FEBRUARY 23, 2026 — Bryson has extended his massive popularity as a Storytime Animator into a small card game empire. His latest endeavor is a family-friendly bluffing card game called Bull Shark. Designed by his family members Brody and Jen, Bull Shark comes on the heels of the family’s first games, the 2023 campaign Hoard the Hams. But is it any fun?

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How to play Bull Shark

The goal is straightforward: drop cards in chronological order to count to ten.

The trick? You place the numbered cards face down, and players don’t always have to drop the right card.

Another player can call Bull Shark if they don’t believe that another player put down the right card, but there is a consequence if you’re wrong. There’s a consequence if no one catches a Bull Shark move either, which keeps players on their toes.

Is Bull Shark good for kids or families to play together?

You need to understand that this is a game that encourages lying, as that is a nonstarter for some families. I’ve seen a few different groups of kids and adults try the game, and it’s not for everyone.

The physical experience of playing the game is really fun! The game box is sturdy and shark-shaped, of course his drawings jump off the cards, and it’s easy to pick up on the game-play.

But—-

Your players need to understand the difference between reality and fantasy. More specifically, they need to be emotionally aware enough to accept that someone can love you, and still be really good at lying to you when playing a game like this.

I won’t jump to play it again unless I know for certain that they kids can handle that comprehension. It’s the same way I judge if someone is ready for Fortnite and other violent games: do they know the difference between how you would act near a real weapon versus when playing the video game? Can they grasp that being mean to someone in reality is not the same as killing them in a game when you’re 1v1?

For a child, knowing that your parents or other trusted people could lie to you so convincingly–that isn’t a reality that every kid is ready to handle.

On the other hand, playing this game can also be a fun way to actively work on those skills with a child (not the lying part, the talking through how to parse intent part).

And to be quite fair to the game, I’ve watched groups of all ages who had a blast playing it through. Most groups had no issues, short of frustration when a turn didn’t go our way.

If you ask me about their first card game Hoard the Hams, though, that’s a resounding yes.

Is Haminations Good for Kids? YouTube Review

Haminations

Dialogues: Sibling Rivalry (comic depictions), Exaggerating Personality, Animated Violence

Haminations, real name Bryson (he/him), started his YouTube channel in 2017 when he was 16 years old. Now, with over 6 million subscribers, his stories are truly funny and often have a heartwarming moral at the center.
Although he started animating everything himself, in the last few years, Bryson has hired a team of animators. This is common among Storytime Animators who become popular and can’t keep up with the demand themselves.
His family are recurring guests on his channel, telling stories of their childhood and how their relationships evolved. He and his brothers also designed a card game called Hoard the Hams.
Although he rarely goes into dark territory, Bryson does portray violence in his animations, specifically toward pets in some earlier videos (he doesn’t commit the violence).

I watch YouTube so you don't have to.