Rabih AbouJaoudé

Last updated: February 12, 2026

Overview

Rabih AbouJaoudé (also credited as Rabih Aboujaoude) is a game designer, artist, and sculptor who built a prolific career in the video game industry, primarily at Sierra Entertainment and later at GameHouse.¹ With 60 credits across 34 games spanning from 1995 to 2010, AbouJaoudé served in multiple capacities including Designer, Art Director, Lead Artist, and 3D Illustrator.¹ His work helped establish the Hoyle brand as Sierra’s flagship casual gaming series, creating accessible and visually polished games that brought classic card and board games to personal computers.

AbouJaoudé’s career demonstrates the evolution of Sierra’s business strategy from adventure games toward casual gaming markets. While the Hoyle series lacked the narrative complexity of Sierra’s adventure titles, it represented steady commercial success and required sophisticated visual design to make familiar games feel fresh on computer platforms.² After Sierra’s corporate dissolution, he transitioned to GameHouse Studios where he contributed graphic design to the popular Little Shop hidden object series and other casual titles before leaving the game industry to pursue a career in ceramic arts.³⁴

Career

Sierra Entertainment (1995–2007)

AbouJaoudé joined Sierra Entertainment in the mid-1990s, initially working as a Lead Artist on Hoyle Classic Games (1995), establishing his visual direction for what would become a decade-long association with the Hoyle brand.⁵ His early work demonstrated his ability to create polished, appealing graphics that would define the Hoyle series for over a decade.

During his Sierra tenure, AbouJaoudé streamlined character production techniques and set a visual benchmark that informed the following nine years of Hoyle titles.⁴ Working on games like Hoyle Children’s Collection (1996), Hoyle Bridge (1996), and Hoyle Blackjack (1996), he contributed character animation and lead artist duties across multiple simultaneous projects.¹

Throughout the late 1990s, AbouJaoudé’s role expanded from pure art direction into game design. On titles like Hoyle Board Games (1998), Hoyle Card Games (1999), and Hoyle Backgammon & Cribbage (1999), he contributed to both visual design and game mechanics.⁴ His dual expertise in art and design made him valuable for creating cohesive gaming experiences where visual presentation and gameplay worked together seamlessly.

By the 2000s, AbouJaoudé had risen to prominent leadership positions on the Hoyle series. He served as Art Director on major releases including Hoyle Casino (2001), Hoyle Table Games 2004 (2003), and multiple entries in the Card Games, Board Games, and Puzzle Games lines.⁴ His design credits on titles like Hoyle Kids Games (2000) and Hoyle Poker Series (2005) reflect his involvement in shaping game mechanics and user experience across different Hoyle product lines.⁴

Using new technology and high-resolution graphics, AbouJaoudé was able to create versatile character systems, including an updated FaceMaker concept with new content—which Sierra was eventually able to sell to another company.⁴ His final major Sierra project was Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games (2009), where he served as both Designer and Art Director, bringing together decades of Hoyle expertise into a comprehensive collection.⁴

GameHouse (2008–2010)

Following Sierra’s corporate transitions under Vivendi and later Activision, AbouJaoudé joined GameHouse Studios, a Seattle-based division of RealNetworks that specialized in casual games.³ At GameHouse, he contributed graphic design work to several projects in the rapidly growing casual game market.

His GameHouse credits include the popular Little Shop hidden object series—Little Shop: Road Trip (2008), Little Shop: Memories (2009), and Little Shop: World Traveler (2009)—which were among the most successful titles in the competitive hidden object genre.⁴ He also provided graphic design for Ancient Secrets: Quest for the Golden Key (2008), Sunset Studio: Love on the High Seas (2009), and several other casual titles.⁴

AbouJaoudé’s work extended beyond hidden object games to include art contributions for puzzle games like Collapse! (2009) and Marooned (2009), demonstrating his adaptability across different casual game genres.⁴ His final credited video game work was The Dream Voyagers (2010), where he provided character art.⁴

Post-Game Industry Career

After leaving the video game industry around 2010, AbouJaoudé pursued his passion for fine arts, eventually becoming a Resident Artist at Seward Park Clay Studio in Seattle, Washington.⁴ Drawing on his Fine Arts degree and years of visual design experience, he now works as a sculptor specializing in ceramic arts.⁴ His transition from digital game art to physical sculpture represents a full-circle return to traditional artistic mediums after fifteen years in interactive entertainment.

Notable Works

Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games (2009)

AbouJaoudé served as both Designer and Art Director on this comprehensive collection of classic games.⁴ The title combined decades of Hoyle series expertise into a single package, featuring polished visuals and refined gameplay across dozens of game variants. His leadership on both the design and art teams ensured consistency between visual presentation and game mechanics.

Hoyle Poker Series (2005)

On this poker-focused collection, AbouJaoudé contributed as Designer and Lead Artist/3D Illustrator.⁴ The game required creating compelling visual representations of poker environments and animated character opponents while designing engaging gameplay mechanics for various poker variants.

Hoyle Card Games (1999)

This foundational entry in the modern Hoyle series featured AbouJaoudé’s design and artwork contributions.⁴ The game established many conventions that would carry through subsequent Hoyle releases, combining traditional card game rules with accessible computer interfaces.

Little Shop Series (2008–2009)

At GameHouse, AbouJaoudé contributed graphic design to multiple entries in the Little Shop hidden object series, which were among the studio’s most successful franchises.⁴ The games challenged players to find hidden objects across various themed environments, and his visual design work helped maintain the series’ distinctive, appealing aesthetic.

Design Philosophy

AbouJaoudé’s work on the Hoyle series reflects a philosophy of accessibility and visual polish. Unlike Sierra’s adventure games with their complex narratives and challenging puzzles, the Hoyle games required a different approach: making familiar games feel fresh and engaging on computer platforms while remaining immediately accessible to players of all ages and skill levels.²

His dual expertise in art and design allowed him to create cohesive experiences where visual presentation supported gameplay rather than merely decorating it. The character animations in Hoyle Poker, the board representations in Hoyle Board Games, and the interface designs across the series all demonstrate this integration of visual and interactive design.⁴

His ability to streamline production techniques while maintaining visual quality made him particularly valuable on the Hoyle series, which required frequent updates and new releases to remain competitive in the casual gaming market.⁴

Legacy

Rabih AbouJaoudé’s fifteen-year career in the video game industry spans an important but often overlooked chapter in Sierra Entertainment’s history.¹ While the Hoyle series lacked the prestige of Sierra’s adventure game franchises, it represented consistent commercial success and demonstrated the company’s ability to compete in the casual gaming market that would eventually dominate the industry.

His transition from Sierra to GameHouse and eventually out of the game industry entirely reflects broader trends in the casual gaming landscape, where independent studios and digital distribution platforms transformed how games were made and sold. The skills he developed creating polished, accessible gaming experiences translated to the booming hidden object genre before he moved on to pursue traditional arts.

The visual standards AbouJaoudé established for the Hoyle series continued to influence subsequent releases even after Sierra’s corporate restructuring, and his work remains fondly remembered by fans of classic card and board game collections.

Games

Sierra Entertainment (1995–2009)

Year	Title	Role
1995	Hoyle Classic Games	Lead Artist
1996	Hoyle Blackjack	Character Animator
1996	Hoyle Bridge	Lead Artist
1996	Hoyle Children’s Collection	Lead Artist
1996	Hoyle Solitaire	Artist
1997	Hoyle Poker	Artist, Animator
1997	Hoyle Classic Card Games	Senior Artist, 3D Illustrator
1998	Hoyle Battling Ships and War	Senior Artist, 3D Illustrator
1998	Hoyle Board Games	Design, Graphics/Artwork
1998	Hoyle Solitaire	Artist, Cheer Sound
1999	Hoyle Backgammon & Cribbage	Designer, Lead Artist, 3D Illustrator
1999	Hoyle Card Games	Design, Graphics/Artwork
1999	Hoyle Word Games	Sr. Artist, Project Lead
2000	Hoyle Casino (2000)	Sr. Artist, 3D Illustrator
2000	Hoyle Kids Games	Designer, Lead Artist
2000	Hoyle Board Games 2001	Designer, Lead Artist
2000	PGA Championship Golf 2000	Gallery Models
2001	Hoyle Casino (2001)	Art Director
2002	Hoyle Casino Empire	Additional Art
2002	Dell Magazines Crosswords	Art Director
2003	Hoyle Table Games 2004	Designer, Art Director
2004	Card Games: Hoyle 2004 Edition	Designer, Art Director
2005	Hoyle Board Games 2005	Additional Design, Art Director
2005	Hoyle Card Games 2005	Additional Design, Art Director
2005	Hoyle Poker Series	Designer, Lead Artist, 3D Illustrator
2005	Hoyle Puzzle Games 2005	Additional Design, Art Director
2009	Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games	Designer, Art Director

GameHouse / Post-Sierra (2008–2010)

Year	Title	Company	Role
2008	Ancient Secrets: Quest for the Golden Key	GameHouse	Graphic Design
2008	Little Shop: Road Trip	GameHouse	Graphic Design
2009	Collapse!	GameHouse	Artist
2009	Little Shop: Memories	GameHouse	Graphic Design
2009	Little Shop: World Traveler	GameHouse	Graphic Design
2009	Marooned	GameHouse	Artist
2009	Sunset Studio: Love on the High Seas	GameHouse	Graphic Design
2010	The Dream Voyagers	GameHouse	Art (“Zee”)

References

Footnotes

1. MobyGames - Rabih AbouJaoudé — Complete credits listing (60 credits on 34 games) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. MobyGames - Hoyle Series — Hoyle games series history ↩ ↩²

3. RealNetworks Press Release - Little Shop Series — GameHouse Studios development of Little Shop series ↩ ↩²

4. LinkedIn - Rabih AbouJaoudé — Current position as Resident Artist at Seward Park Clay Studio, Seattle; Sierra career description and FaceMaker project ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹

5. MobyGames - Hoyle Classic Games (1995) Credits — Lead Artist credit ↩