SHEFFIELD is the star of a board game with a difference which is predicted to be a must-have present this Christmas.
Destination Sheffield casts players as taxi drivers given the task of ferrying customers to places all over the city centre – with the cabbie making the most money at the end of their shift crowned the winner.
The board features well-known Sheffield landmarks as some of the city's most popular taxi destinations – including the Odeon Cinema, the Law Courts, the railway station and Bramall Lane.
Inventor Rachel Lowe, who based her prototype on London, has customised the idea to feature other cities around the UK and worldwide.
The 29-year-old said she was working as a cab driver in Portsmouth part-time as a student when she had the original idea.
She said: "I was stuck at traffic lights and it felt like I'd missed a turn in a game. I developed the concept from there.
"The London version was first and it became a huge hit, and now there are versions based on Portsmouth, Brighton, Paris and New York."
Sheffield is part of the next wave of cities to be featured, along with Birmingham and Cardiff – and it is hoped there will be as many as 30 different British variations on the market by the end of next year.
The mum-of-two added: "My researchers spent a few days in Sheffield finding out which the most popular taxi destinations are, to make sure the game feels authentic.
"There are 45 different destination cards and a basic plan of city centre streets. It's fun because Sheffield has never really been highlighted in a game like this before."
Rachel's success was not without its setbacks.
In the days before she launched her first game in famous London toy store Hamleys, Rachel sought extra financial muscle for the product on popular BBC2 TV show Dragon's Den.
"I'm useless with numbers and the Dragons gave me a real roasting," she said.
"I had no business plan in front of me and I was trying to do everything from memory. I was offering 30 per cent of the business for £75,000 – now I'm really glad it didn't happen."
Rachel made her presentation on the show several weeks before the game's launch – but by the time the programme was shown in early 2005, everything had changed.
Destination London was Hamleys number one Christmas product for 2004, outselling the classic game Monopoly, which the Dragons had forecast would never be overshadowed.
Two years on Rachel has signed two new licensing deals which could see the franchise spreading to countries like Australia.
The Sheffield game was officially launched at Owlerton Stadium, a destination featured on the box.
It will be available from November 3 exclusively at Debenhams on The Moor, with Rachel due to return to the city to sign copies.

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