Hammin' it up: The Game of HAM

The Game of HAM takes the core concept of Cards Against Humanity (a deck of prompt cards paired with a deck of ostensibly humorous possible responses), amps up the dirtiness factor, and wraps it all up in a tactical, move-your-pawn-on-a modular-track game of racing to the end goal space. I have not been able to play as of yet, due to the pandemic, but I wanted to get the word out about the game in case my readers are in the market for a good-naturedly offensive adult party game with some light strategy.

The base set of HAM is known as the Adult version and it lives up to its name.  Like CAH, you won't want to play this with your kids, or likely with your grandparents either. What is most remarkable about the game is the extreme number of play variations it offers - it even invites the players to invent their own ways of playing. This is very unusual in a published game. I am also very pleased to see the game supports up to 16 players, as in healthier times, my party game events are often packed.

First let's take a look at the components and I will describe for you what each one is and what it does.
Starting from left, you can see the Pink cards - these are the ones you use in response to the Gray cards (shown immediately to the right of the Pink stack). The game comes with an astounding 810 Pink cards for untold hours of nasty fun. You could play with just these two decks for a perfectly cromulent naughty-party-game experience. 

The colorful cardboard hams you see in the lower left are the spots to place the four colorful matching decks in the middle of the photo. These are cards you get for landing on various spots on the board, which is modular so you can arrange it to play on a different configuration every time.  The cards allow you to do influence the game deliciously maliciously - bouncing other players around the board, skipping people's turns, etc. 

HAM has impressive production values for a self-published effort.  All the cardboard is sturdy and of good quality, and the cards are fine. The artwork is a bit simplistic, but serviceable.  I don't know yet if I find it fun, but I will update here when I have had a chance to play.  In the meantime, check out the game's website (you can purchase the physical game or download a digital version of the Adult set for free), check out Meeple Mentor's excellent gameplay overview and rundown of all play variants,  and stay safe!





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