing nuclear research in order to develop a nuclear arsenal while they attempt to prevent their neighbours from doing the same. Nuclear armed neighbours have the ability to use their arsenal and if they do, the player loses and game is over.
Players have the option to engage in espionage and can covertly fund an insurgency in an opposing state which can degrade the internal stability of the state. Eventually, players can attempt to launch a coup or attempt to assassinate the leader of the opposing state, with diplomatic blowback if the attempt fails.
Internal stability is also a factor the player must themselves contend with as the longer the game goes on the more likely the player is to be politically defeated - or even assassinated. If this happens, the game is over. Internal conflict due to Palestinian unrest can also spiral out of control.
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