Higamus Hogamus is a card game where the players must match pairs of cards that combine to make compound words. Each player is dealt six cards. On their turn, they may either draw a card from the draw pile or take a card from another player's hand. They then look in their hand for any pairs that make words (such as "cow" and "boy") and lay them down. There are also "Higamus" and "Hogamus" cards depicting the titular pigs that are worth bonus points but must be announced when drawn (so other players can draw from their hands to try to steal the points) and Krazy Kat and Holy Cow cards that deduct points.
A round ends when either any player runs out of cards or a player holds both Higamus and Hogamus in his or her hand. Players score one point for each card they have laid down, five points each for Higamus or Hogamus and negative five points each for Holy Cow and Krazy Kat.
An alternate version of the game allows players to ask other players for specific cards and play either cards that form compound words or matching cards. In this version, Krazy Kat and Holy Cow are a match as are Higamus and Hogamus.