Object of the week- Grade Up to Elite Cow

Billed as “a game of skill and chance for dairy farmers”, it’s safe to say board game Grade Up to Elite Cow isn’t exactly a family favourite.

The agriculturally inspired game was produced by Waddingtons 1986 of behalf of The British Friesian Cattle Society of Great Britain and Ireland, with proceeds going to their Young Members Association.

The object of the game was for players to gradually "grade up" their dairy cows and get them to pedigree status in just three generations.

The bizarre title is one of one of more than 1,000 games and jigsaws from the UK and abroad which are stored at the Leeds Discovery Centre as part of Leeds Museums and Galleries’ Waddingtons collection.

Some of the games were manufactured by the company founded by Leeds businessman John Waddington, with others in the collection considered for production or being checked for potential copyright infringement.

Waddingtons more famously produced Monopoly and Cluedo, which remain among the most popular games in the world.

Kitty Ross, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of social history, said: “There’s a really impressive and extensive array of games in the collection and each one represents a concept which at the time would have been considered by manufacturers to be topical, entertaining or marketable.”

Free public store tours of the Leeds Discovery Centre are held every Thursday at 11am and 2pm.

All visits are by appointment, and can be booked by calling 0113 378 2100 or emailing discovery.centre@leeds.gov.uk

ENDS