We talk to Elfhame author Holly Black about her new card game, Enemies & Lovers (Exclusive)

We got to speak with the one-and-only Holly Black, critically acclaimed and internationally beloved author of the Elfhame novels, about her brand new card game, Enemies & Lovers: The Crown of Elfhame. Designed for 2-4 players, Enemies & Lovers is a fast-paced, strategic card game perfect for those with a thirst for power and a love of everything Faerie.

Below you’ll find a discussion about the rare author-to-game maker pipeline, Holly’s love for games, how it felt to use Kickstarter (and be fully funded in 30 minutes), and what it was like working with the legendary Frostbite Studios, among other topics.

RACHAEL CONRAD: While you’re known as an author first and foremost, you’ve made it clear that you’re no stranger to TTRPGs and various other games. What made you decide to try your hand at making one?

HOLLY BLACK: I had been talking about licensing the Elfhame universe to someone to create a game based on it. At the time, I was on tour, so I had a lot of time in airports and hotel rooms to think. I started to wonder about reaching out to some of my friends who’d created  games before. Maybe I could work with one of them? And then I started wondering about doing it myself. I wasn’t sure I had the mind for it, but I started coming up with ideas. And even though I was well aware that I didn’t know what I was doing, I kept coming up with more ideas and more refinements of those ideas. And at that point, I wanted to see the process through.

RC: Were there specific games that you turned to for inspiration, card based or otherwise?

HB: I thought about the mechanics that my family really liked in card games – we love a “take that” and reversals of fortune. I thought about Guillotine, Love Letters, Coup, and even Go Fish. And Exploding Kittens, not just in the game itself but the way the rules sheet read with the flavor of the game itself.

Overall, I wanted Enemies & Lovers: The Crown of Elfhame to be fast and fun, and also to feel like the books themselves, which is why it’s all about manipulating a prince onto a throne (through romantic or other means).

RC: What was the process of play testing like? I imagine it’s not too dissimilar from editing a book in some ways.

HB: There are a lot of ways that playtesting is like going to a workshop. You get feedback and then you try to figure out how to fix what isn’t working about the game without breaking what is working. 

One of the early phases that was the most fun was playing the game with people (mostly my partner and our kid, but sometimes also friends) somewhere between the refining phase and the brainstorming phase, where we’d add a rule and play with that for a while or add a new card and play with that for a while. Books are so large and unwieldy that there’s just no equivalent to the “let’s just try it” approach you can take with a game.

RC: Roughly how many iterations of the rules/play system were there before you landed on the one people have access to now?

HB: So, so, so many. We were iterating even as we were getting ready to send the final file to the printer. That’s a lot like writing a book too!

RC: Was there anyone within the games industry - card based or otherwise - who you turned to for advice during this time?

HB: My friends Jedediah Berry and Hamish Young were great. Hamish designs video games and gave me some invaluable insight on running simulations of how often the crown card would come back through the deck and how that would impact game length. And Jed, who recently won an ENNIE for The Valley of Flowers, played an early draft and gave me a lot of insight.

A lot of great advice came from friends with regular gaming nights and experience as players, too. They often provided some really, really good suggestions for clarifying language and complicating gameplay.

RC: Enemies & Lovers is obviously based on the Folk of Air series and the characters everyone has grown to know and love, but was there ever a moment you pictured the characters themselves playing it?

HB: Absolutely! I’d love to have some art of that.

RC: Is there a character in particular who would excel at playing it? The first who came to my mind was Kaye.

HB: I feel like Madoc would enjoy this game a little too much.

RC: The cards are absolutely gorgeous. What was the process of working with Frostbite Studios like? How did you initially connect with them for this project?

HB: I actually saw Frostbite’s art online and thought it would be perfect. She’s an amazing artist and an amazing collaborator. She created such perfect illustrations for each of the characters. When I saw her depiction of Kaye, my eyes teared up – there were just so many little details (her plastic crown! the extra knuckle on her fingers!). And her noble riding toad makes me happy every time I look at it.

RC: Did you provide the artist a description of what you wanted to see on each card and let them take it from there?

HB: Yes, occasionally with some extra notes, if relevant.

RC: How did you decide who would be featured on each of the cards? Was there any change as the development of the game progressed?

HB: Figuring out the initial assignment of character or thing to each card was tricky. Along the way, we did occasionally shift card functions, but usually for game reasons. We were also lucky that new cards were some of our stretch goals, so we were able to bring in a few new rules and characters that way. My husband really wanted to make sure we squeezed Ravus and Val from Valiant in there.

RC: Do you have a favorite card? Or is that a bit like asking to pick a favorite child?

HB: In terms of illustrations, it might be The Roach, who is a stunningly attractive goblin. Certainly the Riding Toad is up there. If we’re combining art and function, I have to go with the Tail – the illustration is of Cardan’s tail and the card allows you to pull from the discard pile, which is very useful if an opponent was forced to discard the Crown.

RC: Is there anyone from the books who wasn’t included or cut from the lineup that you wish could have stayed?

HB: I wish I could have fit in more characters from Darkest Part of the Forest and the Modern Faerie Tales.

RC: Are there any easter eggs or small details on the cards that fans should keep an eye out for?

HB: There are so many small details! Heather with the paintbrush in her hair. Vivi bringing you coffee. The alternate version of Jude musing with a knife. Cardan lounging around. 

I enjoyed putting together “flavor text” for every card, either quoting from the books or explaining a little about the image. Hopefully those will be fun for readers and non-readers alike

RC: At what point did you decide to use Kickstarter to fund the project? Did you know this was the route you wanted to take from the beginning?

HB: Once I realized I was actually going to attempt to make a game, I decided I would try to do it through Kickstarter. I know that’s where a lot of games find their start and it seemed like a way to make the game look the way I wanted (Tarot-sized! Shiny foil!) and find its audience.

RC: How does it feel to have one of the top ten most funded playing card kickstarters of all time?

HB: Humbling. I am so grateful for my readers taking a chance on Enemies & Lovers and being so kind about the learning curve involved in creating both the game and the Kickstarter. It has meant more to me than I can say.

R: Now that you’ve been bitten by the game crafting bug, would you ever entertain the idea again?

HB: I definitely would! Right now, we’re still finishing up fulfillment on Enemies & Lovers and working on what comes next in terms of licensing, so this card game isn’t quite behind me yet, but I learned a lot from making it and would love a chance to try my hand at a very different kind of game at some point in the future.

Thanks to Holly Black for speaking with us! You can check out more information about Enemies & Lovers: The Crown of Elfhame on her Kickstarter.

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