Calvin’s Commentaries: What Game of HAM

When you take a game off the shelf with a name like ‘Game of Ham’ you might have an inkling you’re in for something a bit tongue-in-cheek.

In this case, this is a game very much about hamming things up, and frankly, they could have added it with a rather thick slice of cheese added as well.

What Game of HAM is, is a party card and board game, although the board aspect is really not required.

As a party game it is all about getting laughs through the interaction of players, although Game of Ham is ‘adult-themed’ so it will not be for everyone, so be aware of those at the table.

As one description noted, “the adult version is meant for people who like their humor the way Scrooge likes his coffee, dark and bitter.”

Players basically get some cards with various witty, sometimes adult, answers. Another player poses a question. You lay down an answer, and the question asker selects what they feel is the ‘best’ answer to the given question. The winning answer gets the player who slapped it down a point. You play until someone has the pre-determined number of points to win.

The is a modicum of skill in the sense you can play cards you think best fit the sense of humour of the asker, but really the score is not very important here. The Game of Ham is all about the ‘yucks’ with the right group of players.

Our first play-through had me laughing even as I made card choices, but while I was ready to play a second game, it was pretty obvious the game has table time limitations.

This is a winner on a New Year’s Eve if the group is right, but even with 800-plus cards for variety, it is an occasional play option.

Check it out at gameofham.com

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