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 Helsingmay 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.
