Who doesn't like HAM? The Game of HAM is a party card game cooked inside a board game and seasoned with a can of laughter.
| Game of HAM (2019) | |||||
| Designer(s) | Bill S. Naim | Artist(s) | Bill S. Naim | Publisher |
Game of HAM LLC |
 |
3-16 |  |
18+ |  |
20min-120min |
Game of Ham is a party card game that meets board game; there is a variety of game modes within the game that includes optional rules. However, this article will focus on the basic game play.
Box and Components
The box is roughly 8 inches by 6 inches by 3 inches. The box is made with sturdy material and the box is glossy. The color of the box carries over the "theme" of the game HAM with the coloration of the box, pink like ham. The game contains 810 cards that are made of heavier, glossy cardstock. These cards are of different colors such as grey (prompt cards), pink (response cards), and colored cards (ability cards; yellow, green, red, orange). The ability cards can be earned and played throughout the game providing abilities that are listed at the bottom of the card. There are four cardboard hams boards that match the abilities cards above. There are also 16 cardboard player pieces of different colors and four double sided game boards.
The game provides a quick start guide but also provides a rule book that has in depth explanation of the game and many optional gameplay varients. The rule book is very thought out, and the optional varients prevent the game from becoming quickly stale like many party games. I see a ton of replayability in this game.
Mechanics
As I've stated previously, there are many varients of game play with Game of HAM, but I will just cover the basic game play.
Setup is super quick. Take the boards and arrange them in any way you like that allows the board to go together perferably with the white square on the left side of the "board" and ending with the game board that has the off yellow square which is the "end game" line. The boards are double sided so you can arrange them and use whichever side you'd like. Seperate the different stacks of cards so they are within reach of all players. The colored cards (ability cards) will lay on top of the "ham" shape that coorosponds with the deck color. Each player will be given a ham token of their choice of color.
The rules are simple and easy to follow. Each turn, a player will be the "judge" that reads a grey card, and all other players pick a pink they feel best fits with the grey card (similar to other party games such as Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity in game play). The "judge" picks the winner, and the winner moves their player token a number of spaces from the numbers listed at the bottom of the grey card (their choice)
If the player token lands on a space of a specific 
color, the player will receive an ability card of the coorosponding color from on top of that colored ham. The ability cards can be used to in the game to have the judge select another card or cause issues for other players. If the player token lands on a number space that ranges from 0 to 3, then the player will advance their token that number of spaces. However, any actions that new space would provide (ability cards or additional movements) are not taken. Their turn ends, and they becomes the new "judge" for this round.
The basic end game is trigger when a player lands on the end game space (yellow square) without passing it up. Think of it like the Price is Right, you want to be right on the money, or you go past the space and have to continue play until you (or another player) ends on that spot.
A neat concept in this game is the grey prompt cards that the "winner" receives each round that have letters (H, A, M) on the back. If you have cards with each of those letters, you can use those cards to block the ability cards played against you during the game. If you use these cards to block, they are no longer able to be used again during that game, but if you obtain other H, A, and M cards, you may use those.
Final Thoughts
When I was first looking this game over, I throught it was just another generic party game that everyone had played before. However, upon looking at the different machanics and reviewing the well thought out rules, it is a lot more than just your every day party game. I like that it adds more to the traditional party game by adding new mechanics by providing ways to impact the judges decisions and impact the other players. This along with the built in blocking mechanics thanks to the H, A, M cards adds a layer of strategy and cut throatiness to the traditional party genre. Also, the goal of the game isn't to simply get a certain number of cards like many party games; you are playing on a traditional style board and trying to reach certain spaces for the ability cards and extra movement; you may even try to lose a round if the numbers on the grey cards won't work for you plans.
I also like this game has so many play varients to make the game as simple or as complex as you want it to be. With the different play set ups and rules for end game, it gives so much more to the game that will definetly be letting this game hit the table more often. I will definetly be breaking this game out during our charity game days.
Links/Media
Game of Ham Board Game Geek Page
Disclosure
We received the product in order to write an honest review; all reviews reflect the honest opinions of the writer.