Amabel Holland
@amabel.bsky.social
She/her. "Widely considered one of today’s most innovative game designers." - The New Yorker
Board games: https://hollandspiele.com
video essays: youtube.com/@hollandspiele
Patreon: patreon.com/amabelholland
sidekicking: youtube.com/@SBPlaysGames
Board games: https://hollandspiele.com
video essays: youtube.com/@hollandspiele
Patreon: patreon.com/amabelholland
sidekicking: youtube.com/@SBPlaysGames
Pinned
Amabel Holland
@amabel.bsky.social
· Jun 16
📌I'm Amabel (she/her), a board game designer. Out of my 80+ games, I'm best known for City of Six Moons and Irish Gauge.
I co-own the publisher Hollandspiele. In my spare time I make video essays about the future & history of games.
I'm a slutty poly trans woman, and I talk about all of the above.
I co-own the publisher Hollandspiele. In my spare time I make video essays about the future & history of games.
I'm a slutty poly trans woman, and I talk about all of the above.
so hey actually if you let the commenters on your blog misgender me without censor or reply, it doesn't matter if you don't do it yourself, I absolutely will never send you review copies again
holy fuck people how is this hard
holy fuck people how is this hard
November 27, 2025 at 3:16 AM
so hey actually if you let the commenters on your blog misgender me without censor or reply, it doesn't matter if you don't do it yourself, I absolutely will never send you review copies again
holy fuck people how is this hard
holy fuck people how is this hard
Reposted by Amabel Holland
The reason that we reporters are focused so intensely on the L'affair Nuzzi is that, as Olivia notes, it is a basically apocalyptic scandal in the most literal sense of that term: a dropping of masks. It's acting as confirmation of every hideous story anybody's ever told about political journalists
this was bad before, but these are the most troubling and serious allegations you can make about a journalist. if they’re true, i genuinely can’t think of a worse scandal in the history of political journalism. devastating to our industry, to public trust as a whole, and to everyone in its orbit
November 27, 2025 at 2:14 AM
The reason that we reporters are focused so intensely on the L'affair Nuzzi is that, as Olivia notes, it is a basically apocalyptic scandal in the most literal sense of that term: a dropping of masks. It's acting as confirmation of every hideous story anybody's ever told about political journalists
The main reason the game came out in November instead of our original target date of February 2025 is we were trying to figure out how to affordably include sleeves and just had no luck finding a source
to the tune of “Exhuming McCarthy”!
it bothers me more than it should that a game which mechanically requires sleeves doesn’t come with them.
it bothers me more than it should that a game which mechanically requires sleeves doesn’t come with them.
November 27, 2025 at 1:51 AM
The main reason the game came out in November instead of our original target date of February 2025 is we were trying to figure out how to affordably include sleeves and just had no luck finding a source
once I came out as trans, some women and queer folks in the industry finally told me the stories they told each other about the Dice Tower, and frankly the "neutrality" is a smugly-deniable front
Leave it to The Dice Tower to continue to exhibit anti-trans sentiment by reviewing the much maligned, not-a-secret-that-it’s-controversial-and-awful, transphobic wizard game version of a mediocre party game.
Fuck them some more. God damn. Sanitized, hands-off, noncommittal bullshit people. Ugh.
Fuck them some more. God damn. Sanitized, hands-off, noncommittal bullshit people. Ugh.
November 27, 2025 at 1:29 AM
once I came out as trans, some women and queer folks in the industry finally told me the stories they told each other about the Dice Tower, and frankly the "neutrality" is a smugly-deniable front
Reposted by Amabel Holland
Reposted by Amabel Holland
i take frenzy damage every time i see someone go "well i just use it for the boring stuff". what are you TALKING about? if it's boring or unimportant, why are you putting it in? NPC dialogue is fertile ground for worldbuilding, creating verisimilitude, conveying important information, and hijinks!!
Buy a solo indie dev's game because I want to support them.
Find out it uses OpenAI to write "non-important NPC dialogue".
🫠
Find out it uses OpenAI to write "non-important NPC dialogue".
🫠
November 26, 2025 at 9:08 PM
i take frenzy damage every time i see someone go "well i just use it for the boring stuff". what are you TALKING about? if it's boring or unimportant, why are you putting it in? NPC dialogue is fertile ground for worldbuilding, creating verisimilitude, conveying important information, and hijinks!!
Reposted by Amabel Holland
I wish cis people would understand just how stressful it is when every time there's news of gun deaths, far right trolls immediately jump to social media and claim the shooter is trans, and sometimes they'll circulate pictures of random trans women they want to incite violence against.
November 27, 2025 at 1:00 AM
I wish cis people would understand just how stressful it is when every time there's news of gun deaths, far right trolls immediately jump to social media and claim the shooter is trans, and sometimes they'll circulate pictures of random trans women they want to incite violence against.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
Sleeving Persuasion!
November 27, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Sleeving Persuasion!
Reposted by Amabel Holland
I also make myself cry from thinking about the happy things and how lucky I am, so like, go with it
November 26, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I also make myself cry from thinking about the happy things and how lucky I am, so like, go with it
she beat me by like a thousand points
I bounced off Lacerda's games pretty hard generally - often just a little too heavy/complicated for me - but I enjoyed this one and had an easier time getting the various parts to work together & understanding how they did so
I bounced off Lacerda's games pretty hard generally - often just a little too heavy/complicated for me - but I enjoyed this one and had an easier time getting the various parts to work together & understanding how they did so
November 26, 2025 at 2:51 PM
she beat me by like a thousand points
I bounced off Lacerda's games pretty hard generally - often just a little too heavy/complicated for me - but I enjoyed this one and had an easier time getting the various parts to work together & understanding how they did so
I bounced off Lacerda's games pretty hard generally - often just a little too heavy/complicated for me - but I enjoyed this one and had an easier time getting the various parts to work together & understanding how they did so
Reposted by Amabel Holland
@marcelineleiman.bsky.social has been such a great mouthpiece for the IGNM and the indie design scene in general. I'm shit at promoting the things I'm doing, so it's nice to have her be so excited about the event and spread the word.
As promised, here’s a chat I had with designer @marcelineleiman.bsky.social who wants YOU to make games for Indie Games Night Market. If you are looking to break into games, you’ll want to watch this interview.
youtu.be/-np-0dZWFPs
youtu.be/-np-0dZWFPs
Designer Marceline Leiman wants YOU to make games for Indie Games Night Market - TCbH PAX Interview
YouTube video by The Cardboard Herald
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 1:02 AM
@marcelineleiman.bsky.social has been such a great mouthpiece for the IGNM and the indie design scene in general. I'm shit at promoting the things I'm doing, so it's nice to have her be so excited about the event and spread the word.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
As promised, here’s a chat I had with designer @marcelineleiman.bsky.social who wants YOU to make games for Indie Games Night Market. If you are looking to break into games, you’ll want to watch this interview.
youtu.be/-np-0dZWFPs
youtu.be/-np-0dZWFPs
Designer Marceline Leiman wants YOU to make games for Indie Games Night Market - TCbH PAX Interview
YouTube video by The Cardboard Herald
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 9:20 PM
As promised, here’s a chat I had with designer @marcelineleiman.bsky.social who wants YOU to make games for Indie Games Night Market. If you are looking to break into games, you’ll want to watch this interview.
youtu.be/-np-0dZWFPs
youtu.be/-np-0dZWFPs
Reposted by Amabel Holland
I have long posited that Daniel Craig's accent in Glass Onion is better than Knives Out because in Knives Out he is trying to do a real Southern accent and is bad at it but in Glass Onion he is just talking like Foghorn Leghorn, which is something a real gay Southern weirdo would do.
November 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
I have long posited that Daniel Craig's accent in Glass Onion is better than Knives Out because in Knives Out he is trying to do a real Southern accent and is bad at it but in Glass Onion he is just talking like Foghorn Leghorn, which is something a real gay Southern weirdo would do.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
in a year which, so far, included (1) my book getting published, (2) one of my videos getting some real traction, (3) one of my games taking off in a way that's bonkers banana pants, and (4) surviving, this is still the thing I am proudest of doing
June 25, 2025 at 10:54 AM
in a year which, so far, included (1) my book getting published, (2) one of my videos getting some real traction, (3) one of my games taking off in a way that's bonkers banana pants, and (4) surviving, this is still the thing I am proudest of doing
Reposted by Amabel Holland
you could say i deserve it but if i hadn't noticed someone else would have.
![Paula Barker MP @paulabarkermp.bsky.social • 2h
It was an honour to attend the RNIB's 'Out of Sight: vision rehabilitation' drop-in.
I heard about the difference that timely access to local authority support - known as vision rehabilitation, can make, and learnt more about this vital but often overlooked part of social care.
[attached are three photos of paula at the drop-in. in one she is holding a sign that reads: i'll stand up for bland and partially sighted people']
sloane lysbeth @sloanelysbeth.bsky.social • 25m
the lack of alt-text on this is hilarious.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bcgtpezwhu5ynanpiezkmfim/bafkreigeypem6h7mjbnin25lkuwa3smeck2wmuimvukgyec3di6qymh5de@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 12:55 PM
you could say i deserve it but if i hadn't noticed someone else would have.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
I'm friends with Cole now, Erin is my sister now, but in both cases that came after their kindness to someone they didn't know very well changed my life. So much of my happiness & success is based on luck & kindness that I can't help but feel a deep, overwhelming gratitude. This life is a gift.
November 26, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I'm friends with Cole now, Erin is my sister now, but in both cases that came after their kindness to someone they didn't know very well changed my life. So much of my happiness & success is based on luck & kindness that I can't help but feel a deep, overwhelming gratitude. This life is a gift.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
It's luck, but also kindness? Cole Wehrle saying yes to essentially an absolute stranger who asked him to design a game for her new company. The numerous colleagues who told a reporter for the New Yorker to talk to me. Erin Escobedo telling a scared closeted trans girl it was worth it to be Amabel.
November 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It's luck, but also kindness? Cole Wehrle saying yes to essentially an absolute stranger who asked him to design a game for her new company. The numerous colleagues who told a reporter for the New Yorker to talk to me. Erin Escobedo telling a scared closeted trans girl it was worth it to be Amabel.
I'm not the only person who makes board games full-time but I am probably the only one who does it full-time making weird, abrasive, experimental zine-like board games w/ POD production values. That should not work; feels like I am getting away with something. And I do chalk it up primarily to luck.
Some close friends to be get a little frustrated in my tendency to priortise luck in my own career, as they know how I work. I try to explain that work just is buying a lottery ticket. It's necessary, but certainly not sufficient. I know many folks who've worked as hard but the dice have been cruel.
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I'm not the only person who makes board games full-time but I am probably the only one who does it full-time making weird, abrasive, experimental zine-like board games w/ POD production values. That should not work; feels like I am getting away with something. And I do chalk it up primarily to luck.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
"It is against the TOS to be talked into suicide by our LLM" is possibly the most evil tech bro thing I've ever read
Additionally, OpenAI argues its not liable because Raine, by using ChatGPT for self-harm, broke its terms of service
November 26, 2025 at 12:29 AM
"It is against the TOS to be talked into suicide by our LLM" is possibly the most evil tech bro thing I've ever read
Reposted by Amabel Holland
Uh, excuse me, but this new report written by a doctor whose license is under review for abuse and malpractice actually says being suicidal builds character and so now we're gonna make that national health policy
November 25, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Uh, excuse me, but this new report written by a doctor whose license is under review for abuse and malpractice actually says being suicidal builds character and so now we're gonna make that national health policy
Reposted by Amabel Holland
imagine having to hear shit like "study confirms giving diabetic children insulin reduces their death rates by 100%" as if that hasn't been known for like a hunred years. that's what being trans is like
November 25, 2025 at 12:06 PM
imagine having to hear shit like "study confirms giving diabetic children insulin reduces their death rates by 100%" as if that hasn't been known for like a hunred years. that's what being trans is like
Reposted by Amabel Holland
My books do pretty well, but the backbone of my income is from film and television criticism on my Patreon, so I'm a full-time writer, but I'm doing two separate careers.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
My books do pretty well, but the backbone of my income is from film and television criticism on my Patreon, so I'm a full-time writer, but I'm doing two separate careers.
Reposted by Amabel Holland
Big news! The groundhog is back at my sister's and she gave him a plum
November 25, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Big news! The groundhog is back at my sister's and she gave him a plum
what is eklund if not wrongness persevering
I want to agree to this in principle, but there’s also a Phil Eklund way to do it incorrectly. Eklund would regularly rename mechanics without offering context, assuming that the player would have the same knowledge and instincts as he did. It resulted in a rulebook that sounded like a muddled code.
there is almost no feedback I will reflexively ignore as a game developer but “you shouldn’t name something X because people don’t know that word” is one of them. oh no! You might learn a new word! God forbid you take away a piece of knowledge from a game that’s not a brand of gun or some shit lol
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
what is eklund if not wrongness persevering
Reposted by Amabel Holland
![R. H. Bing (October 20, 1914 – April 28, 1986)[1] was an American mathematician who worked mainly in the areas of geometric topology and continuum theory.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/bafkreid62wy3dekb2kzbisjfdlimlb35j4rlgew5iof7vi32byfszmg26a@jpeg)
![Bing's father was named Rupert Henry, but Bing's mother thought that "Rupert Henry" was too British for Texas. Thus she compromised by abbreviating it to R. H.[5] Consequently, R. H. does not stand for a first or middle name.
When Bing was applying for a visa, he was requested not to use initials. He explained that his name was really "R-only H-only Bing", and ended up receiving a visa made out to "Ronly Honly Bing".](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/bafkreigmfj53q4uy33spga2bxdkllqm3ag5sffovg5g7ddmu3vqzkb6k24@jpeg)