diff --git a/docs/og-card.html b/docs/og-card.html
index c9d8e34..b8bfcd2 100644
--- a/docs/og-card.html
+++ b/docs/og-card.html
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 </svg>
 <div>
   <h1>Hnefatafl</h1>
-  <p><b>The Viking board game.</b> One king, one throne, four corners, and a ring of attackers closing in. Play the bot or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut.</p>
+  <p><b>The Viking board game.</b> One king, one throne, four corners, and a ring of attackers closing in. Play a housecarl or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut.</p>
   <p class="foot">tafl.kestrelsnest.social · free, no accounts</p>
 </div></div>
 <script>
diff --git a/server/src/rooms.ts b/server/src/rooms.ts
index e4f494f..84230cc 100644
--- a/server/src/rooms.ts
+++ b/server/src/rooms.ts
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ export class Rooms<State, Input> {
 	/** The host seats a bot in an empty chair. */
 	addBot(room: Room<State>, token: string | undefined): Seat {
 		const host = this.seatOf(room, token);
-		if (host.id !== room.seats[0]?.id) throw new RoomError('Only the player who opened the table may seat a bot.', 403);
+		if (host.id !== room.seats[0]?.id) throw new RoomError('Only the player who opened the table may seat a housecarl.', 403);
 		if (room.state) throw new RoomError('The game has begun; no more seats are taken.', 409);
 		const taken = new Set(room.seats.map((s) => s.name.toLowerCase()));
 		const pool = this.game.botNames.filter((n) => !taken.has(n.toLowerCase()));
@@ -352,10 +352,10 @@ export class Rooms<State, Input> {
 	/** The host sends a bot away before the game begins. People leave by not coming back. */
 	unseat(room: Room<State>, token: string | undefined, seatId: unknown): void {
 		const host = this.seatOf(room, token);
-		if (host.id !== room.seats[0]?.id) throw new RoomError('Only the player who opened the table may send a bot away.', 403);
+		if (host.id !== room.seats[0]?.id) throw new RoomError('Only the player who opened the table may send a housecarl away.', 403);
 		if (room.state) throw new RoomError('The game has begun; the table is set.', 409);
 		const seat = room.seats.find((s) => s.id === seatId);
-		if (!seat || !seat.bot) throw new RoomError('Only a bot can be sent away.', 400);
+		if (!seat || !seat.bot) throw new RoomError('Only a housecarl can be sent away.', 400);
 		this.commit(room, { t: 'unseat', id: seat.id });
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/app.html b/src/app.html
index f8c4612..14fd5f9 100644
--- a/src/app.html
+++ b/src/app.html
@@ -6,21 +6,21 @@
 		<meta name="color-scheme" content="dark" />
 		<meta name="theme-color" content="#121a20" />
 		<title>Hnefatafl</title>
-		<meta name="description" content="Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, free in the browser: play the bot or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut." />
+		<meta name="description" content="Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, free in the browser: play a housecarl or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut." />
 		<link rel="canonical" href="https://tafl.kestrelsnest.social/" />
 		<link rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" href="/favicon.svg" />
 		<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png" />
 		<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
 		<meta property="og:site_name" content="Hnefatafl" />
 		<meta property="og:title" content="Hnefatafl" />
-		<meta property="og:description" content="Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, free in the browser: play the bot or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut." />
+		<meta property="og:description" content="Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, free in the browser: play a housecarl or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut." />
 		<meta property="og:url" content="https://tafl.kestrelsnest.social/" />
 		<meta property="og:image" content="https://tafl.kestrelsnest.social/og.png" />
 		<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200" />
 		<meta property="og:image:height" content="630" />
 		<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" />
 		<meta name="twitter:title" content="Hnefatafl" />
-		<meta name="twitter:description" content="Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, free in the browser: play the bot or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut." />
+		<meta name="twitter:description" content="Hnefatafl, the Viking board game, free in the browser: play a housecarl or a friend, by Copenhagen rules or Linnaeus's Tablut." />
 		<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://tafl.kestrelsnest.social/og.png" />
 		%sveltekit.head%
 	</head>
diff --git a/src/lib/components/Hall.svelte b/src/lib/components/Hall.svelte
index ca0d81d..d0391e3 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/Hall.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/Hall.svelte
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@
 		const g = games[held.roomId];
 		if (g === undefined) return 'looking';
 		if (g === null) return 'unreachable';
-		const others = g.seats.filter((s) => s.id !== held.seat).map((s) => (s.bot ? `${s.name} (the bot)` : s.name));
+		const others = g.seats.filter((s) => s.id !== held.seat).map((s) => (s.bot ? `${s.name} (a housecarl)` : s.name));
 		if (!g.state) return `waiting to start${g.seats.length ? ` · ${g.seats.map((s) => s.name).join(', ')}` : ''}`;
 		if (g.over) {
 			if (g.over.winner === held.seat) return 'you won';
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
 	<div class="lid-head">
 		<h1>Hnefatafl</h1>
 		<p class="pitch">The Viking board game. One king, one throne, four corners, and a ring of attackers closing in.</p>
-		<p class="tag">Hnefatafl was played across the Norse world for a thousand years before chess. Every piece moves like a rook and is taken by being sandwiched; the attackers must capture the king, the king must reach a corner. Play the bot, or open a table for a friend and play by turns. Copenhagen rules on the big board, or Tablut, the older game Linnaeus wrote down in 1732.</p>
+		<p class="tag">Hnefatafl was played across the Norse world for a thousand years before chess. Every piece moves like a rook and is taken by being sandwiched; the attackers must capture the king, the king must reach a corner. Play a housecarl, or open a table for a friend and play by turns. Copenhagen rules on the big board, or Tablut, the older game Linnaeus wrote down in 1732.</p>
 		<p class="links"><a href="/guide">how to play</a> · <a href="/rules">the rules</a> · <a class="about-link" href="#about" onclick={() => (aboutOpen = true)}>about this game — a labor of love</a></p>
 	</div>
 
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@
 				{/each}
 			</div>
 		{/if}
-		<button type="button" class="commit primary" disabled={!ready || busy} onclick={() => open(() => Room.createWithBot(name.trim(), options))}>Play now against the bot</button>
+		<button type="button" class="commit primary" disabled={!ready || busy} onclick={() => open(() => Room.createWithBot(name.trim(), options))}>Play now against a housecarl</button>
 		<div class="ways">
 			<button type="button" class="quiet" disabled={!ready || busy} onclick={() => open(() => Room.create(name.trim(), game.seatIds.length, options))}>Open a table</button>
 			<form class="joinform" onsubmit={join}>
diff --git a/src/lib/components/Lobby.svelte b/src/lib/components/Lobby.svelte
index 7936f26..1375585 100644
--- a/src/lib/components/Lobby.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/components/Lobby.svelte
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@
 		{#each v.seats as s (s.id)}
 			<li>
 				<span class="seat-name">{s.name}</span>
-				<span class="muted">{s.id === v.host ? 'opened the table' : s.bot ? 'the bot' : 'seated'}{s.id === v.me ? ', you' : ''}{#if s.bot && room.isHost}
-						<button type="button" class="unseat" title="Send this bot away" aria-label="Send {s.name} away" onclick={() => room.unseat(s.id)}>×</button>{/if}</span>
+				<span class="muted">{s.id === v.host ? 'opened the table' : s.bot ? 'a housecarl' : 'seated'}{s.id === v.me ? ', you' : ''}{#if s.bot && room.isHost}
+						<button type="button" class="unseat" title="Send this housecarl away" aria-label="Send {s.name} away" onclick={() => room.unseat(s.id)}>×</button>{/if}</span>
 			</li>
 		{/each}
 		{#each v.expected as name (name)}
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
 	{#if !room.spectating}
 		<div class="ways">
 			{#if seatFree && room.isHost}
-				<button type="button" class="quiet" onclick={() => room.addBot()}>Seat a bot</button>
+				<button type="button" class="quiet" onclick={() => room.addBot()}>Seat a housecarl</button>
 			{/if}
 			{#if room.isHost}
 				<button type="button" class="commit small" disabled={v.seats.length < 2} onclick={() => room.begin()}>Begin</button>
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@
 				<p class="muted small">{v.keeper} keeps this site and answers every call, sometimes within the minute, sometimes after a night's sleep.{#if keeperHour}&nbsp;It is {keeperHour} where {v.keeper} lives.{/if} The seat is held either way.</p>
 			</div>
 		{:else if v.challenge}
-			<p class="muted small">{v.keeper} has been called to the table by {room.nameOf(v.challenge.by)}.{#if keeperHour}&nbsp;It is {keeperHour} there.{/if} A seat is held: if they can come now they will take it; if they are asleep or away they will leave a word below when they can. Meanwhile the table is yours: seat a bot, invite a friend, or open another game in a new tab and play on. This table keeps its place in your hall until you come back.</p>
+			<p class="muted small">{v.keeper} has been called to the table by {room.nameOf(v.challenge.by)}.{#if keeperHour}&nbsp;It is {keeperHour} there.{/if} A seat is held: if they can come now they will take it; if they are asleep or away they will leave a word below when they can. Meanwhile the table is yours: seat a housecarl, invite a friend, or open another game in a new tab and play on. This table keeps its place in your hall until you come back.</p>
 		{/if}
 	{/if}
 	{#if room.error}<p class="warning">{room.error}</p>{/if}
diff --git a/src/lib/net/room.svelte.ts b/src/lib/net/room.svelte.ts
index c9c480c..8d8a020 100644
--- a/src/lib/net/room.svelte.ts
+++ b/src/lib/net/room.svelte.ts
@@ -101,12 +101,12 @@ export class Room {
 	}
 
 	addBot(): Promise<boolean> {
-		return this.act(() => api.addBot(this.roomId, this.token), 'The bot could not be seated.');
+		return this.act(() => api.addBot(this.roomId, this.token), 'The housecarl could not be seated.');
 	}
 
 	/** Send a bot away before the game begins; only the host may. */
 	unseat(seat: SeatId): Promise<boolean> {
-		return this.act(() => api.unseat(this.roomId, this.token, seat), 'The bot could not be sent away.');
+		return this.act(() => api.unseat(this.roomId, this.token, seat), 'The housecarl could not be sent away.');
 	}
 
 	say(text: string): Promise<boolean> {
diff --git a/src/routes/guide/+page.svelte b/src/routes/guide/+page.svelte
index f948c73..8278da1 100644
--- a/src/routes/guide/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/guide/+page.svelte
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 		<h2>The hall</h2>
 		<p>
 			Give your name and choose the rules: <em>Copenhagen</em>, the balanced modern game on the big board, or <em>Tablut</em>, the smaller and older one. Choose which side you play.
-			<em>Play now against the bot</em> seats a bot opposite you and begins. <em>Open a table</em> gives you a four-letter code and a link for a friend. The tables this browser
+			<em>Play now against a housecarl</em> seats a housecarl opposite you and begins. <em>Open a table</em> gives you a four-letter code and a link for a friend. The tables this browser
 			holds a seat at are listed below, with whose move it is.
 		</p>
 	</section>
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 	<section id="table">
 		<h2>The table</h2>
 		<p>
-			Whoever opened the table is its host, and begins the game once a second player has sat or a bot has been seated. A friend who opens the link takes the other seat. The
+			Whoever opened the table is its host, and begins the game once a second player has sat or a housecarl has been seated. A friend who opens the link takes the other seat. The
 			masthead's <em>Transfer seat</em> gives four words that bring your seat to another device, and when a game is over anyone at the table may call for a rematch.
 		</p>
 	</section>
diff --git a/static/og.png b/static/og.png
index 448612e..6196720 100644
Binary files a/static/og.png and b/static/og.png differ