When a Manhattan mother wanted to teach her three young children about what their father did for a living, she was surprised to find there wasn’t board game to do the trick. Taking matters into her own hands, Tina Eskreis Nelson taped some cardboard together and created a new game – Lawsuit!

“My children really loved playing,” Ms. Nelson, an attorney and former nurse, said. Coaxed by friends, the stay-at-home mother hired a graphic designer and artist and turned her homespun creation, in which children learn to sue and settle, into the real thing.

Just before the summer, about 2,500 copies arrived at her Upper West Side apartment. Off she went, board in hand, to FAO Schwarz, where she tried to convince a panel of judges to start selling her litigious invention.

The panel gave Lawsuit! a thumbs up – a rarity – and the famous toy seller started carrying it at the flagship Fifth Avenue store. Of the hundreds of games that have been auditioned since FAO Schwarz started holding monthly tryouts in March, Lawsuit! is one of about half a dozen to make the cut.

“We thought it had a great theme, we do have a lot of attorneys that shop with us, and it was done in a nice way,” the president and chief of merchandising for FAO Schwarz, David Niggli said. Lawsuit! hit the shelves last month and is now nearly sold out, he said.

The objective of the game is to become “lawyer of the year” by amassing the most cash. Along the way, players attend law school, pass the bar, and have the opportunity to make partner. Players can find themselves in the less favorable position of facing fines for tampering with court papers ($5,000), embezzling client funds ($5,000), or paying a cell phone bill ($500).

“There was really nothing else like it,” Ms. Nelson said. Children can learn about doctors by playing Operation and real estate with Monopoly, she said, and there is even a game about stockbrokers. The number of lawyers in America has steadily increased over the past half century and is now estimated at nearly 1 million. The exclamation point printed on the box is filled in with the American flag.

During the game, players are faced with all sorts of torts, including person al injury, invasion of privacy, and libel. Players can learn about pro bono work when they land on the square with a drawing of “Little Eric,” who was assaulted with a water gun but can’t afford the lawyer fee. “Pay $2,500 in costs,” the game square instructs.

The game steers clear of criminal law – Ms. Nelson wanted to stick to what she considered safe topics for children – and heavily emphasizes settling cases versus going to court. Her husband, Eric, is an attorney specializing in employment law and commercial litigation.

In the game, having the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear your case costs $500 in travel expenses. As a lawyer, Ms. Nelson worked in the attorney general’s office and at a private firm, but never argued a case before the Supreme Court. Lawsuit! is the closest she may come.

The gift shop at America’s highest court also carries the game, selling it for $32.95.The store’s Web site says Ms. Nelson’s creation “demystifies the legal process, and lets you test your lawyering skills. Even practicing attorneys can learn a thing or two!”

Asked if she was concerned about negative reactions to having the winning lawyer be the one that earns the most money, Ms. Nelson said, “If you’re trying to make something that mimics reality, you don’t want to go too far from the truth.”