diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 26b5b08..79323a8 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -208,9 +208,14 @@ Embed via `include_bytes!()` only when ALL of the following are true:
 Currently embedded:
 * **Audio** — all `.wav` files in `audio_plugin.rs`
 * **Default card theme** — shipped via `embedded://` scheme in `ThemePlugin`
+* **Bundled UI font** — `assets/fonts/main.ttf` (FiraMono) via `include_bytes!`
+  in `font_plugin.rs` and `assets/svg_loader.rs`; it is the canonical UI face
+  and must always be present, so it is embedded rather than `AssetServer`-loaded
 
-Do NOT embed card face PNGs, background images, or user fonts —
-these are loaded via `AssetServer` so art can be swapped without recompile.
+Do NOT embed card face PNGs or background images — these are loaded via
+`AssetServer` so art can be swapped without recompile. User-supplied fonts
+(if ever added) likewise go through `AssetServer`; only the bundled FiraMono
+face above is embedded.
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/solitaire_engine/src/font_plugin.rs b/solitaire_engine/src/font_plugin.rs
index 8098554..7c4e42d 100644
--- a/solitaire_engine/src/font_plugin.rs
+++ b/solitaire_engine/src/font_plugin.rs
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 //!
 //! Bundling rather than runtime-loading guarantees the canonical UI face is
 //! always available regardless of install or platform. The bytes are
-//! validated at startup; a parse failure aborts the program with a clear
-//! error because it means the binary is corrupt.
+//! validated at startup; a parse failure logs a warning and continues with
+//! glyph-less UI rather than aborting, since crashing on a corrupt embed is
+//! worse than degraded text.
 
 use bevy::prelude::*;