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>
2026-08-31 14:41:25 +02:00
1 parent 4c0ede33db
commit a331a1ae37
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Copyright 2023 The Bungee Project Authors (https://github.com/djrrb/Bungee)
+Copyright 2023 The Soft Type Project Authors (https://github.com/scfried/soft-type-jersey)

 This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font License, Version 1.1.
 This license is copied below, and is also available with a FAQ at:
@@ -0,0 +1,242 @@
+# Handoff: Menüführung — Text reduzieren (Splatter Tennis)
+
+## Overview
+Die funktionalen Screens von Splatter Tennis (Splash, PICK A GAME, MATCH SETUP, DIFFICULTY,
+TRAINING, VS A FRIEND und die In-Game-Modals) tragen heute mehr Text als eine Entscheidung
+braucht — auf `PICK A GAME` rund 60 Wörter, verteilt auf drei Rubriken mit Straps plus sechs
+Poster mit je einer Regelzeile. Das Ergebnis dieser Session: eine reduzierte Fassung aller
+funktionalen Screens (~12–18 Wörter auf der Wand) und ein Wechsel der aufrechten Display-Schrift
+von **Bungee** auf **Jersey 15**.
+
+Gameplay, Stats-Screens und Canvas-HUD sind bewusst NICHT Teil dieses Pakets.
+
+## About the Design Files
+`Menues.dc.html` ist eine **Design-Referenz in HTML** — ein Prototyp, der Aussehen und Struktur
+zeigt, kein Produktionscode zum Kopieren. Splatter Tennis ist Vanilla JS ohne Build-Step
+(`CLAUDE.md`, Punkt 5: „Zero dependencies, no build step, no framework"), also wird die Fassung
+in der bestehenden Umgebung nachgebaut: DOM-Menüs in `index.html` + `src/main.js`, Canvas-Modals
+in `src/render.js`, Texte in `src/config.js`. Kein neues Framework, keine neuen Dateien ausser
+der Schriftdatei.
+
+Die Datei enthält mehrere Runden untereinander, neueste oben. Verbindlich ist **Runde 5**
+(„GESETZT — ALLE SCREENS IN JERSEY 15"). Darunter liegen als Historie: Runde 4 (Schrift-Kandidaten
+Bebas Neue / Oswald / Jersey 15), Runde 3a (derselbe Satz in Bebas), Runde 2 (Bungee vs. Bangers),
+Runde 1 (die zwei Grundrichtungen) und ganz unten der **IST-Stand**, pixelgenau aus dem heutigen
+`index.html` nachgebaut — nützlich als Vor/Nach-Vergleich.
+
+## Fidelity
+**High-fidelity.** Palette, Masse, Schriftgrössen und Copy sind aus dem Repo übernommen
+(`index.html` CSS, `config.MODES` / `MENU` / `COURTS` / `LEAGUES` / `OPPONENTS`, `beats.js`
+Modal-Payloads). Alle Sprites/Poster im Prototyp sind echte Repo-Assets. Übernahme darf 1:1
+erfolgen.
+
+## Die drei Register (die eigentliche Entscheidung)
+| Rolle | heute | neu |
+|---|---|---|
+| benennen — Screen-Titel, Rubriken, Karten- und Poster-Namen | Bungee | **Jersey 15** |
+| rufen — einmal pro Screen: Fixture, Primär-Button, Modal-Headline | Bangers | Bangers (unverändert) |
+| informieren — Zahlen, Labels, Chips | Silkscreen | Silkscreen (unverändert) |
+
+Begründung Bungee → Jersey 15: Bungee ist Single-Weight und sehr fett/blockig; Jersey 15 sitzt
+auf demselben Pixelraster wie Silkscreen (wirkt als Schriftfamilie mit der Sprite-Art), läuft
+proportional und deutlich leichter. Beide sind SIL OFL.
+
+**Grössen-Umrechnung Bungee → Jersey 15: ca. +40 %** (Jersey sitzt tiefer im Kasten und läuft
+leichter). Konkrete Werte im Abschnitt „Design Tokens".
+
+## Schrift einbauen
+1. `Jersey15-Regular.ttf` von Google Fonts holen, wie Bungee subsetten (`pyftsubset`, Befehl
+   steht in `PROJECT.md`) → `assets/fonts/Jersey15-Subset.ttf`.
+2. In `index.html` das `@font-face` von Bungee ersetzen (`?v=` mitziehen wie bei den anderen drei):
+   ```css
+   @font-face { font-family: 'Jersey 15'; font-weight: 400; font-display: block;
+                src: url('assets/fonts/Jersey15-Subset.ttf?v=87') format('truetype'); }
+   ```
+3. Alle `Bungee`-Vorkommen in `index.html` auf `'Jersey 15'` umstellen (Liste unten),
+   `Bungee-Subset.ttf` und `Bungee-OFL.txt` löschen, `Jersey15-OFL.txt` daneben legen.
+4. `main.js?v=N` in `index.html` bumpen (`CLAUDE.md`, Punkt 4).
+
+## Screens / Views
+
+### 1 — Splash (`#splash` in index.html)
+**Zweck:** Eintritt; die Plakette zeigt wer du bist, der Primär-Button das nächste Fixture.
+
+Änderungen:
+- **Plakette (`#plaque`)** wird eine Zeile statt vier Grid-Areas: Wappen links (50px), rechts
+  Name + `LEVEL 12` in einer Baseline-Zeile, darunter der XP-Balken mit der Ziel-Zahl rechts.
+  **`#plGoal` entfällt komplett** — „WIN THE CUP TO REACH LEAGUE 4" sagt der Fixture-Button
+  darunter schon. Grid-Areas `name/lv/bar/goal` werden zu einem Flex-Row mit zwei Spalten.
+  - Name: Jersey 15 21px, `#ccd7ca`, `letter-spacing:0.5px` (war Silkscreen 700 13px)
+  - `LEVEL 12`: Silkscreen 700 10px, `#bcd455` (war Bangers 26px als `#plLv` — der Ruf gehört
+    dem Button unten, nicht der Plakette)
+  - Balken unverändert (6px, `#2c4238` Rahmen, Gradient `#3f9560 → #bcd455 55% → #e8b23a`)
+- **Fixture-Button (`#mStart`)** bleibt Bangers 26px; die zweite Zeile (`#msLine`) verliert das
+  Rundenpräfix: `ROUND ONE: THE STRAWBERRY SELLER` statt
+  `4 ROUNDS · ROUND ONE: THE STRAWBERRY SELLER`. → in `config.cupFixture` die `line` kürzen
+  (`rounds.length + ' ROUNDS · '` fällt weg; die Rundenzahl steht im Modal).
+- **`#mOther`** verliert seinen Strap (`<i>CLIMB · TRAINING · GORE · A FRIEND</i>` löschen),
+  Label auf Jersey 15 19px.
+- **`#mStats` / `#mRanks`**: Straps ersetzt durch je eine Zahl aus lokalem Stand —
+  `STATS / 4 812` (Kill-Count, wie heute) und `BOARD / BEST 612` (eigener Bestwert; **kein**
+  Weltrang, der Splash lädt `/data/scores.json` nicht). Label Jersey 15 16px, Zahl
+  Silkscreen 700 10px `#bcd455`.
+- Logo, Slogan (`Fifteen. Thirty. Forty. Dead.`), `#build` unverändert.
+
+### 2 — PICK A GAME (`#stmode` / `#modeList`, gebaut in `main.buildTops`)
+**Zweck:** einen Modus wählen. Das ist der Screen, der „erschlägt".
+
+- **Rubriken** (`#modeList .mgroup > header`) verlieren ihren Strap (`<i>`) und werden ein Wort:
+  `THE SEASON → SEASON`, `THE TRAINING → TRAINING`, `OUT OF COMPETITION → CASUAL`.
+  Jersey 15 17px, `#bcd455`, `letter-spacing:2px`. → `config.MENU`: `sub` der drei `group`-Rows
+  löschen, `group`-Text kürzen; in `main.buildTops` das `<i>` aus dem `header`-Template nehmen.
+- **Poster** tragen nur noch den Namen — `<i>${card.sub}</i>` fällt in `main.banner()` weg.
+  Damit werden die `sub`-Felder in `config.MODES` für die Wand irrelevant (Aufbewahren lohnt:
+  die Modals nutzen dieselben Sätze).
+- **Hero-Poster** (das Fixture, `mode:'cup'`) ist der einzige mit einer zweiten Zeile und dem
+  einzigen Ruf: Name in **Bangers 32px**, darunter die Fixture-Zeile in Silkscreen 10px
+  `#f0cfc4`. Höhe 142px. `.way`-Ribbon („THE WAY UP") unverändert.
+- **Übrige Poster** in Jersey 15, Höhe gestaffelt statt einheitlich 148px:
+  - TRAINING-Raum: zwei Poster **nebeneinander**, je `flex:1`, Höhe 106px, Name 27px
+  - CASUAL-Raum: drei Poster gestapelt, Höhe 84px, Name 30px
+- **Regeln, die wirklich anders sind, bleiben als Chip** (`.last`-Optik, Silkscreen 8px, acid,
+  `rgba(0,0,0,0.72)` Grund): `18 RUNGS` auf TRAINING, `LAST` auf dem zuletzt gespielten.
+- Ergebnis: der ganze Wall passt in 844px (heute zwei Bildschirme). Gerechnet mit
+  Header 64 + Padding 14 + 142/106/84 + Gaps 17/8.
+
+### 3 — MATCH SETUP (`#setup`)
+- `<h3 id="s01">01 · PLAYER</h3>` / `02 · COURT` → Rubrik-Zeile wie auf der Wand:
+  Jersey 15 17px acid, Text `PLAYER` / `COURT`. Die Nummerierung entfällt (es sind zwei Blöcke
+  auf einem Screen, keine Schritte).
+- Über der Platzliste steht die Legende **einmal**: rechts in der Rubrik-Zeile
+  `BOUNCE · PACE` (Silkscreen 8px, dim).
+- **Platz-Zeilen** (`#courtList button.court`) verlieren `<i>${court.sub}</i>` — Name
+  (Jersey 15 19px) plus die zwei Meter, die dasselbe wortlos sagen. Bildhöhe 66 → 60px.
+- **Gesperrte Plätze** (`.court.lock`) behalten Bild und Namen, statt einer Erklärung nur
+  `LEAGUE 4` in `#cf5a4e`, Silkscreen 9px.
+- **Tour-Tiles**: `MEN'S SINGLES` / `WOMEN'S SINGLES` → `MEN'S` / `WOMEN'S`, Jersey 15 16px.
+- **`#sSum`** (die Zusammenfassungszeile über SERVE UP) entfällt — alle drei genannten Werte
+  sind auf dem Screen sichtbar markiert.
+- `SERVE UP` bleibt Bangers 26px auf `#a4231f`.
+
+### 4 — DIFFICULTY (`#stsub` / `#modeSub button.chip`, aus `config.DIFFS`)
+- Chip wird zweispaltig: Name links (Jersey 15 30px), **drei Pips** rechts (je 10×10px, kein
+  Radius) — 1/2/3 gefüllt. EASY/MEDIUM acid `#bcd455`, HARD `#cf5a4e`; leere Pips
+  `rgba(255,255,255,0.12)`.
+- Kein Erklärtext. Padding 26px/16px, `gap:10px`.
+- `LAST`-Chip bleibt oben rechts im gewählten.
+
+### 5 — TRAINING (`#train` / `#trainList`, gebaut in `main.buildTrain`)
+- `<h3>PICK YOUR OPPONENT<span>ONE GAME · GO AGAIN</span></h3>` entfällt — der Screen-Titel
+  `TRAINING` genügt.
+- **Revanche-Tile** (`profile.prof.out`) wird eine **breite Zeile über dem Raster**: Kopf 52px
+  links, Name (Jersey 15 24px), darunter `PUT YOU OUT` (statt `PUT YOU OUT OF THE CUP`) in
+  `#e08a7c`, Chevron rechts. Rahmen `#a4231f`, Grund `rgba(164,35,31,0.16)`.
+- **Übrige Rungs** bleiben das 2-spaltige Raster: Kopf 44px, Name Jersey 15 17px zentriert,
+  Rangnummer zweistellig (`01`, `02`, …) statt `No. 1` — Silkscreen 8px dim.
+- **Letzte Kachel** ist ein Ziel, keine Liste: gestrichelter Rahmen `#2c4238`, `LEAGUE 4` und
+  `13 — 15` in `#4a5a52`. (Heute endet die Liste einfach am Band-Cap.)
+
+### 6 — VS A FRIEND (`#vs` / `#vsPick`)
+- Die drei `<h3>` mit Straps (`01 · YOUR NAME / ON THEIR SCOREBOARD`, `02 · HOST A MATCH /
+  THEY COME TO YOU`, `OR JOIN THEIRS / WITH THEIR CODE`) werden drei Wörter:
+  **`YOU` / `HOST` / `JOIN`**, Jersey 15 17px acid.
+- Host-Buttons: `CLASSIC TENNIS` / `DEATH MATCH` → `CLASSIC` / `DEATH MATCH` nebeneinander,
+  Jersey 15 19px, Padding 20px.
+- Join-Zeile: Code-Feld plus Button `GO` (statt `JOIN` — daneben steht die Rubrik JOIN),
+  Feld-Letterspacing 6px.
+- `#vsErr`-Meldungen unverändert (`THE CODE IS FOUR LETTERS`).
+
+### 7 — In-Game-Modals (`render.drawModal`, Payloads aus `beats.js`)
+Die Box-Sprache aus dem 2026-08-31-Pass bleibt (`MODAL_PAD 14`, `MODAL_GAP 13`, `MODAL_BTN 30`,
+`MODAL_FOOT 8`, Breite `min(W-44, 244)`, Fill `rgba(8,22,16,0.93)`, Edge `rgba(120,150,130,0.45)`,
+Rules `rgba(120,150,130,0.22)`). Reduziert wird der **Inhalt einer Row**:
+
+- **Eine Regel pro Row, keine Unterzeile.** Heute rendert `modalRows` pro `m.rules`-Eintrag
+  `lead` + `sub`; der `sub` formuliert in fast allen Fällen den `lead` nur um
+  (`YOUR LEAGUE, ROUND BY ROUND` / `WIN IT ALL — MOVE UP A LEAGUE`). Neu: **eine** Zeile, die
+  das Ergebnis nennt — `WIN IT ALL — MOVE UP A LEAGUE`. Also in `beats.js` die `rules`-Arrays
+  auf je einen String reduzieren und `modalRows` entsprechend vereinfachen; `m.body` bleibt als
+  Fallback unverändert.
+- **Blut ist Pips, kein Satz**: Row `POINTS DRAW BLOOD` (gekürzt von `ITS POINTS DRAW BLOOD`)
+  plus `TUNE.matchPlayerHp` Pips **in derselben Zeile rechts**, statt Zeile + Unterzeile
+  (`AT ZERO YOU ARE EATEN`) + Pips darunter.
+- **Masthead**: Titel Bangers 27px in der Modal-Farbe, darunter EINE Silkscreen-10px-Zeile.
+  Beim Rules-Modal ist das die Sachzeile (`LEAGUE 3 · 4 ROUNDS`) — hier landet die Rundenzahl,
+  die aus `cupFixture.line` genommen wurde. Beim Walk-on bleibt es `foe.line`
+  (`CREAM WITH THAT?`).
+- **Walk-on** (Gegner): Kopf-Sprite 56px, Name, `foe.line`, dann EINE Row mit den zwei Leveln
+  gegenüber (`LEVEL 14` hot links, `YOURS 12` dim rechts) — statt zwei Textzeilen plus
+  Split-Figur.
+- Footer-Button unverändert (`WALK ON` / `GOT IT` / `PLAY ON`, `m.btn` überschreibt).
+
+### 8 — Quit-Modal (`#qAsk` / `.qBox`)
+Unverändert übernehmen — es ist schon lean. Nur `LEAVE THE MATCH?` von Silkscreen 12px auf
+**Bangers 20px** (es ist eine Frage, die ruft), `PLAY ON` auf Jersey 15 17px.
+
+## Interactions & Behavior
+Keine Änderung an Navigation oder Zustandslogik. Alles Bestehende bleibt:
+- `go(stage)` / `#intro[data-stage]`, ein Overlay, vier Panels
+- Tap auf ein Poster antwortet UND geht weiter (`main.buildTops`), `pickMode` schreibt
+  `localStorage.mode`
+- Die Deal-in-Animation (`#intro.deal`, `dealIn` 0.28s `cubic-bezier(0.34,1.56,0.64,1)`,
+  Delays 0.02/0.09/0.16/0.23/0.30s, `.mgroup`-Staffel 0.09/0.17/0.25s) gilt weiter — die
+  Rubriken bleiben `<section class="mgroup">`, damit sie greift
+- `prefers-reduced-motion: reduce` schaltet sie weiter ab
+- Modal-Dismiss-Regeln unverändert (`m.in < 1` schluckt die Gesture, Tap überall entlässt,
+  `G.seen.<key>` gated)
+- Swipe-links-zurück im Shell bleibt unberührt
+
+## State Management
+Nichts Neues. Zwei Werte werden neu GELESEN, beide existieren schon:
+- `profile.prof.out` (der Rung, der dich aus dem Cup geworfen hat) → Revanche-Zeile; wird
+  bereits von `buildTrain` genutzt
+- der eigene Bestwert für die BOARD-Kachel → aus `stats` (lokal), **nicht** vom Server
+
+## Design Tokens
+Unverändert aus `index.html`:
+```
+--ink    #0e1714     --panel  rgba(42,62,54,0.42)   --line   #2c4238
+--acid   #bcd455     --cream  #ccd7ca               --dim    #6c7f74
+--red    #a4231f     --bad    #cf5a4e               --solid  #16211d
+Poster-Veil: linear-gradient(0deg, rgba(6,10,8,0.94) 0%, rgba(6,10,8,0.86) 22%,
+             rgba(6,10,8,0.5) 58%, rgba(6,10,8,0) 100%) — Höhe 52–62 % je Kachelhöhe
+Modal:  fill rgba(8,22,16,0.93) · edge rgba(120,150,130,0.45) · rule rgba(120,150,130,0.22)
+Rahmen: 2px überall in den Menüs, 1px im Canvas-Modal
+```
+
+Typografie neu (Bungee-Wert → Jersey-15-Wert):
+```
+Screen-Titel (.hdr h2)         23px  → 33px/1   letter-spacing 1px
+Rubrik / Raum-Label            15px  → 17px     letter-spacing 2px
+Poster-Name, Hero              —     → Bangers 32px/0.95   (der eine Ruf)
+Poster-Name, TRAINING-Paar     17px  → 27px/1
+Poster-Name, CASUAL-Stapel     19px  → 30px/1
+Karten-/Platz-Name             15px  → 22px
+Difficulty-Chip                22px  → 30px
+Training-Tile-Name             12px  → 17px/1
+Sekundär-Button                13px  → 18px
+Zahlen, Labels, Chips          Silkscreen 8–10px (unverändert)
+Primär-Button                  Bangers 26px (unverändert)
+```
+
+## Assets
+Alle Assets im Prototyp stammen aus dem Repo, unverändert — nichts muss neu gezeichnet werden:
+`assets/logo.png`, `menu_bg.png`, `mode_cup|arcade|train|gore|classic|vs.png`,
+`court_clay|hard|grass|gloom.png`, `badge_l3.png`, `z_{sh,bb,sp,gk,rm,st,ma,ru,sb,sg,lj,cu}head.png`,
+`fonts/{Silkscreen-Regular,Silkscreen-Bold,Bangers-Regular}.ttf`.
+NEU nötig: `fonts/Jersey15-Subset.ttf` (Google Fonts, SIL OFL) — ersetzt `Bungee-Subset.ttf`.
+
+## Files
+- `Menues.dc.html` — der Prototyp. Runde 5 oben ist verbindlich; darunter Runde 4 (Schriftwahl),
+  3a (Bebas-Fassung), 2 (Bungee vs. Bangers), 1 (Grundrichtungen), IST-Stand.
+- `support.js` — Runtime des Prototyps, für die Implementierung irrelevant.
+- `assets/` — die Repo-Assets, die der Prototyp lädt.
+
+Betroffene Repo-Dateien: `index.html` (CSS + Markup der Panels), `src/main.js`
+(`banner`, `buildTops`, `buildSub`, `buildTrain`, `refreshSplash`), `src/config.js`
+(`MENU`-Gruppen, `cupFixture.line`, ggf. `MODES.sub`), `src/render.js` (`modalRows`,
+`modalLayout`), `src/beats.js` (die `rules`-Payloads).
+
+## Vor dem Commit
+`node test.js` muss grün sein (`CLAUDE.md`, Punkt 2) — die Fixture-Deskriptor-Tests hängen an
+`cupFixture`, also die `line`-Kürzung dort mit anpassen. `main.js?v=N` bumpen.
@@ -47,13 +47,15 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
  @font-face { font-family: 'Bangers'; font-weight: 400; font-display: block;
               src: url('assets/fonts/Bangers-Regular.ttf?v=86') format('truetype'); }
  /* ...and the UPRIGHT display face (2026-08-31). Bangers is drawn slanted — there is no upright
-     cut of it, which is also why the chevrons are Silkscreen — so the shelf labels that wanted to
-     shout without leaning needed a third voice. Bungee is an arcade/signage face, upper case by
-     design, and it stays in-world where a system sans did not. SIL OFL, licence beside it.
-     SUBSET to the characters this game actually sets (ASCII plus the few marks the copy uses):
-     10 KB instead of 119 — pyftsubset, and the command is in PROJECT.md if it ever needs redoing. */
-  @font-face { font-family: 'Bungee'; font-weight: 400; font-display: block;
-               src: url('assets/fonts/Bungee-Subset.ttf?v=86') format('truetype'); }
+     cut of it, which is also why the chevrons are Silkscreen — so everything that NAMES rather
+     than announces needed a third voice. Bungee held it for an afternoon; JERSEY 15 took it in
+     the menu-text-reduction handoff, because it sits on the same pixel grid as Silkscreen (it
+     reads as one family with the sprite art) and runs proportionally lighter, where Bungee was
+     single-weight and blocky. SIL OFL, licence beside it, SUBSET to the characters this game
+     actually sets — 9 KB; the pyftsubset command is in PROJECT.md. Sizes run ~+40% against the
+     Bungee values: Jersey sits lower in its box. */
+  @font-face { font-family: 'Jersey 15'; font-weight: 400; font-display: block;
+               src: url('assets/fonts/Jersey15-Subset.ttf?v=87') format('truetype'); }
  /* html needs a real HEIGHT: the root element's background paints the viewport, but a GRADIENT is
     laid out in the root's own box — and with the canvas position:fixed the root has no content and
     collapses, so the gradient render.js sets had nowhere to go. */
@@ -121,7 +123,8 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
  #quit[hidden], #qAsk[hidden] { display: none; }
  .qBox { background: var(--solid); border: 2px solid var(--line); padding: 18px 16px;
          width: min(320px, 84vw); display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 10px; }
-  .qBox p { margin: 0 0 6px; font: 400 12px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--cream);
+  /* it is a QUESTION, and a question calls — the one Bangers line on this overlay */
+  .qBox p { margin: 0 0 10px; font: 400 20px Bangers, cursive; color: var(--cream);
            text-align: center; letter-spacing: 1px; }
  @media (pointer: coarse) { #hint { display: none; } }
  /* ...and it is UI like any other: gone while the splash is still loading (the keyboard hints
@@ -236,14 +239,17 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
  /* THREE REGISTERS NOW (2026-08-31). Bangers still ANNOUNCES — the primary button, PROMOTED.,
     NEW PERSONAL BEST, and everything the canvas shouts (SET, CHAPTER, EPIC!). Silkscreen is
     still the HUD: numbers, labels, anything you read at leisure. And the SCREEN TITLES moved to
-     Bungee: upright signage, which is what the strip at the top of a screen actually is — you are
-     not being shouted at, you are being told which room you are in. */
+     Jersey 15: upright signage, which is what the strip at the top of a screen actually is — you
+     are not being shouted at, you are being told which room you are in. */
  #intro h2 { margin: 0; font: 400 26px Bangers, cursive; color: var(--acid); letter-spacing: 1.5px; }
  /* #intro h2 above carries an id, so this needs one too or the announcement face wins */
-  #intro .hdr h2 { font: 400 23px/1.2 Bungee, Bangers, cursive; letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
-  #intro h3 { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; margin: 20px 0 9px;
-              font: 400 10px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--dim); letter-spacing: 2px;
-              text-align: left; }
+  #intro .hdr h2 { font: 400 33px/1 'Jersey 15', Bangers, cursive; letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  /* A RUBRIC IS ONE WORD (2026-08-31, the text reduction), in the face that names rooms — and any
+     hint it carries is a chip on the right, not a second sentence. */
+  #intro h3 span { font: 400 8px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--dim); letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  #intro h3 { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; align-items: baseline; margin: 20px 0 9px;
+              font: 400 17px/1.2 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--acid);
+              letter-spacing: 2px; text-align: left; }
  /* header strip: back chevron + title. Every screen but the splash wears one, pinned to the top. */
  .hdr { position: sticky; top: 0; z-index: 3; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 10px;
         padding: 10px 12px; margin: 0 -14px; border-bottom: 2px solid var(--line);
@@ -284,8 +290,12 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
               font-style: normal; letter-spacing: 0.5px; color: #f0cfc4; }
  .two { display: flex; gap: 8px; }
  .two .btn { margin-bottom: 0; }
-  .btn.sec i { display: block; margin-top: 4px; font: 400 9px Silkscreen, monospace;
-               font-style: normal; color: var(--dim); letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
+  /* the secondary doors NAME (Jersey) and carry a NUMBER (Silkscreen, acid) — the text reduction
+     turned "RANKINGS / WORLD BOARD" into "BOARD / BEST 612": a label and a fact, no description */
+  .btn.sec { font: 400 18px/1.2 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  #qNo { font: 400 17px/1.2 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  .btn.sec i { display: block; margin-top: 3px; font: 700 10px Silkscreen, monospace;
+               font-style: normal; color: var(--acid); letter-spacing: 1px; }
  /* THE PLAYER BLOCK: the live man on the left, everything that changes him on the right, so a tap
     and its result are never more than a thumb apart and the whole of "who am I" is one screenful. */
  #who, #who2 { display: flex; gap: 12px; align-items: flex-start; }
@@ -396,32 +406,27 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
     crest on the left, name over the big LEVEL · LEAGUE line beside it, the chevron on the
     right; the bar runs the full width below and the goal line closes left-aligned. Translucent
     surface, generous rows — the splash art, blood pool included, stays visible around it. */
-  #plaque { position: relative; display: grid; column-gap: 14px; align-items: center; text-align: left;
-            grid-template-columns: auto 1fr;
-            grid-template-areas: "badge name" "badge lv" "bar bar" "goal goal";
+  /* ONE ROW (2026-08-31, the text reduction): crest, then name and level on one baseline, the bar
+     under them with the level it fills toward at its right end. The GOAL LINE is gone — the
+     fixture button right below says what to do, and saying it twice was the whole complaint. */
+  #plaque { position: relative; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 13px; text-align: left;
            margin: 24px auto 0; width: min(330px, 92%); box-sizing: border-box;
-            padding: 18px 34px 15px 18px; background: rgba(8, 14, 10, 0.48); border: 0;
+            padding: 13px 36px 13px 15px; background: rgba(8, 14, 10, 0.48); border: 0;
            border-radius: 12px; cursor: pointer; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; }
-  #plBadge { grid-area: badge; height: 54px; image-rendering: pixelated;
+  #plBadge { flex: none; height: 50px; image-rendering: pixelated;
             filter: drop-shadow(0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.5)); }
-  #plName { grid-area: name; align-self: end; padding-bottom: 3px;
-            font: 700 13px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--cream); letter-spacing: 2px;
-            white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; }
-  #plLv { grid-area: lv; align-self: start; font: 400 26px Bangers, cursive; color: var(--acid);
-          letter-spacing: 1.5px; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: 2px 2px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5); }
-  /* the bar wears its ENDPOINTS — "20 ▓▓░░ 21" says "fill toward the next level" without a
-     word of explanation (Oliver read the bare bar as total progress) */
-  #plRow { grid-area: bar; display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 7px; width: auto;
-           margin-top: 15px; }
+  #plCol { flex: 1; min-width: 0; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 7px; }
+  #plTop { display: flex; align-items: baseline; justify-content: space-between; gap: 10px; }
+  #plName { font: 400 21px 'Jersey 15', Bangers, cursive; color: var(--cream); letter-spacing: 0.5px;
+            white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; }
+  /* the CALL belongs to the button below, not to the plaque — the level is a number now */
+  #plLv { flex: none; font: 700 10px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--acid); letter-spacing: 1px;
+          text-decoration: none; }
+  /* the bar wears the level it fills TOWARD at its right end — "▓▓░░ 13" says which way it runs
+     without a word of explanation (Oliver read a bare bar as total progress) */
+  #plRow { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 7px; }
  #plRow u, #cdBar u { font: 700 9px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--cream);
           text-decoration: none; text-shadow: 1px 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5); }
-  /* NO nowrap here: the longest goal line is ~380px and a nowrap child sets the CARD's
-     min-content past the viewport — that was the phantom horizontal scrollbar Oliver spotted */
-  /* LITERAL gold — there is no --warm in the page palette (UI.warm is a CANVAS colour), and an
-     unresolvable var() painted this line black */
-  #plGoal { grid-area: goal; margin-top: 10px; font: 400 9px Silkscreen, monospace;
-            font-style: normal; color: #e0cc72; letter-spacing: 1px;
-            text-shadow: 1px 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5); text-align: left; line-height: 1.6; }
  #plaque em { position: absolute; right: 14px; top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%);
               font: 700 15px Silkscreen, monospace; font-style: normal; color: var(--acid); }
  #plRow s, #cdBar s, #cdCareer s { flex: 1; height: 6px; background: rgba(255,255,255,0.10);
@@ -458,10 +463,27 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
                text-align: center; line-height: 1.35; }
  #bossList i, #trainList i { font: 400 8px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--dim); font-style: normal;
                letter-spacing: 1px; }
-  /* THE REVANCHE TILE (THE SEASON): the one that put you out of the cup, marked and standing
-     first. Red border and a red line, because it is the only tile on this screen with a reason. */
-  #trainList button.put { border-color: var(--red); }
-  #trainList button.put i { color: #e08a7c; }
+  /* THE REVANCHE ROW (THE SEASON, widened in the text reduction): the one that put you out of the
+     cup, across the top of the grid — one body out of eighteen with an actual reason, so it gets
+     the width to say so in three words. */
+  #trainList button.put { grid-column: 1 / -1; flex-direction: row; align-items: center; gap: 12px;
+                   padding: 10px 12px; text-align: left; position: relative;
+                   border-color: var(--red); background: rgba(164,35,31,0.16); }
+  #trainList button.put img { height: 52px; }
+  #trainList button.put > span { flex: 1; min-width: 0; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 3px;
+                   text-align: left; }
+  #trainList button.put b { font: 400 24px/1.05 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; text-align: left; }
+  #trainList button.put i { color: #e08a7c; letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  #trainList button.put em { position: absolute; right: 12px; font: 700 15px Silkscreen, monospace;
+                   font-style: normal; color: var(--bad); }
+  /* the rung's NAME (Jersey) over its number — "No. 7" was three characters of nothing */
+  #trainList b { font: 400 17px/1 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
+  /* ...and the list ends on the league that opens the rest of the ladder, drawn as the goal it is */
+  #trainList .goal { grid-column: 1 / -1; padding: 14px 6px; border: 2px dashed var(--line);
+                   text-align: center; }
+  #trainList .goal b { display: block; color: #4a5a52; }
+  #trainList .goal i { font: 400 9px Silkscreen, monospace; font-style: normal; color: #4a5a52;
+                   letter-spacing: 1px; }
  /* the training picker is 18 rungs deep — the tile carries the HEAD (the same z_*head crop the
     draw and the walk-on wear), which reads at a third of the boss portrait's height */
  #trainList img { height: 44px; width: auto; display: block; image-rendering: pixelated; }
@@ -511,8 +533,26 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
     as a second card headline and the two competed); Silkscreen, big and letter-spaced, keeps it
     a label of a room. No rule, no left band either — the air above each heading does the
     grouping, which is what air is for. */
-  #modeList .mgroup { margin: 0 0 12px; }
-  #modeList .mgroup + .mgroup { margin-top: 26px; }
+  #modeList .mgroup { margin: 0 0 10px; }
+  #modeList .mgroup + .mgroup { margin-top: 17px; }
+  /* HOW A ROOM DEALS ITS POSTERS (the text reduction). The wall used to be six identical 148px
+     slabs and ran over two screens; the fixture is a HERO now, the training pair stands side by
+     side, and the casual three stack shorter. All of it fits one screen. */
+  #modeList .mgroup .shelf { display: flex; flex-direction: column; }
+  #modeList .mgroup.pair .shelf { flex-direction: row; gap: 8px; }
+  #modeList .mgroup.pair button.mode { flex: 1; min-width: 0; min-height: 106px; margin-bottom: 0; }
+  #modeList .mgroup.stack button.mode { min-height: 96px; }
+  #modeList .mgroup.hero button.mode { min-height: 142px; }
+  /* the poster names: Jersey NAMES, and the hero is the one poster that CALLS (Bangers) */
+  #modeList .cb b { font: 400 30px/1 'Jersey 15', Bangers, cursive; letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
+  #modeList .mgroup.pair .cb b { font-size: 27px; }
+  #modeList .mgroup.hero .cb b { font: 400 32px/0.95 Bangers, cursive; letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  /* ...and the hero's second line is the fixture, the only strap left on the wall */
+  #modeList .mgroup.hero .cb i { color: #f0cfc4; font-size: 10px; margin-top: 3px; }
+  /* a fact that changes what a mode IS, not a description of it. Top right like LAST, and UNDER
+     it on the one poster that could wear both (the chip is appended after LAST in main.banner) */
+  #modeList .last.chip { top: 7px; }
+  #modeList .last + .last.chip { top: 30px; }
  /* text-align rides down from the card, which centres everything on these screens — the section
     header is a header, and headers on this screen are left-aligned (the .hdr title, the posters'
     own captions) */
@@ -525,7 +565,8 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
     descendant selector here restyled every caption on the wall (it stayed invisible while this
     rule still named Silkscreen — the moment the family changed, the posters changed with it). */
  #modeList .mgroup > header b { display: block; letter-spacing: 0.5px; color: var(--acid);
-                   text-shadow: none; font: 400 15px/1.3 Bungee, Bangers, cursive; }
+                   text-shadow: none; font: 400 17px/1.2 'Jersey 15', Bangers, cursive;
+                   letter-spacing: 2px; }
  /* ...and the strap goes back to the quiet register under it: a shouted line over a system-sans
     line was two foreign voices in one header */
  #modeList .mgroup > header i { display: block; margin: 4px 0 0; letter-spacing: 0.5px;
@@ -541,18 +582,31 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
  #stmode button.mode, #modeSub button.mode { min-height: 148px; }
  #modeSub { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 8px; }
  #modeSub button.mode { background-position: center; }
-  #modeSub button.chip { flex: 1 1 100%; padding: 22px 0; background: var(--panel); border: 2px solid var(--line);
-                   color: var(--cream); font: 400 13px Silkscreen, monospace; letter-spacing: 2px;
-                   cursor: pointer; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; position: relative; }
+  #modeSub button.chip { flex: 1 1 100%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between;
+                   gap: 10px; padding: 26px 16px; background: var(--panel); border: 2px solid var(--line);
+                   color: var(--cream); cursor: pointer; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+                   position: relative; text-align: left; }
+  #modeSub button.chip b { font: 400 30px/1 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  /* how hard it is, counted: as many pips lit as the chip is steep, and the last one wears the
+     colour the game uses for a threat */
+  .pips { display: flex; gap: 5px; }
+  .pips i { width: 10px; height: 10px; background: rgba(255,255,255,0.12); }
+  .pips i.on { background: var(--acid); }
+  #modeSub button.chip.hot .pips i.on { background: var(--bad); }
  #courtList button.court { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 11px; width: 100%;
                   margin: 0 0 8px; padding: 7px; background: var(--panel);
                   border: 2px solid var(--line); color: inherit; font: inherit; text-align: left;
                   cursor: pointer; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; }
  #courtList button.court.on { border-color: var(--acid); background: rgba(188,212,85,0.09); }
-  #courtList img { width: 92px; height: 66px; display: block; image-rendering: pixelated; flex: none;
+  #courtList img { width: 84px; height: 60px; display: block; image-rendering: pixelated; flex: none;
                   object-fit: cover; }
  #courtList .cb, #modeList .cb, #modeSub .cb { flex: 1; min-width: 0; }
  #courtList b, #modeList b, #modeSub b { display: block; font: 700 15px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--cream); letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
+  /* the court NAMES itself (Jersey) and its two meters say the rest — the description line is gone */
+  #courtList b { font: 400 22px/1.1 'Jersey 15', Silkscreen, monospace; letter-spacing: 0.5px; }
+  #courtList i { margin: 3px 0 5px; font: 700 9px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--bad);
+                 letter-spacing: 1px; }
+  #courtList i[hidden] { display: none; }
  #courtList i, #modeList i, #modeSub i { display: block; margin: 4px 0 6px; font: 400 10px Silkscreen, monospace; color: #c9c4b8; font-style: normal; }
  /* The two meters read straight off the court's own bounce numbers (see main.js), so they cannot
     drift away from what the ball actually does on it. */
@@ -613,7 +667,7 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
     title and the court stay — they are the background and they are never undefined. */
  #splash.busy #plaque { visibility: hidden; }   /* hidden, but it KEEPS ITS SPACE: display:none
     let the title slide down the screen and jump back up the moment the profile landed */
-  #sSum, #brSum { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; gap: 8px; margin: 0 0 8px;
+  #brSum { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; gap: 8px; margin: 0 0 8px;
          font: 400 9px Silkscreen, monospace; color: var(--dim); letter-spacing: 1px; }
  .tabs { display: flex; gap: 6px; margin: 12px 0 14px; }
  .tabs button { flex: 1; padding: 11px 2px; background: var(--panel); border: 2px solid var(--line);
@@ -738,10 +792,10 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
             so the foot's blood pool stays visible. One tap opens the card (refreshSplash fills). -->
        <button id="plaque">
          <img id="plBadge" alt="">
-          <b id="plName"></b>
-          <u id="plLv">LEVEL 1</u>
-          <span id="plRow"><u id="plFrom">1</u><s><i id="plFill"></i></s><u id="plTo">2</u></span>
-          <i id="plGoal"></i>
+          <span id="plCol">
+            <span id="plTop"><b id="plName"></b><u id="plLv">LEVEL 1</u></span>
+            <span id="plRow"><s><i id="plFill"></i></s><u id="plTo">2</u></span>
+          </span>
          <em>&gt;</em>
        </button>
      </div>
@@ -756,10 +810,10 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
             already knows the answer to. It names the next cup fixture now and enters the draw;
             everything else lives one tap down, behind OTHER GAMES. -->
        <button class="btn big" id="mStart"><b id="msTitle">THE CUP</b><i id="msLine"></i></button>
-        <button class="btn sec" id="mOther">OTHER GAMES<i>CLIMB · TRAINING · GORE · A FRIEND</i></button>
+        <button class="btn sec" id="mOther">OTHER GAMES</button>
        <div class="two">
-          <button class="btn sec" id="mStats">STATS<i id="mKills">0 KILLS</i></button>
-          <button class="btn sec" id="mRanks">RANKINGS<i>WORLD BOARD</i></button>
+          <button class="btn sec" id="mStats">STATS<i id="mKills">0</i></button>
+          <button class="btn sec" id="mRanks">BOARD<i id="mBest">BEST 0</i></button>
        </div>
        <p id="build"></p>
      </div>
@@ -813,7 +867,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
      <h3 id="s02">02 · COURT</h3>
      <div id="courtList"></div>
      <div class="foot">
-        <p id="sSum"></p>
        <button class="btn big" id="cStart">SERVE UP</button>
      </div>
    </div>
@@ -893,7 +946,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
         Built in main.js from config's roster (matchFoe/LADDER), so a new rung needs no markup. -->
    <div id="train">
      <div class="hdr"><button class="chev" id="trBack">&lt;</button><h2>TRAINING</h2></div>
-      <h3>PICK YOUR OPPONENT<span>ONE GAME · GO AGAIN</span></h3>
      <div id="trainList"></div>
    </div>
    <!-- VS A FRIEND. The whole lobby: your name (the world board's name — one name per player),
@@ -903,17 +955,17 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
    <div id="vs">
      <div class="hdr"><button class="chev" id="vsBack">&lt;</button><h2>VS A FRIEND</h2></div>
      <div id="vsPick">
-        <h3>01 · YOUR NAME<span>ON THEIR SCOREBOARD</span></h3>
+        <h3>YOU</h3>
        <input id="vsName" class="tin" maxlength="12" placeholder="YOUR NAME" autocomplete="off"
               autocapitalize="characters" spellcheck="false">
-        <h3>02 · HOST A MATCH<span>THEY COME TO YOU</span></h3>
-        <button class="btn" id="vsHostC">CLASSIC TENNIS</button>
+        <h3>HOST</h3>
+        <button class="btn" id="vsHostC">CLASSIC</button>
        <button class="btn" id="vsHostD">DEATH MATCH</button>
-        <h3>OR JOIN THEIRS<span>WITH THEIR CODE</span></h3>
+        <h3>JOIN</h3>
        <div class="joinrow">
          <input id="vsCode" class="tin" maxlength="4" placeholder="CODE" autocomplete="off"
                 autocapitalize="characters" spellcheck="false">
-          <button class="btn" id="vsJoin">JOIN</button>
+          <button class="btn" id="vsJoin">GO</button>
        </div>
        <p id="vsErr"></p>
      </div>
@@ -999,6 +1051,6 @@ if (location.hostname !== 'splatter-tennis.wuwi.one' && !window.Capacitor?.isNat
    </div>
  </div>
 </div>
-<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=341"></script>
+<script type="module" src="src/main.js?v=342"></script>
 </body>
 </html>
@@ -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();
@@ -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.
@@ -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');
 };
@@ -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;
  }
@@ -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');
@@ -1247,8 +1247,11 @@ test('THE SEASON: the fixture names the league, its rounds and the body that ope
    assert.equal(fx.foe.name, cfg.matchFoe(R[0].band[0]).name, l.name + ': and names that body');
    assert.ok(fx.title.includes(String(l.id)) || fx.title === 'DEFEND THE TITLE',
      l.name + ': the title carries the league');
-    assert.ok(fx.line.includes(R[0].name) && fx.line.startsWith(String(R.length)),
-      l.name + ': the line counts the rounds and names the first');
+    // the text reduction moved the round COUNT off the button and into the modal's sub line
+    assert.ok(fx.line.includes(R[0].name) && fx.line.includes(fx.foe.name),
+      l.name + ': the line names the first round and the body in it');
+    assert.ok(fx.sub.includes(String(R.length)) && fx.sub.includes(String(l.id)),
+      l.name + ': the sub carries the league and how many rounds it runs');
  }
  // the champion has nothing above him: his fixture is a defence, not a promotion
  assert.equal(cfg.cupFixture(cfg.LEAGUES.length, 1).title, 'DEFEND THE TITLE');