Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Team up with Ham, Ronin, Malcom, and Lobos, and work together to save Mud Canyon from the evil villains in this cooperative board game based on the Ham Helsing graphic novel series. Ham Helsing is a deck crafting adventure where you'll be upgrading your deck of cards to improve your ability to fight and save Mud Canyon. This tutorial will teach you everything you need to know to learn how to play the Ham Helsing board game.
This video was sponsored by Fireside Games. Get your own copy of Ham Helsing here: amzn.to/4pvO87Z
This is an affiliate link. Using this link may give Play the Game HQ a small commision at no additional cost to you.
#boardgames #HamHelsing #Cooperative #tutorial #playthegame #PlaytheGameHQ #PlaytheGameChannel #Tabletop #TaletopGames #FamilyGames #Kidsplaining #bestboardgames #bestfamilygames #hottestboardgames
0:00 Introduction
0:32 Game Overview
1:39 Setup
2:34 Character setup
3:24 Villain Setup
4:53 Round Overview
5:16 Map Overview
5:51 Minions Overview
6:52 Player Board Overview
8:14 On your Turn
8:31 Playing Cards
9:42 Card Actions
10:23 Movement
10:50 Shiny Shield
11:06 Trading
11:35 Attacking
12:33 Attacking the Villain
15:06 Using the Katana
15:19 Using Knuckles
15:58 Discarding Cards
16:16 Gaining Rewards
17:17 Placing Minion Tokens
18:48 Location Limits/Losing Locations
20:16 Taking Damage from Location
20:33 Market Phase
21:33 Upgrading Cards
22:05 Villain Turn
24:14 Getting KO'd
25:06 End Game
From the Publisher:
Based on the best-selling graphic novel about a reluctant monster-hunting pig, Ham Helsing is a co-operative adventure board game. Join Ham, Ronin, Malcom, and Lobos as they attempt to save the world! Using a deck-crafting system with transparent cards, you'll protect locations from endless swarms of minions while improving your skills. Can you power up fast enough to stop the villain from destroying Mud Canyon and save the day?
Pick a character and grab your starting deck; each character has a special ability and their own deck with custom cards that fit their style of play. On your turn, use the symbols on the cards in your hand to travel to new locations (some of which allow special actions), to defeat minions before they overrun a location (each of which has a limit), and to use Knuckles (the "fearless" mercenary bear) to scare off minions. When battling minions, you need to match the colors of the minion with the color of your attack to defeat them. There are four different colors to match, and some minions take two colors to defeat, so plan your card play carefully, and don't get pig-headed. Some minions will bite back, so keep an eye on your health as well.
For each minion defeated, you gain skills and money, and with enough skill points, you'll get free attacks. Spend your cash to buy attack cards and special cards at the Rat Market. Ham Helsing may be a co-operative game, but the buying is a free-for-all, so be a greedy pig and grab your gear quick — or help everyone think through the best cards for the different decks, you do you.
Attack cards let you do more damage in battle, move, heal, and more. Special cards are where things get interesting with combos, shared bonuses, and damage boosters. Upgrade cards are transparent, so if a symbol can fit on your card, you can slip that upgrade into the sleeve of a starting card. Not only is it a pig deal that you are literally upgrading your deck as you defeat minions, but you're improving the cards you'll use on your next turn!
When you feel strong enough, go after the villain. The game includes four villains, each with a different starting health, special ability, and power-ups. Villains will power up when a location on the board is lost.
After each round, the villain moves one location closer to Mud Canyon. If you haven't brought the villain's health to 0 by the end of the last player's turn at Mud Canyon, your bacon is burnt.
_____________________________
Play the Game HQ a youtube channel dedicated to sharing our love of boardgames. Our flagship series, Play the Game, is a high quality multi-camera board game play through series featuring a bunch of friends gathered around the table playing board games. Play the Game takes its inspiration from other shows like Tabletop. Our Mission with Play the Game is to highlight the joy that comes when you gather around the table with friends and play a board game.
boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/439662/ham-helsing
Team up with Ham, Ronin, Malcom, and Lobos, and work together to save Mud Canyon from the evil villains in this cooperative board game based on the Ham Helsing graphic novel series. Ham Helsing is a deck crafting adventure where you'll be upgrading your deck of cards to improve your ability to fight and save Mud Canyon. This tutorial will teach you everything you need to know to learn how to play the Ham Helsing board game.
This video was sponsored by Fireside Games. Get your own copy of Ham Helsing here: amzn.to/4pvO87Z
This is an affiliate link. Using this link may give Play the Game HQ a small commision at no additional cost to you.
#boardgames #HamHelsing #Cooperative #tutorial #playthegame #PlaytheGameHQ #PlaytheGameChannel #Tabletop #TaletopGames #FamilyGames #Kidsplaining #bestboardgames #bestfamilygames #hottestboardgames
0:00 Introduction
0:32 Game Overview
1:39 Setup
2:34 Character setup
3:24 Villain Setup
4:53 Round Overview
5:16 Map Overview
5:51 Minions Overview
6:52 Player Board Overview
8:14 On your Turn
8:31 Playing Cards
9:42 Card Actions
10:23 Movement
10:50 Shiny Shield
11:06 Trading
11:35 Attacking
12:33 Attacking the Villain
15:06 Using the Katana
15:19 Using Knuckles
15:58 Discarding Cards
16:16 Gaining Rewards
17:17 Placing Minion Tokens
18:48 Location Limits/Losing Locations
20:16 Taking Damage from Location
20:33 Market Phase
21:33 Upgrading Cards
22:05 Villain Turn
24:14 Getting KO'd
25:06 End Game
From the Publisher:
Based on the best-selling graphic novel about a reluctant monster-hunting pig, Ham Helsing is a co-operative adventure board game. Join Ham, Ronin, Malcom, and Lobos as they attempt to save the world! Using a deck-crafting system with transparent cards, you'll protect locations from endless swarms of minions while improving your skills. Can you power up fast enough to stop the villain from destroying Mud Canyon and save the day?
Pick a character and grab your starting deck; each character has a special ability and their own deck with custom cards that fit their style of play. On your turn, use the symbols on the cards in your hand to travel to new locations (some of which allow special actions), to defeat minions before they overrun a location (each of which has a limit), and to use Knuckles (the "fearless" mercenary bear) to scare off minions. When battling minions, you need to match the colors of the minion with the color of your attack to defeat them. There are four different colors to match, and some minions take two colors to defeat, so plan your card play carefully, and don't get pig-headed. Some minions will bite back, so keep an eye on your health as well.
For each minion defeated, you gain skills and money, and with enough skill points, you'll get free attacks. Spend your cash to buy attack cards and special cards at the Rat Market. Ham Helsing may be a co-operative game, but the buying is a free-for-all, so be a greedy pig and grab your gear quick — or help everyone think through the best cards for the different decks, you do you.
Attack cards let you do more damage in battle, move, heal, and more. Special cards are where things get interesting with combos, shared bonuses, and damage boosters. Upgrade cards are transparent, so if a symbol can fit on your card, you can slip that upgrade into the sleeve of a starting card. Not only is it a pig deal that you are literally upgrading your deck as you defeat minions, but you're improving the cards you'll use on your next turn!
When you feel strong enough, go after the villain. The game includes four villains, each with a different starting health, special ability, and power-ups. Villains will power up when a location on the board is lost.
After each round, the villain moves one location closer to Mud Canyon. If you haven't brought the villain's health to 0 by the end of the last player's turn at Mud Canyon, your bacon is burnt.
_____________________________
Play the Game HQ a youtube channel dedicated to sharing our love of boardgames. Our flagship series, Play the Game, is a high quality multi-camera board game play through series featuring a bunch of friends gathered around the table playing board games. Play the Game takes its inspiration from other shows like Tabletop. Our Mission with Play the Game is to highlight the joy that comes when you gather around the table with friends and play a board game.
boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/439662/ham-helsing
