The exact origins of The Cow Game are a bit hazy, but some time in the late 1990’s, The Cow Game was invented (and/or refined) by a group of friends that were travelling across the US and who worked at Nature’s Classroom. It is a bit unclear who exactly started the game, but it may have been Claire and Alice (Both Australian), Linda (English) or Jean (American).
Whatever its exact origins, The Cow Game has since been passed onto many friends and families, who’ve played this game, on countless road trips and across all continents of the world!
The Cow Game can become quite competitive and can really brighten up a long boring trip. Some people however don’t like playing The Cow Game, as they feel it is too restrictive, as it focusses only on cows. They are those type of people who yell out “I won the horse game“. Everyone knows there is no horse game!
Love it or hate it though, it always generates laughter and stimulates conversation!
Controversy: It is important to initiate new players into The Cow Game (see Rule 6). When initiating new players into The Cow Game, they must lose their first game. This loss is achieved by the element of surprise! It is important to refrain from teaching new players of The Cow Game’s existence, or its rules, prior to their first loss. New players often feel that it is unfair that they lost at a game, that they hadn’t had the opportunity to compete at. This spurs them on to become more competitive at subsequent Cow Game opportunities!