The menu text reduction: the design handoff, built

Sixty words on the wall became a dozen. The handoff's own summary of the rule:
Jersey 15 NAMES (screen titles, rooms, cards), Bangers CALLS exactly once per
screen (the fixture, the primary button, a modal headline), Silkscreen INFORMS
(numbers, labels, chips) — and a sentence survives only where it carries a
decision. Everything else moved into a bar, a pip or the modal that opens with
the mode.

  · Jersey 15 bundled subset (9 KB) and Bungee retired after one afternoon
  · SPLASH: the plaque is one row, the goal line is gone (the fixture button
    below said it already), the two doors carry a number each
  · PICK A GAME: rooms are one word, posters are their names, the fixture is a
    hero with the only second line — the whole wall fits one screen now
  · MATCH SETUP: unnumbered blocks, the meters' legend once instead of a
    description per court, no summary footer
  · DIFFICULTY: three pips instead of three sentences
  · TRAINING: the revanche is a full-width row, rungs are numbers, the list
    ends on the league that opens the rest of the ladder
  · VS: three paragraphs became YOU / HOST / JOIN
  · MODALS: one rule per row (the sub was the lead again in other words), the
    blood pool as pips on that same line, and the walk-on's two levels in ONE
    face at ONE size — a comparison drawn at two sizes is a headline with a
    footnote (Oliver)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/beats.js

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 // (beats <-> gameplay and beats <-> zombies are runtime-only import cycles, same pattern as
 // input <-> gameplay: the imported bindings are only touched inside functions, never at load.)
 
-import { TUNE, UI, bossArt, matchFoe, BENCH, ZFAMS, COURT, HOME, racketStage, leagueOf, cupRoundsFor, foeLevel } from './config.js';
+import { TUNE, UI, bossArt, matchFoe, BENCH, ZFAMS, COURT, HOME, racketStage, leagueOf, cupRoundsFor, cupFixture, foeLevel } from './config.js';
 import { endRun, MODE_MATCH } from './stats.js';
 import { award, prof, save as profSave, push as profPush, setPromo, levelAt, recordCup } from './profile.js';
 import { G, P, O, ball, score, setupPoint, sendBoy, other } from './state.js';
@@ -85,8 +85,8 @@ export function startDuel() {
     showModal({ title: 'SUDDEN DEATH', color: UI.hot,
       body: ["IT'S TENNIS AGAIN — ONE POINT", 'WIN IT AND THEY HAND YOU A WEAPON'],
       // both stakes named (the old card only sold the win): a lost duel is a real cost
-      rules: [{ lead: "IT'S TENNIS AGAIN — ONE POINT", sub: 'WIN: THEY HAND YOU A WEAPON' },
-              { lead: 'LOSE: THE DEAD TAKE A GAME', sub: 'AND FIVE MORE CLIMB THE FENCE', hot: true }] });
+      rules: ['WIN IT AND THEY HAND YOU A WEAPON',
+              { lead: 'LOSE IT AND FIVE MORE CLIMB THE FENCE', hot: true }] });
   } else G.flash = { text: 'SUDDEN DEATH', t: 1.6 };
 }
 
@@ -394,17 +394,15 @@ export function startMatch(cup = false, draw = null, train = 0) {
     showModal({ title: 'THE TRAINING COURT', color: UI.hot,
       body: ['ONE BODY, ONE GAME AT A TIME',
              'FELL IT — OR BLEED OUT — AND IT COMES BACK', 'NO RUN IS BANKED — REPS PAY QUARTER XP'],
-      rules: [{ lead: 'ONE BODY, ONE GAME AT A TIME', sub: 'FELL IT OR BLEED OUT — IT COMES BACK' },
-              { lead: 'NO RUN IS BANKED', sub: 'REPS PAY QUARTER XP' }] });
+      rules: ['FELL IT OR BLEED OUT — IT COMES BACK', 'NOTHING IS BANKED · REPS PAY ¼ XP'] });
   } else if (cup && !G.seen.cup) {
     G.seen.cup = true;
-    showModal({ title: 'THE TOURNAMENT', color: UI.hot,
+    showModal({ title: 'THE TOURNAMENT', color: UI.hot, strap: cupFixture(G.league, prof.ch).sub,
       // plain words (Oliver: "dead hierarchy" said nothing) — what you play, what winning buys
       body: ['YOUR LEAGUE, ROUND BY ROUND — WIN IT ALL, MOVE UP A LEAGUE',
              'ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD — ' + TUNE.matchPlayerHp + ' AND YOU ARE EATEN'],
-      rules: [{ lead: 'YOUR LEAGUE, ROUND BY ROUND', sub: 'WIN IT ALL — MOVE UP A LEAGUE' },
-              { lead: 'ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD', sub: 'AT ZERO YOU ARE EATEN', hot: true,
-                pips: TUNE.matchPlayerHp }] });
+      rules: ['WIN IT ALL — MOVE UP A LEAGUE',
+              { lead: 'POINTS DRAW BLOOD', hot: true, pips: TUNE.matchPlayerHp }] });
   } else if (!cup && !train && !G.seen.match) {
     G.seen.match = true;
     // Oliver's copy direction: name the stake, count the blood. TUNE.matchPlayerHp is the real
@@ -416,15 +414,13 @@ export function startMatch(cup = false, draw = null, train = 0) {
       ? { title: 'DEATH MATCH', color: UI.hot,
           body: ['WIN THE POINT — WOUND YOUR FRIEND',
                  'ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD — ' + TUNE.matchPlayerHp + ' AND YOU ARE EATEN'],
-          rules: [{ lead: 'WIN THE POINT', sub: 'WOUND YOUR FRIEND' },
-                  { lead: 'ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD', sub: 'AT ZERO YOU ARE EATEN', hot: true,
-                    pips: TUNE.matchPlayerHp }] }
+          rules: ['WIN THE POINT — WOUND YOUR FRIEND',
+                  { lead: 'POINTS DRAW BLOOD', hot: true, pips: TUNE.matchPlayerHp }] }
       : { title: 'THE CLIMB', color: UI.hot,
           body: ['THE WHOLE CLUB, BOTTOM UP — ONE GAME PER BODY',
                  'ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD — ' + TUNE.matchPlayerHp + ' AND YOU ARE EATEN'],
-          rules: [{ lead: 'THE WHOLE CLUB, BOTTOM UP', sub: 'ONE GAME PER BODY — HOW FAR CAN YOU GET?' },
-                  { lead: 'ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD', sub: 'AT ZERO YOU ARE EATEN', hot: true,
-                    pips: TUNE.matchPlayerHp }] });
+          rules: ['ONE GAME PER BODY — HOW FAR CAN YOU GET?',
+                  { lead: 'POINTS DRAW BLOOD', hot: true, pips: TUNE.matchPlayerHp }] });
   }
   matchOpponent();
   matchReady();

src/config.js

@@ -856,13 +856,17 @@ export const MODES = [
 // canonical path does not live behind a fan-out. Its two former siblings (the climb, the training
 // court) stand on their own in the training group, which also cost the second step its only other
 // job: CLASSIC's difficulty chips are all that still fan out.
+// THE TEXT REDUCTION (2026-08-31, design handoff): a room is ONE WORD and the posters carry only
+// their names. The straps went with the sentences — a shelf that has to explain itself is a shelf
+// nobody reads. `layout` is how the room deals its posters: the fixture is a HERO with the one
+// call on the screen, the training pair stands side by side, the casual three stack shorter.
 export const MENU = [
-  { group: 'THE SEASON', sub: 'THE ONLY WAY UP THE CLUB' },
+  { group: 'SEASON', layout: 'hero' },
   { mode: 'cup' },
-  { group: 'THE TRAINING', sub: 'SHARPEN UP · NOTHING HERE MOVES YOUR LEAGUE' },
+  { group: 'TRAINING', layout: 'pair' },
   { mode: 'zombie' },
   { mode: 'train' },
-  { group: 'OUT OF COMPETITION', sub: 'NO LEAGUE, NO RECORD, NO STAKES' },
+  { group: 'CASUAL', layout: 'stack' },
   { mode: 'gore' },
   { mode: 'classic', diffs: true },
   // NETPLAY (prototype): a poster with no run mode of its own — its second step is HOST / JOIN,
@@ -963,7 +967,10 @@ export const cupFixture = (lg, champion = 0) => {
   const held = champion && lg >= LEAGUES.length;      // the champion has nothing above him left
   return { lg, league: leagueOf(lg), rounds, rung: first.band[0], foe,
            title: held ? 'DEFEND THE TITLE' : 'LEAGUE ' + lg + ' · THE CUP',
-           line: rounds.length + ' ROUNDS · ' + first.name + ': ' + foe.name };
+           // the ROUND COUNT moved to `sub` (the text reduction): it belongs in the modal that
+           // explains the tournament, not on the button you press to enter it
+           line: first.name + ': ' + foe.name,
+           sub: 'LEAGUE ' + lg + ' · ' + rounds.length + ' ROUNDS' };
 };
 
 // How far a cup record reads, in the rounds' own words: 3 of 4 rounds reached is THE SEMI-FINAL.

src/main.js

@@ -124,15 +124,21 @@ const modeSub = document.getElementById('modeSub');
 // checkbox and a button combined"). Every poster is full-bright and equal — all of them are live
 // answers — and the only memory shown is the LAST tag, an indicator rather than a selection. The
 // select-and-confirm border lives solely on the final screen, where SERVE UP actually confirms.
-const banner = (card, cls, last) => {
+// `opts.line` is the ONE second line the wall still carries (the fixture, under the hero's name);
+// `opts.chip` is a fact that changes what a mode IS rather than describing it (18 RUNGS).
+const banner = (card, cls, last, opts = {}) => {
   const b = document.createElement('button');
   b.className = cls;
   // JUST THE ART. The scrim used to ride in this background stack as a hard linear-gradient; the
-  // caption sits on a BLURRED veil now (index.html, button.mode::after) that fades in out of
-  // nothing from above, and stacking the old gradient under it only doubled the darkening.
+  // caption sits on a veil now (index.html, button.mode::after) that rises out of the bottom edge,
+  // and stacking the old gradient under it only doubled the darkening.
   b.style.backgroundImage = `url(assets/${card.art}.png?v=${SPRV})`;
-  b.innerHTML = `<span class="cb"><b>${card.name}</b><i>${card.sub}</i></span>`
+  // THE POSTER IS ITS NAME (2026-08-31, the text reduction). The mode's one-line rule used to sit
+  // under every name on the wall — sixty words to make one choice. The rules live in the modal
+  // that opens with the mode; MODES.sub is still their source, it just no longer prints here.
+  b.innerHTML = `<span class="cb"><b>${card.name}</b>${opts.line ? `<i>${opts.line}</i>` : ''}</span>`
     + (last ? '<u class="last">LAST</u>' : '')
+    + (opts.chip ? `<u class="last chip">${opts.chip}</u>` : '')
     // the standing answer to "how do I advance", worn by the poster it is true of (config MODES)
     + (card.tag ? `<u class="way">${card.tag}</u>` : '');
   return b;
@@ -145,23 +151,26 @@ function buildSub(top) {
   modeSub.innerHTML = '';
   const t = top || topOf(pickedMode);
   document.getElementById('subTitle').textContent = t.diffs ? 'DIFFICULTY' : (t.name || '');
-  if (t.diffs) for (const d of DIFFS) {
+  // THE DIFFICULTY IS A COUNT, not a paragraph (2026-08-31, the text reduction): the name, and
+  // three pips of which as many are lit as the chip is hard. Nothing else — the CPU explains
+  // itself in the first rally, and it always did.
+  if (t.diffs) DIFFS.forEach((d, i) => {
     const b = document.createElement('button');
-    b.className = 'chip';
-    b.innerHTML = d.name + (d.id === pickedDiff ? '<u class="last">LAST</u>' : '');
+    b.className = 'chip' + (i === DIFFS.length - 1 ? ' hot' : '');
+    b.innerHTML = `<b>${d.name}</b><span class="pips">`
+      + [0, 1, 2].map(k => `<i${k <= i ? ' class="on"' : ''}></i>`).join('') + '</span>'
+      + (d.id === pickedDiff ? '<u class="last">LAST</u>' : '');
     b.addEventListener('click', () => {
       pickedDiff = d.id;
       try { localStorage.setItem('diff', d.id); } catch {}
-      summary();
       go('setup');
     });
     modeSub.appendChild(b);
-  }
+  });
   else if (t.kids) for (const id of t.kids) {
     const b = banner(modeOf(id), 'mode', id === pickedMode);
     b.addEventListener('click', () => {
       pickMode(id);
-      summary();
       go('setup');
     });
     modeSub.appendChild(b);
@@ -177,12 +186,18 @@ function buildTops() {
     // merely floats above a stack is a label, and the wall needs three rooms, not three labels.
     if (t.group) {
       shelf = document.createElement('section');
-      shelf.className = 'mgroup';
-      shelf.innerHTML = `<header><b>${t.group}</b><i>${t.sub}</i></header>`;
+      shelf.className = 'mgroup ' + (t.layout || '');
+      shelf.innerHTML = `<header><b>${t.group}</b></header><div class="shelf"></div>`;
       modeList.appendChild(shelf);
+      shelf = shelf.querySelector('.shelf');       // the posters live in the row, not the section
       continue;
     }
-    const b = banner(t.mode ? modeOf(t.mode) : t, 'mode', topOf(pickedMode) === t);
+    const fx = cupFixture(profile.prof.lg, profile.prof.ch);
+    const b = banner(t.mode ? modeOf(t.mode) : t, 'mode', topOf(pickedMode) === t,
+      // the fixture is the hero and carries the only second line on the wall; the training court
+      // carries the one fact that is not a description — how much of the club it holds
+      { line: t.mode === 'cup' ? 'LEAGUE ' + fx.lg + ' · ' + fx.line : null,
+        chip: t.mode === 'train' ? LADDER + ' RUNGS' : null });
     b.addEventListener('click', () => {
       // the netplay poster opens THE LOBBY and never touches pickedMode — it is not a run mode
       // the stats screen or the summary could name, and the lobby starts the game itself
@@ -190,7 +205,6 @@ function buildTops() {
       // a group remembers which child you were on; entering it fresh lands on its first card
       pickMode(t.mode || (t.kids.includes(pickedMode) ? pickedMode : t.kids[0]));
       buildSub();
-      summary();
       go(t.diffs || t.kids ? 'modesub' : 'setup');
     });
     shelf.appendChild(b);
@@ -286,7 +300,6 @@ for (const t of TOURS) {
     pickedTour = t.id;
     for (const el of tourList.children) el.classList.toggle('on', el === b);
     refreshLook();
-    summary();
   });
   tourList.appendChild(b);
 }
@@ -398,15 +411,17 @@ function syncSetup() {
   document.getElementById('cStart').textContent = cupMode ? 'ENTER THE CUP' : 'SERVE UP';
   document.getElementById('who').style.display = cupMode || climbMode ? 'none' : 'flex';
   document.getElementById('lgPanel').style.display = cupMode || climbMode ? 'block' : 'none';
+  // THE TEXT REDUCTION: two blocks on one screen, not two numbered steps
   document.getElementById('s01').textContent =
-    cupMode ? '01 · YOUR LEAGUE' : climbMode ? '01 · THE CLIMB' : '01 · PLAYER';
+    cupMode ? 'YOUR LEAGUE' : climbMode ? 'THE CLIMB' : 'PLAYER';
   if (cupMode) buildLeaguePanel(); else if (climbMode) buildClimbPanel();
   if (!courtUnlocked(picked)) picked = leagueOf(profile.prof.lg).court;
   // the COURT section: the CUP is the league fixture — one ringed row, the home venue, no choice
   // (Oliver: a league HAS its court). The climb and every other mode keep the full pickable list.
   const homeCourt = leagueOf(profile.prof.lg).court;
+  // ...and the meters get their legend ONCE, in the heading, instead of a line under every court
   document.getElementById('s02').innerHTML = cupMode
-    ? '02 · HOME COURT<span>SET BY YOUR LEAGUE</span>' : '02 · COURT';
+    ? 'HOME COURT<span>SET BY YOUR LEAGUE</span>' : 'COURT<span>PACE · BOUNCE</span>';
   courtList.classList.toggle('fixed', cupMode);
   for (const el of courtList.children) {
     const c = COURTS.find(x => x.id === el.dataset.id), l = courtLeague(el.dataset.id);
@@ -415,8 +430,11 @@ function syncSetup() {
     el.classList.toggle('on', cupMode ? el.dataset.id === homeCourt
                                       : open && el.dataset.id === picked);
     el.style.display = cupMode && el.dataset.id !== homeCourt ? 'none' : '';
-    // the sub line carries the lock and names the price — the tile stays visible, as a goal should
-    el.querySelector('i').textContent = open ? c.sub : 'LOCKED — REACH ' + l.name;
+    // an OPEN court says nothing — its two meters say it wordlessly (the text reduction). A locked
+    // one names the league that opens it, and nothing else: the tile stays visible, as a goal should
+    const sub = el.querySelector('i');
+    sub.textContent = open ? '' : 'LEAGUE ' + l.id;
+    sub.hidden = open;
   }
   for (const el of tourList.children) el.classList.toggle('on', el.dataset.id === pickedTour);
   for (const [rowId, nameId, table, cur] of [['kitRow', 'kitName', KITS, pickedKit],
@@ -425,8 +443,7 @@ function syncSetup() {
       el.classList.toggle('on', el.dataset.id === cur);
     document.getElementById(nameId).textContent = (table.find(e => e.id === cur) || table[0]).name;
   }
-  refreshLook(); summary();
-}
+  refreshLook();}
 
 // --- THE IDENTITY SCREEN (the leagues, phase 1). First boot only: name + tour + colours, then
 // ENTER THE CLUB. It writes the SAME stores the setup screen reads (pickedTour/Kit/Skin, their
@@ -477,8 +494,10 @@ pName.addEventListener('keydown', e => { if (e.key === 'Enter') document.getElem
 //   SPEED  how much pace survives the bounce — bounceXZ, grass .84 fastest, clay .70 slowest
 //   BOUNCE how much of it comes back UP      — bounceY,  clay .66 highest,  grass .50 lowest
 // The two divisors just stretch those narrow real ranges across a full bar; they carry no physics.
+// the label is a TITLE, not a printed word (the text reduction): the legend stands once over the
+// list — two bars in a fixed order need naming once, not on every row
 const meter = (label, v, cls = '') =>
-  `<div class="meter ${cls}"><u>${label}</u><s><i style="width:${
+  `<div class="meter ${cls}" title="${label}"><s><i style="width:${
     Math.round(Math.min(1, Math.max(0.08, v)) * 100)}%"></i></s></div>`;
 const courtList = document.getElementById('courtList');
 // THE LEAGUES lock the courts: a court belongs to its league and unlocks for EVERY mode the
@@ -491,7 +510,7 @@ for (const c of COURTS) {
   b.className = 'court' + (c.id === picked ? ' on' : ''); // your last court comes up pre-picked
   b.dataset.id = c.id;
   b.innerHTML = `<img src="assets/${c.tile}.png?v=${SPRV}" alt=""><span class="cb">`
-    + `<b>${c.name}</b><i>${c.sub}</i>`
+    + `<b>${c.name}</b><i hidden></i>`     // the sub only ever carries a LOCK now (syncSetup)
     + meter('SPEED', (c.bounceXZ - 0.62) / 0.26)
     + meter('BOUNCE', (c.bounceY - 0.44) / 0.28, 'b')
     + '</span>';
@@ -502,7 +521,6 @@ for (const c of COURTS) {
     if (!courtUnlocked(c.id)) return;      // locked: the row itself says which league opens it
     picked = c.id;
     for (const el of courtList.children) el.classList.toggle('on', el === b);
-    summary();
   });
   courtList.appendChild(b);
 }
@@ -538,18 +556,38 @@ function buildTrain() {
   // in its own right — a practice list where every rung looks the same is a shelf, and this one
   // room in the game has an obvious reason to exist the moment you have just been put out.
   const out = profile.prof.out;
-  const rungs = [];
-  for (let n = 1; n <= top; n++) rungs.push(n);
-  if (out >= 1 && out <= top) rungs.splice(rungs.indexOf(out), 1), rungs.unshift(out);
-  for (const n of rungs) {
+  const rung = n => {
     const f = matchFoe(n), b = document.createElement('button');
-    const put = n === out;
-    if (put) b.className = 'put';
-    b.innerHTML = `<img src="${foeArt(f)}" alt=""><b>${f.name}</b>`
-      + `<i>${put ? 'PUT YOU OUT OF THE CUP' : 'No. ' + n}</i>`;
     b.addEventListener('click', () => { trainRung = n; start('train'); });
+    return [f, b];
+  };
+  // THE REVANCHE IS A ROW, not a tile in the grid (the text reduction): it is one body out of
+  // eighteen and the only one with a reason, so it gets the width to say so — and says it in
+  // three words, because the screen it sits on is already called TRAINING.
+  if (out >= 1 && out <= top) {
+    const [f, b] = rung(out);
+    b.className = 'put';
+    b.innerHTML = `<img src="${foeArt(f)}" alt=""><span><b>${f.name}</b><i>PUT YOU OUT</i></span>`
+      + '<em>&gt;</em>';
     trainList.appendChild(b);
   }
+  for (let n = 1; n <= top; n++) {
+    if (n === out) continue;
+    const [f, b] = rung(n);
+    // the rung is a NUMBER on a list of numbers — two digits, no "No."
+    b.innerHTML = `<img src="${foeArt(f)}" alt=""><b>${f.name}</b>`
+      + `<i>${String(n).padStart(2, '0')}</i>`;
+    trainList.appendChild(b);
+  }
+  // ...and the list ENDS somewhere: the next league's band is drawn as the goal it is, not left
+  // to stop dead at the cap with no explanation (the handoff's "Ziel, keine Liste")
+  if (top < LADDER) {
+    const next = LEAGUES.find(l => l.band[0] > top);
+    const goal = document.createElement('div');
+    goal.className = 'goal';
+    if (next) goal.innerHTML = `<b>LEAGUE ${next.id}</b><i>${next.band[0]} — ${next.band[1]}</i>`;
+    trainList.appendChild(goal);
+  }
 }
 document.getElementById('trBack').addEventListener('click', () => go('setup'));
 
@@ -679,62 +717,36 @@ const boardFor = m => m === 'zombie' || m === 'cup' || m === 'train' ? stats.MOD
   : m === 'classic' ? stats.MODE_CLASSIC : stats.MODE_GORE;
 
 // what the setup footer says you are about to play, and what it is worth beating
-function summary() {
-  const t = TOURS.find(x => x.id === pickedTour) || TOURS[0];
-  const lg = leagueOf(profile.prof.lg);
-  const cupMode = pickedMode === 'cup';
-  const c = COURTS.find(x => x.id === (cupMode ? lg.court : picked)) || COURTS[0];
-  const m = MODES.find(x => x.id === pickedMode) || MODES[0];
-  // the mark to beat is the PICKED MODE's own, because the three of them do not measure the same
-  // thing — see the record-shape note in stats.endRun. The cup banks through endRun as MODE_MATCH
-  // (see cupWon), so its summary reads the same book it writes.
-  const best = stats.read('all', undefined, boardFor(m.id)).longest;
-  const unit = m.id === 'zombie' || m.id === 'cup' ? ' FELLED'
-    : best === 1 ? ' GAME' : ' GAMES';
-  const name = m.id === 'classic'
-    ? m.name + ' · ' + (DIFFS.find(d => d.id === pickedDiff) || DIFFS[1]).name : m.name;
-  document.getElementById('sSum').innerHTML =
-    `<span>${name} · ${t.name.replace(' SINGLES', '')} · ${c.name}${cupMode
-      ? ' · LEAGUE ' + lg.id : ''}</span>`
-    // training banks nothing, so there is no mark to beat and the footer must not invent one
-    + `<span>${m.id === 'train' ? 'NO RUN, NO DEATH — REPS PAY ¼ XP'
-        : best ? best + unit + ' TO BEAT' : 'FIRST RUN'}</span>`;
-}
 
 // The splash carries ONE number, on the STATS button. A boxed BEST RUN / WORLD RANK bar across the
 // top came out of the mockup and went again: it sat on the best part of the art and said twice what
 // the two buttons underneath already say. Re-read whenever the splash comes back up, because a run
 // has just ended and the count has moved.
 function refreshSplash() {
-  document.getElementById('mKills').textContent = stats.total().kills.toLocaleString('en-GB') + ' KILLS';
+  // THE TEXT REDUCTION (2026-08-31): the two secondary doors carry a NUMBER each instead of a
+  // description — what you have done, and your own best on the board they open. The board figure
+  // is read locally on purpose: the splash does not fetch the world board.
+  document.getElementById('mKills').textContent = stats.total().kills.toLocaleString('en-GB');
+  document.getElementById('mBest').textContent =
+    'BEST ' + stats.bestScore(boardFor(pickedMode)).toLocaleString('en-GB');
   // THE PLAQUE — the meta identity, re-read whenever the splash comes back because a run has just
-  // moved it (same rule as the kill count above). The goal line is the standing answer to "what
-  // do I do to advance": win the CURRENT league's cup, become champion, or rest on the crown.
+  // moved it (same rule as the kill count above). One row now: crest, name and level, and the bar
+  // under them wearing the level it fills toward. The goal LINE is gone — the fixture button below
+  // says what to do, and it said it twice.
   const pr = profile.progress(), lg = leagueOf(profile.prof.lg);
   document.getElementById('plBadge').src = `assets/badge_l${lg.id}.png?v=${SPRV}`;
   document.getElementById('plName').textContent = stats.savedName() || 'YOUR PLAYER';
-  document.getElementById('plLv').textContent = 'LEVEL ' + pr.level + ' · LEAGUE ' + lg.id;
-  document.getElementById('plFrom').textContent = pr.level;
+  document.getElementById('plLv').textContent = 'LEVEL ' + pr.level;
   document.getElementById('plTo').textContent = pr.need ? pr.level + 1 : 'MAX';
   document.getElementById('plFill').style.width = Math.round(pr.frac * 100) + '%';
-  // ...and the goal line carries THE RECORD now (THE SEASON): the fixture button below already
-  // says what to do, so repeating "win the cup to advance" over it was the same sentence twice.
-  // What the plaque can say that nothing else does is how far you have ever got.
-  const bestR = profile.cupBest(profile.prof.lg);
-  document.getElementById('plGoal').textContent = profile.prof.ch
-    ? 'CHAMPION OF THE DEAD CLUB — DEFEND THE NAME'
-    : bestR
-      ? 'THIS CUP · BEST SO FAR: ' + cupRoundName(profile.prof.lg, bestR)
-      : 'THE CUP IS THE WAY UP — NEVER ENTERED';
   // THE FRONT DOOR (THE SEASON): the fixture, in the same words the summary and the promotion use
-  // (config.cupFixture). The record rides the sub line when there is one — a lost cup is the only
-  // thing the club has to say about your last attempt, and it belongs where the next one starts.
+  // (config.cupFixture) — minus the round count, which lives in the tournament's own modal now.
   const fx = cupFixture(profile.prof.lg, profile.prof.ch);
   document.getElementById('msTitle').textContent = fx.title;
   document.getElementById('msLine').textContent = fx.line;
-  summary();
 }
 
+
 // `modeId` is the mode to drop into. It defaults to what the setup screen picked — but the BACK
 // ROOM passes null, because those entries bring their own mode and a remembered ZOMBIE TENNIS was
 // taking the court before startDrill/startBench/toggleTestMode could, so every one of them silently
@@ -785,7 +797,7 @@ const goMode = () => {
 // confirmation page with nothing on it to confirm
 document.getElementById('mStart').addEventListener('click', () => {
   if (!profile.prof.setup) { buildPlayer(); go('player'); return; }   // the club wants a name first
-  pickMode('cup'); summary(); start('cup');
+  pickMode('cup'); start('cup');
 });
 document.getElementById('mOther').addEventListener('click', goMode);
 document.getElementById('mStats').addEventListener('click', openStats);
@@ -1106,7 +1118,7 @@ const maybeRestart = e => {
   if (run && run.newKillBest && run.score > 0) { askName(run); return; }
   // the fixture button restarts the canonical path without a detour through the menus; PLAY AGAIN
   // re-deals the mode that just ended (pickedMode is what started it, cup included)
-  if (door === 'next') { pickMode('cup'); summary(); start('cup'); return; }
+  if (door === 'next') { pickMode('cup'); start('cup'); return; }
   if (door === 'again') { start(pickedMode); return; }
   go('splash');
 };

src/render.js

@@ -2368,16 +2368,21 @@ function modalRows(m, inner, skipBody) {
   const rows = [];
   const push = r => { rows.push(r); return r; };
   if (m.foe) {
-    push({ kind: 'split', h: 32 });
+    push({ kind: 'split', h: 26 });
     const sub = [];
     for (const l of m.foe.sub || []) sub.push(...wrapText(l, F(8, 0), inner));
     if (sub.length) push({ kind: 'text', lines: sub, dim: true, h: sub.length * 12 + 2 });
   } else if (m.rules) {
-    for (const r of m.rules) {
-      const lead = wrapText(r.lead, F(8, 700), inner);
-      const sub = r.sub ? wrapText(r.sub, F(8, 0), inner) : [];
-      push({ kind: 'rule', lead, sub, hot: r.hot, pips: r.pips,
-             h: lead.length * 12 + sub.length * 12 + (r.pips ? 12 : 0) + 2 });
+    // ONE RULE, ONE LINE (2026-08-31, the menu-text-reduction handoff). Every row used to carry a
+    // statement and a consequence, and the consequence was usually the statement again in other
+    // words ("YOUR LEAGUE, ROUND BY ROUND" / "WIN IT ALL — MOVE UP A LEAGUE"). The line that
+    // names the RESULT is the one that survives. A rule is a string, or an object when it needs
+    // the threat colour or the blood pool. `pips` ride the SAME line, hard right.
+    for (const raw of m.rules) {
+      const r = typeof raw === 'string' ? { lead: raw } : raw;
+      const room = inner - (r.pips ? r.pips * 9 + 12 : 0);
+      const lead = wrapText(r.lead, F(8, 700), room);
+      push({ kind: 'rule', lead, hot: r.hot, pips: r.pips, h: lead.length * 12 + 4 });
     }
   } else if (!skipBody) {
     const lines = [];
@@ -2415,7 +2420,11 @@ function modalLayout(m) {
   // ...and only when it actually FITS there: a line that wraps in the narrow column belongs under
   // the head as an ordinary row, not as a ragged column beside a picture
   const beside = pairs && wrapped.length <= bodyLines.length + 1;
-  const strap = m.foe ? wrapText(m.foe.line, F(8, 0), headW) : beside ? wrapped : [];
+  // ONE line under the title: the body's slogan on a walk-on, the mode's own fact on a rules card
+  // (`m.strap` — LEAGUE 3 · 4 ROUNDS, the round count the fixture button gave up), or the two
+  // lines of an illustrated announcement.
+  const strap = m.foe ? wrapText(m.foe.line, F(8, 0), headW)
+    : m.strap ? wrapText(m.strap, F(8, 0), headW) : beside ? wrapped : [];
   const headH = Math.max(artH, 22 + strap.length * 12);
   const rows = modalRows(m, boxW - pad * 2, beside);
   let h = pad + headH + MODAL_GAP + MODAL_FOOT + MODAL_BTN + pad;
@@ -2464,34 +2473,28 @@ function drawModal(m) {
     } else if (r.kind === 'rule') {
       ctx.textAlign = 'left';
       ctx.font = F(8, 700);
-      r.lead.forEach((l, i) => shadowText(l, inX, y + 7 + i * 12, UI.cream));
-      let ry = y + 7 + r.lead.length * 12;
-      // the consequence line: DIM for information, the modal's hot colour only when it threatens
-      ctx.font = F(8, 0);
-      r.sub.forEach((l, i) => shadowText(l, inX, ry + i * 12, r.hot ? col : UI.dim));
-      if (r.pips) {                                   // the pool, in the HUD's own pip language
-        const py = ry + r.sub.length * 12 + 4;
+      // the rule wears the modal's hot colour only when it threatens; otherwise it is a statement
+      r.lead.forEach((l, i) => shadowText(l, inX, y + 8 + i * 12, r.hot ? col : UI.cream));
+      if (r.pips) {                     // the pool, in the HUD's own pip language, ON THE SAME LINE
+        const px = x + L.boxW - pad - (r.pips - 1) * 9;
         for (let k = 0; k < r.pips; k++) {
-          ctx.beginPath(); ctx.arc(inX + 3 + k * 9, py, 2.6, 0, 7);
+          ctx.beginPath(); ctx.arc(px + k * 9, y + 8, 2.6, 0, 7);
           ctx.fillStyle = '#8a1a12'; ctx.fill();
           ctx.strokeStyle = 'rgba(0,0,0,0.5)'; ctx.lineWidth = 1; ctx.stroke();
         }
       }
     } else if (r.kind === 'split') {
-      // HIS LEVEL AGAINST YOURS — one frame, two figures, a hairline between them. The number
-      // wears the modal's hot colour while the body outranks you and the pick green once it
-      // does not, which is the whole point of showing it.
-      const half = Math.round((L.boxW - pad * 2) / 2), f = m.foe;
-      ctx.strokeStyle = MODAL_RULE; ctx.lineWidth = 1;
-      ctx.beginPath(); ctx.moveTo(inX + half + 0.5, y + 4); ctx.lineTo(inX + half + 0.5, y + r.h - 4);
-      ctx.stroke();
-      ctx.textAlign = 'center';
-      ctx.font = F(7, 0);
-      shadowText('ITS LEVEL', inX + half / 2, y + 8, UI.dim);
-      shadowText('YOURS', inX + half * 1.5, y + 8, UI.dim);
-      ctx.font = F(13, 700);
-      shadowText(String(f.lvl), inX + half / 2, y + 23, f.lvl > f.mine ? col : UI.pick);
-      shadowText(String(f.mine), inX + half * 1.5, y + 23, UI.cream);
+      // HIS LEVEL AGAINST YOURS, on ONE line: his on the left, yours hard right. SAME FACE, SAME
+      // SIZE for both (Oliver) — a comparison drawn at two sizes is not a comparison, it is a
+      // headline with a footnote. Only the COLOUR differs, and only where it means something: his
+      // number wears the modal's hot colour while he outranks you, the pick green once he does not.
+      const f = m.foe;
+      ctx.font = F(10, 700);
+      ctx.textAlign = 'left';
+      shadowText('LEVEL ' + f.lvl, inX, y + 9, f.lvl > f.mine ? col : UI.pick);
+      ctx.textAlign = 'right';
+      shadowText('YOURS ' + f.mine, x + L.boxW - pad, y + 9, UI.dim);
+      ctx.textAlign = 'left';
     }
     y += r.h + MODAL_GAP;
   }

src/stats.js

@@ -165,6 +165,13 @@ export function read(period, runs = load(), mode = MODE_GORE) {
   return out;
 }
 
+// YOUR best number on a board, from your own runs. The splash shows it beside the world board's
+// door (the text reduction) — a local read on purpose: the splash does not fetch the board.
+export function bestScore(mode = MODE_GORE) {
+  const B = boardOf(mode);
+  return load().filter(r => modeOf(r) === mode).reduce((m, r) => Math.max(m, B.score(r)), 0);
+}
+
 // the two figures the splash carries
 export function total() {
   const a = read('all');