Originally developed in Germany, La Famiglia: The Great Mafia War has now been released in Italy, where it has provoked a backlash among the families of mafia victims, The Guardian reports.

Players take control of up to six rival mob families and use their “special abilities”, such as car bombs, to dominate as much of the board as possible.

Maria Falcone, sister of murdered judge Giovanni Falcone, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: “I don’t understand how it is possible that someone thought of this game, which plays with the feelings of those who have lost their lives serving the state.

“The mafia has only created death in Sicily and Italy. A game like this offends the memory of all those who contributed to freeing this land [of them].”

An elected member of the Sicilian Regional Assembly has urged the regional government to take action “every possible action to counter the spread of this game”.

In a letter, Alessandro De Leo told Sicilian president and party colleague Renato Schifani that it was “unacceptable that a criminal phenomenon with its burden of violence and suffering be turned into a board game”.