Ham Fisted does something I don’t like pretty well

Ham Fisted is an In Hand game which is all about trying to hold a grid of cards in one hand. Honestly, having to hold cards in funny ways is one of my least favorite forms of In Hand games but Ham Fisted does make it manageable.

Each card is a three by two grid. Each square is either blank or has one of four different anthropomorphic meat products. They are also small, basically half-size cards. Oh, we will get  back to that.

Draw six cards (the deck is eighteen cards so up to three people can play before needing another deck), keeping them in your hand. Flip over one card at a time and hold them in your hand, making sure they all fit within a five by five grid. Tucking and overlapping isn’t just allowed but essential. When you’ve played all six cards, you have to pinch the grid and flip your hand to make sure nothing falls.

Each meat product has a different scoring requirement. Bacon and ribs have to be in groups of two and three respectively to score a point (I believe one point per group). Every four sausages anywhere on the grid scores a point. A ham is worth a point if it isn’t in the same row or column as another ham. Most points wins.

Now, I was part of the recent play test of Downtown Las Palmas, another In Hand game that has a dexterity element. And I don’t want to comment on that since it’s still in development but I will say Downtown Las Palmas is superior in almost every way.

Ham Fisted’s saving grace is the relative ease of the dexterity element. Having tiny cards and only using six at a time makes it very manageable. And I’m not great at dexterity elements so that makes the difference of ever wanting to play Ham Fisted ever again.

I am a big fan of In Hand games. Playing space is often very limited and In Hand can mean playing a physical game is even an option. Palm Island was a watershed event for my gaming life. In Hand games are now always a part of my travel bags.

But making a game physically difficult to play as a design goal goes against why I play In Hand games in the first place.

The fact that I’m willing to keep playing Ham Fisted probably counts as high praise. The dexterity element is manageable. It’s simple enough that it wouldn’t work as a table game but keeps it from being overwhelming as a dexterity In Hand game.

If you are looking for an In Hand dexterity game, Ham Fisted is a good choice. And if you aren’t, there are plenty of other In Hand games out there that won’t give your thumbs cramps.