Ham Helsing review

Fireside Games | 1 to 4 players | 10+ | 60 to 90 minutes

In Ham Helsing you step into the shoes of one of the heroes (Ham Helsing, Ronin, Lobos or Malcolm) from the comic of the same name that this game is based on. Together you take on the villain to save Mud Canyon, your beloved village, from destruction. The villain is not alone: he has brought his minions along to back him up in the fight, wear you down and perhaps even knock you out early.

Who will make it to the end and emerge victorious?

The game

You have five rounds to defeat the villain. The game uses a shared board divided into several locations. On the far left is Mud Canyon, the heroes' starting location, and on the far right is the villain's. The heroes and the villain move across the board from location to location, and the minions spread out along the way. There is also the market board, known as the Rat Market, where upgrades for your cards are for sale during the market phase.

At the start of the game, each player chooses a hero. Every hero has a starting deck and an asymmetric special power. If you play as Ham, you wield the Wooden Katana of the Death (+4 extra damage, always a nice bonus). Next, you choose a villain to fight. There are four different villains, each harder than the last. Then the first minions are placed, every player draws a hand of four cards and the game begins.

A player's turn consists of six phases in a row: 1. Play cards, 2. Gain skills, money and damage, 3. Refill your hand, 4. Spread minions, 5. Check the location limit and 6. Take damage from minions.

In phase 1 you can play cards from your hand. The cards can show various icons and special powers. You use these to move your hero across the board, attack, draw an extra card and much more.

Defeat minions to improve your skills and earn money. But watch out, some of them bite back! Minions have one or two colours (blue, yellow, purple or red) and can be calm or aggressive (biting). To defeat a minion, you need to play one sword for each of its colours, matching the minion's colour. Once you have defeated a minion, remove it from the board. When you have used all your actions or decide not to take any more, you discard the cards you played and move on to phase 2. In this phase you gain skills and money for the minions you defeated. For each colour on a defeated minion, you gain skills in that colour and you earn money. Did you defeat a biting minion? Ouch, then you lose one health point for each colour on that minion. In phase 3 you refill your hand to four cards.

Sadly, evil keeps spreading: in phase 4 a new minion is placed on every location next to your hero's. Each location can only hold a certain number of minions. Go over the limit and the location is lost and becomes a nest (phase 5). You can still use these locations, but every time you do, you lose a health point. That is not great, because health points are precious. If you end your turn on a location with a biting minion, you lose a health point as well.

Once the last player has had their turn, it is time to break open the piggy bank and spend the money you fought so hard for. You do that at the Rat Market, where you can buy upgrades for your cards. And this is where the game's unique feature comes in: deck-crafting. You get to upgrade your starting deck, how cool is that! You start with a basic deck that cannot do very much yet. Upgrading your cards is a key part of the game, because it is the only way to become strong enough to defeat the villain who threatens to destroy you and Mud Canyon.

Besides collecting as many swords as possible, there are also upgrades that let you draw an extra card, give your fellow player(s) an advantage or summon Knuckles. You can buy as many upgrades as you can afford, and the great thing is that they are added to the cards you are holding at that moment. So you can use them straight away! The upgrade cards are transparent and you slide them into the sleeves of your existing cards. That way your cards keep getting stronger and you are ready to attack the villain and (hopefully) defeat him. Yep! The heroes have one more helper: Knuckles the Mercenary Bear. He helps you fight the advancing minions, because if there is one thing they are afraid of, it is Knuckles.

Then it is the villain's turn, as he slowly advances towards Mud Canyon. Each round you draw a card that shows what the villain will do. After the villain has moved, the minions move towards the heroes. Then the villain uses his special power, which might mean you lose health or skills, for example. The more nests there are on the board, the more special powers the villain has at his disposal. Done all that? After this phase it is the players' turn again, and you have one round fewer (again) to defeat the villain. Are you ready to save Mud Canyon from evil?

Impressions

Ham Helsing looks great. The artwork is lovely, the player boards are dual-layer and the acrylic standees are a really nice touch. Deck-crafting is a fun part of the game. By buying upgrades you make your deck stronger and stronger and you can pull off fun combos (which you really do need to beat the villain). The fact that you can use your upgrades straight away on your next turn is especially enjoyable. The heroes' asymmetric powers and unique decks do not stand out very much in play, particularly once your cards have been upgraded a few times.

Chaos is also a good way to describe Ham Helsing. A lot happens on the board and you constantly have to keep track of symbols, effects and actions. That can make you lose the thread a little, especially later in the game when the cards carry more symbols. Play it more often and you will notice that there is not a great deal of variety, despite the different villains that each call for a slightly different tactic. On the other hand, that makes the game very suitable for players without much deck-building experience, because the choices on your turn are clear and not too complicated. Ham Helsing can also be played solo. You then play with two heroes, which is good fun. As a result, the game stays largely the same as the multiplayer version. Above all, Ham Helsing is a fun game for players who want to share an adventurous, chaotic game together.

Let’s go solo

Or not quite? In solo mode you play with two heroes, so luckily you are not entirely on your own. You choose the two characters and then shuffle both characters' cards into a single deck. Unlike in multiplayer, you draw five cards instead of four. Otherwise, the game plays the same as multiplayer. Each hero collects their own skills and money. But, I hear you thinking, how does that work when you play a card that gives another character an advantage, such as drawing an extra card? In that case, you draw an extra card for your current hand. A nice bonus. If a card lets you give another character money, for example, it goes to the hero who is not active.