BIG HAM GAMES

I didn't know it at the time, but Big Ham Games was born in 1980-something in my parents' kitchen on Bigham Street (get it?) in Pittsburgh's Mount Washington neighborhood.  That is where my friends, brothers and I played the original version of Bigham Derby (sire to Breakneck) on a homemade 4-foot board with poorly illustrated cardboard horses mounted on nails.  The rules weren't quite perfect then, but it made for some fun evenings when combined with Iron City Light and modest wagering!

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I got a little busy for a few decades putting myself through school, getting married and raising two sons, one of whom (David) turned out to be a gifted artist.  But with all that "life" stuff happening, not much boardgaming progress outside of a few crude prototypes happened for about 30 years.

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By the time the quarantine of 2020 hit, David had graduated from Kent State University with a bachelor of fine arts.  His mad illustration and graphic design skills combined with my (super cool) love of history and math and a ton of spare time led us to produce Forts & Forests: The War for North America, a somewhat insanely ambitious project for a first attempt tackling the French & Indian War, an event with Pittsburgh significance introduced to me at a young age by my father.  (Dad, why is George Washington fighting for the British??)  After accomplishing that, redesigning and publishing Breakneck Derby was barely an inconvenience!

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We discovered we loved the process of creating and designing games almost as much as sharing our creations with others at gaming events.  So what began as a nice way to spend some quality family time has turned into our humble boardgame design company, Big Ham Games!

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Our mission, which we have chosen to accept, is to bring fun, high quality boardgaming to tables full of families and friends everywhere.  We are extremely proud of our first two titles, and super excited for the 2023 releases of Breakneck Derby Classic, a gorgeous edition of original Derby on a solid wood board, Dragonfire Derby, a magical variant of Derby where opponents race and duel with fire in the mystical kingdom of Erifnogard, and the epic second edition of Forts & Forests!

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Of course, we couldn't have done any of this without our family and their constant (occasionally eye-rolling) support throughout the years!  And that's really what gaming is all about, isn't it?

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Thanks for your support!

Mike (rules guy) and David (art guy) Clark

aka Big Ham Games