diff --git a/docs/deployment.md b/docs/deployment.md
index d96bcf8..f6b77e5 100644
--- a/docs/deployment.md
+++ b/docs/deployment.md
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ location /ws {
     proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
     proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
     proxy_set_header Host $host;
+    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
     proxy_read_timeout 120s;
     proxy_send_timeout 120s;
     proxy_buffering off;
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ location /ws {
 location / {
     proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
     proxy_set_header Host $host;
+    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
 }
 ```
 
@@ -148,9 +150,12 @@ not itself a trusted proxy. Entries a client forged sit to the left of the one
 the proxy appended, so they are never reached. A peer that is not on the list
 is still keyed on its socket address, header or not.
 
-Both proxies above append the real client to `X-Forwarded-For` by default.
-Do not list a range the public can connect from; that is the same as trusting
-the header unconditionally.
+Caddy appends the real client to `X-Forwarded-For` by default. nginx does
+not: without the `proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for`
+lines in the snippet above it passes the client's own header through
+untouched, and naming that proxy as trusted would let every client pick its
+own limiter key. Do not list a range the public can connect from either; that
+is the same as trusting the header unconditionally.
 
 ### Capacity
 
diff --git a/plans/reports/code-reviewer-260921-0156-dev-branch-review.md b/plans/reports/code-reviewer-260921-0156-dev-branch-review.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..518db69
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plans/reports/code-reviewer-260921-0156-dev-branch-review.md
@@ -0,0 +1,369 @@
+---
+title: "dev branch review: 13 commits, main..dev"
+date: 2026-09-21
+reviewer: code-reviewer
+scope: git diff main..dev (93 files, +8215/-467)
+baseline: plans/reports/code-reviewer-260921-0016-codebase-health-scan.md
+verdict: APPROVE WITH CHANGES — two must-fix before ship, one of them a doc that makes a new security knob worse than its default
+---
+
+# Verdict
+
+**APPROVE WITH CHANGES.** All eight confirmed health-scan findings (C1–C8) are closed, plus
+H1–H8. The work is above the usual bar: comments explain intent, the new concurrency surfaces
+(`liveCounted` CAS, hub cap under the registering lock, frame limiter before decode) are
+reasoned about rather than sprinkled, and the drain default is `0s` so it changes nothing
+until an operator opts in. 75 wsapi tests, 219 web tests, 3 fuzz targets.
+
+Two findings block: **F1** (a peer can throw a Svelte runtime error in every other client's
+tab) and **F2** (the documented nginx config makes the new trusted-proxy mode a limiter
+bypass rather than a limiter fix). Neither is in a test's blind spot by accident — both are
+cross-boundary, which is where this diff's seams are.
+
+## Checks run here (ARM64 Linux, Go 1.27, node 24)
+
+| Check | Result |
+|---|---|
+| `go vet ./...` | clean |
+| `golangci-lint run ./...` | 0 issues |
+| `go test ./... -race -count=1` | all pass (wsapi 29.4s) |
+| `npm run lint` | 0 errors, 33 `jsdoc/reject-any-type` warnings |
+| `npm run check` | 380 files, 0 errors, 0 warnings |
+| `npm test` | 12 files, 219 tests, pass |
+| binary smoke vs `data/fixture.db` | `/healthz` 200, `/readyz` 200, `/version` `dev`, `/debug/vars` 404 on public mux and 20 `noitu_*` keys on the debug mux, clean SIGTERM. Process stopped. |
+| Playwright | skipped (no browser on this host) |
+
+---
+
+# Confirmed findings
+
+## F1 — Chat `{#each}` key is not unique; two lines in the same millisecond throw at runtime
+
+**Severity: high (remote-triggerable client crash). Size: S. Confidence: high.**
+
+`web/src/lib/components/ChatPanel.svelte:166`
+
+```svelte
+{#each messages as entry (entry.playerId + "@" + entry.atMs)}
+```
+
+- `server/internal/wsapi/room.go:1518` stamps `at: time.Now()`; the wire carries
+  `sent_unix_ms` (`proto/noitu/v1/game.proto`, `ChatMessage.sent_unix_ms`), millisecond
+  resolution.
+- `session.go:47-48` — `chatsPerSecond = 2.0, chatBurst = 5`. Five lines go out back to back,
+  and the room handles them serially in memory with no I/O between.
+- `web/src/lib/stores/game.svelte.js:442-450` stores only `playerId` and `atMs`. The room's
+  own `chatEntry.seq` (`room.go:232`) — which *is* unique — never reaches the wire.
+
+Failure: one player sends two lines that land in the same millisecond → every recipient's
+`(playerId, atMs)` key collides → Svelte's documented runtime error `each_key_duplicate`
+("Keyed each block has duplicate key at indexes %a% and %b%") — a runtime error, not a
+dev-only warning, so the chat panel and whatever unwinds above it break in a shipped build.
+Reachable accidentally by a fast double-Enter and deliberately by a scripted client.
+
+Fix (no proto change): stamp each store entry with `n: state.chatCount` before the increment
+(and the index in the `chatHistory` arm), then key on `entry.n`. Or drop the key — the list
+is append-and-trim, which an unkeyed `each` handles correctly. Test: two `SendChat` frames
+back to back in `web/tests/game-store.test.js`.
+
+## F2 — The documented nginx config turns `NOITU_TRUSTED_PROXIES` into a limiter bypass
+
+**Severity: high (availability, in the deployment the doc tells you to build). Size: S (doc).
+Confidence: high.**
+
+`docs/deployment.md:110-125` (nginx snippet) and `docs/deployment.md:151`.
+
+The snippet sets `Upgrade`, `Connection`, `Host` and timeouts. It does **not** set
+`X-Forwarded-For`. Line 151 then asserts: *"Both proxies above append the real client to
+`X-Forwarded-For` by default."* That is true for Caddy and false for nginx — nginx adds no
+XFF unless you write `proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;`, which is
+precisely why that idiom exists. What nginx *does* do is pass the client's own
+`X-Forwarded-For` header through untouched.
+
+Failure: operator follows the doc, sets `NOITU_TRUSTED_PROXIES=127.0.0.1` as the same doc
+instructs. `server.go:243-262` now trusts the peer, walks the header from the right, and
+takes the attacker's forged value as the key. The attacker rotates it per frame and the
+`joinLimiter` (1/s, burst 5) becomes unlimited — strictly worse than the shared-bucket
+behaviour C3 set out to fix, and the operator has no signal that it happened.
+
+Fix: add to both `location` blocks and correct line 151.
+
+```nginx
+proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+```
+
+Consider a startup `slog.Warn` when `NOITU_TRUSTED_PROXIES` is non-empty and the first
+request from a trusted peer carries no XFF at all — that is the misconfiguration signature,
+and it is cheap to notice once.
+
+## F3 — A quick-match waiter can be seated after its own teardown, starting a game against a ghost
+
+**Severity: medium-high. Size: S. Confidence: high (code-traced; not covered by
+`TestQuickMatchDropsADisconnectedWaiter`, which `settle()`s first).**
+
+`server/internal/wsapi/hub.go:188-208`
+
+```go
+waiter := h.waiting[0]
+h.waiting = h.waiting[1:]
+h.mu.Unlock()
+…
+r.send(createInput{sess: waiter, autoStart: true})
+```
+
+Interleaving: the waiter's socket dies exactly here. `session.run`'s teardown order is
+`cancelQuickMatch` → `leaveRoom` → `close` (`session.go:280-284`). `cancelQuickMatch` finds
+nothing (already dequeued), `leaveRoom` finds no room (not yet attached), and *then*
+`handleCreate` (`room.go:573-588`) seats the dead session and `attach`es it. The room never
+receives a `disconnectInput`, so `allConnected()` is true, `autoStart` fires
+(`room.go:725-733`), and the live player is put in a game against a socket that is gone —
+burning a full `NOITU_TURN_LIMIT` per ghost turn until the engine eliminates it. `send` is
+safe (`session.go:224-237` drops on `ctx.Done`), so nothing panics; it is a stuck game, not a
+crash.
+
+Fix: loop the dequeue past any waiter whose `ctx.Err() != nil` (falling through to the
+enqueue branch if the queue empties), **and** in `handleCreate`/`handleJoin` follow `attach`
+with `if m.sess.ctx.Err() != nil { r.send(disconnectInput{…}) }` — the second half is what
+closes the residual window rather than narrowing it.
+
+## F4 — `NearMiss` can suggest a word the player cannot legally play
+
+**Severity: medium (the feature misfires in the case it exists for). Size: S. Confidence: high.**
+
+`server/internal/wsapi/room.go:992-1005`, `server/internal/game/engine.go:212-232`.
+
+`Submit` returns `ReasonNotInDictionary` **before** the link check (`first != e.current`) and
+before the already-used check. `nearMissFor` fires on exactly that reason, so the suggestion
+is drawn from the whole corpus with no regard for the syllable in play; `WordInput.svelte:160-166`
+then fills the field with it on click. Failure: player mistypes a real word that does not
+link from the current syllable (or is already in the chain) → suggested → filled → submitted
+→ rejected again, now for `wrong_link`. The "did you mean" is the one place a player is
+entitled to trust the server's vocabulary, and it hands back a word that was never playable.
+
+Fix in `nearMissFor`, which already holds `r.dict` and `r.engine`:
+
+```go
+if first, ok := r.dict.FirstSyllable(suggestion); !ok || first != r.engine.Current() {
+    return ""
+}
+```
+
+(`game.Dictionary` is embedded in the wsapi `Dictionary` interface, so `FirstSyllable` is in
+hand.) Filtering already-used words needs one engine accessor; the link filter alone removes
+the large majority of the misfires.
+
+## F5 — A waiter refused for `server_full` is dropped server-side but still "searching" on screen
+
+**Severity: medium. Size: S. Confidence: high (the server behaviour is asserted by
+`TestQuickMatchServerFullTellsBothSides`; the client half is not).**
+
+`hub.go:194-199` sends the waiter `roomCreateError(...)` and nothing else. The web store
+clears `state.queued` only on `roomState` (`game.svelte.js:292`) or `quickMatchStatus`
+(`:489`), so the waiting panel (`online/+page.svelte:482-495`) keeps counting up beside a
+`server_full` banner for somebody the queue no longer contains. The cancel button still
+works, so it is a lie rather than a trap — but the elapsed counter and the bot nudge are both
+now wrong.
+
+Fix (server, one line, and it keeps the client rule "queued is server-owned"):
+
+```go
+waiter.send(quickMatchStatusMsg(false))
+waiter.send(roomCreateError(waiter.id, err))
+```
+
+## F6 — Connection cap is global only; one IP can take every slot, and each socket mints 20 log lines
+
+**Severity: medium. Size: M. Confidence: high.**
+
+`server/internal/wsapi/server.go:146-152` caps total sockets at `NOITU_MAX_CONNECTIONS`
+(2000). There is no per-IP concurrent cap, which is the half of health-scan C2 that is still
+open. One host opening 2000 sockets locks every real player out at the upgrade, and nothing
+in the process says who did it (`noitu_connections_open` is a single number).
+
+Amplifier: `session.handleReportWord` (`session.go:689-728`) allows 20 distinct words per
+*session*, each producing a `word_reported` Info line, and the budget resets on every new
+socket. Reconnect-in-a-loop is therefore a log-volume vector gated only by the WS handshake
+cost.
+
+Fix: a `keyedLimiter`-shaped per-IP concurrent-connection counter in `handleWS` (the
+`keyedLimiter` + sweeper already exist), say 10–20 per IP, keyed on `s.clientIP(r)` so it
+inherits F2's fix. Per-IP is the right granularity here even behind a proxy, once XFF is
+actually trustworthy.
+
+## F7 — A game can start *during* a drain, extending the wait the drain is bounded by
+
+**Severity: medium-low (opt-in path only; default `0s` is unaffected). Size: S.
+Confidence: high.**
+
+`hub.startDraining` (`hub.go:293`) refuses **new rooms** (`newRegisteredRoom:251-253`).
+Rooms that already exist keep their lobby, so `handleLobby`'s start action and the quick-match
+`autoStart` both reach `beginGame` (`room.go:904-906`) and call `hub.gameStarted()` after
+drain began. A room that rematches keeps doing so. `waitForGamesToFinish`
+(`main.go:170-193`) therefore holds the deploy for the full `NOITU_DRAIN_TIMEOUT` rather than
+for the games that existed when the signal arrived.
+
+The `/readyz` half is correct: both the readiness handler and the room refusal read the same
+`atomic.Bool`, so there is no window where one has flipped and the other has not.
+
+Fix: refuse `beginGame` while draining (`if r.hub.isDraining() { broadcastError("server_restarting"); return }`),
+or snapshot the live-game count at drain start and wait only for it to reach zero. The first
+matches the intent stated in the drain comment.
+
+## F8 — `gamesFinished` is not incremented on the cancelled-mid-game path
+
+**Severity: low (metrics only; the gauge is correct). Size: S. Confidence: high.**
+
+`room.go:904` increments `gamesStarted`; `room.go:1281` increments `gamesFinished` only in
+`broadcastGameOver`. The run-teardown CAS (`room.go:394-398`) correctly repairs
+`hub.liveGames` for a room cancelled mid-game but does not touch the counter. After every
+drain-with-timeout or shutdown, `noitu_games_started` exceeds `noitu_games_finished`
+permanently, which is the exact signal an operator would read as "games are hanging".
+
+Fix: move `metrics.gamesFinished.Add(r.mode, 1)` inside the CAS, and call the same helper
+from `broadcastGameOver`.
+
+## F9 — `write`'s rename fallback treats every error as the Windows case and deletes the good database
+
+**Severity: low. Size: S. Confidence: high.**
+
+`server/cmd/build-dictionary/main.go:384-390`. C7's fix is right in substance — POSIX now
+gets the atomic replace the comment promises — but the retry is keyed on *any* `os.Rename`
+error, while the comment says "Windows refuses to rename over an existing file". An `EXDEV`
+or `EACCES` rename failure now removes the existing dictionary and then fails the retry,
+which is the state C7 set out to make impossible.
+
+Fix: `if errors.Is(err, fs.ErrExist) || runtime.GOOS == "windows"` before the destructive
+branch, and return the original rename error otherwise.
+
+## F10 — Limiter keys are not normalized for IPv4-mapped IPv6
+
+**Severity: low. Size: XS. Confidence: high.**
+
+`server.go:236-262`: `trusted()` calls `Unmap()` before matching, but the value *returned* as
+the key is the raw string. `::ffff:203.0.113.5` and `203.0.113.5` are therefore two buckets
+for one client, reachable when a dual-stack listener and a proxy-supplied header disagree on
+form. Fix: parse once and return `addr.Unmap().String()` on both paths.
+
+## F11 — `cancelQueue` ignores whether the cancel actually went out
+
+`web/src/routes/online/+page.svelte:319-322` — `send(cancelQuickMatch())` returns a boolean
+the caller drops. With a closed socket the server has already dequeued the player (teardown),
+but the panel keeps saying "searching". Same class as F5; fixing F5 server-side does not
+cover this one. Low.
+
+---
+
+# Plausible (not traced to a failure)
+
+- **P1** `clientIP` splits every `X-Forwarded-For` value on every upgrade with no hop
+  ceiling. Go's 1 MB header limit allows ~100k entries, so it is a small per-handshake CPU
+  and allocation cost an attacker controls. Cap at, say, 20 hops.
+- **P2** The suggestion/report buttons survive a turn change that had no played word:
+  `turnUpdate` clears `rejection` only `if (played)` (`game.svelte.js:381-385`), so after a
+  timeout the previous rejection panel — and its fill-the-field button — stays live off-turn.
+  Harmless (`guardInput` and the submit path both refuse), but it is stale UI the store
+  otherwise avoids.
+- **P3** `handleReportWord` spends the *chat* budget (`session.go:690`). Defensible (both are
+  "player typed something at the room"), but undocumented, so a player who reports a word
+  silently loses chat capacity. One comment would settle it.
+- **P4** `/debug/vars` carries expvar's default `cmdline` and `memstats`. Verified 404 on the
+  public mux, and `docs/deployment.md:169` already says to bind it away from players — so
+  this is a non-issue as documented, recorded here only so the next reader does not re-derive
+  it.
+- **Checked and fine:** the `NearMiss` stripped index costs one map entry per canonical word
+  (~30k floor, `--min-words 30000`) ≈ single-digit MB — not a memory concern. `capParts`
+  holds the sum invariant by construction (`pointsFor` re-sums the *capped* parts), every
+  term is non-negative, and `base+chain ≤ 40 < maxPointsPerWord`, so the trim loop can never
+  underflow into base. `đ/Đ` folding and NFD mark-dropping are correct for Vietnamese; the
+  ambiguity rule (`count != 1`) does what its comment says. The `Normalize` double-NFC fix is
+  correct and its fuzz seed is committed.
+
+---
+
+# Health-scan closure (C1–C8)
+
+| # | Status | Evidence |
+|---|---|---|
+| C1 `player_id` never set | **Closed** | `convert.go:146` sets `PlayerId: string(m.Player)`; `limits_test.go:17` `TestPlayedWordNamesItsPlayerOnTheWire` asserts it end-to-end |
+| C2 no room / connection cap | **Closed with a gap** | `hub.go:264-271` checks `len(h.rooms) >= h.maxRooms` under the registering lock (correct against the race); `server.go:146` caps total sockets. **Per-IP connection cap still absent — see F6** |
+| C3 proxy = one global bucket | **Closed, but see F2** | `Config.TrustedProxies`, `clientIP` walk-from-right, `NOITU_TRUSTED_PROXIES` default empty = old behaviour. `TestClientIPTrustsOnlyConfiguredProxies` covers it. The *documented* nginx config defeats it |
+| C4 no frame-rate ceiling | **Closed** | `session.go:328-331` charges `frameLimiter` (20/s, burst 40) before `Decode`, so the no-payload and `Ping` arms are covered; `StartBotGame` limiter moved above the difficulty switch (`session.go:447-451`); `TestFrameFloodClosesTheConnection` |
+| C5 raw `typed` crosses the boundary | **Closed** | `room.go:963` sanitizes before `engine.Submit`, so `Move.Typed` is filtered at the source rather than at the renderer; `TestTypedWordIsSanitizedBeforeItIsEchoed` |
+| C6 builder DSN not escaped | **Closed** | `dictionary.DSN(path, readOnly)` exported and used at `build-dictionary/main.go:229,398` |
+| C7 remove-before-rename | **Closed, imprecisely** | `main.go:384-390` renames first; see **F9** for the over-broad fallback |
+| C8 exits leave sessions attached | **Closed** | `defer r.detachAll()` in `run` (`room.go:403`, `detachAll` at `:1720`) covers every exit, not just the two named paths; `TestIdleRoomReleasesItsSeats` |
+
+Hygiene H1–H8 also closed: `dev` on both workflow triggers, `gofmt -l` gate,
+`golangci-lint-action@v9`, `buf` moved to `latest`, `.github/dependabot.yml` (4 ecosystems),
+`web/package.json#allowScripts` for `esbuild`, `npm run lint` in CI. Three `testing.F` targets
+exist (`FuzzDecode`, `FuzzSanitizeText`, `FuzzNormalize`). No coverage floor (H8) — the only
+one left, and it was the weakest item on the list.
+
+---
+
+# Merge check (conflict-resolved files)
+
+| File | Result |
+|---|---|
+| `web/src/lib/ws/messages.js` | **Clean.** 10 exports, no duplicates; the four new builders (`quickMatch`, `cancelQuickMatch`, `claimDeadEnd`, `reportWord`) each have a consumer — verified reachable from `online/+page.svelte` and, for claim/report, `play/+page.svelte` too. Nothing orphaned |
+| `web/src/routes/online/+page.svelte` | **Clean.** No duplicated `$effect`, handler or markup block; the only repeated statements are `flush(connection.status === Status.OPEN)` (in `request` and in the resume-failure effect) and `request({ kind: 'join', code })` (in `join` and the invite-link effect), both intentional. Page-leave teardown sends `cancelQuickMatch` *and* `disconnect()`, so the queue is released either way |
+| `server/internal/wsapi/wsapi_test.go` | **Clean.** 75 test funcs, no duplicate names across the 9 wsapi test files, no duplicated helper definitions, compiles and passes under `-race` |
+
+---
+
+# Docs vs code
+
+- **Env vars: all 11 present in both `README.md` and `docs/deployment.md`, and every default
+  matches `loadConfig`** (`MAX_ROOMS` 1000, `MAX_CONNECTIONS` 2000, `DRAIN_TIMEOUT` 0s — the
+  code passes 0 and the package constant supplies the documented number, which the docs state
+  as the effective default, correctly).
+- **Endpoints: `/ws`, `/healthz`, `/readyz`, `/version` documented and verified live.
+  `/debug/vars` documented as debug-mux-only and verified 404 on the public mux.** No
+  documented endpoint is missing and no undocumented one exists.
+- **Mismatch (F2):** `docs/deployment.md:151` claims the nginx snippet at `:110` appends
+  `X-Forwarded-For`. It does not, and the consequence is a limiter bypass rather than a
+  cosmetic error.
+- `README.md` "The word field is deliberately uncontrolled" still holds: `useSuggestion`
+  (`WordInput.svelte:160-166`) writes `field.value` directly on an explicit click and adds no
+  `bind:value`, which is the invariant, not a violation of it. The comment even says why the
+  click is the safe moment. No change needed.
+- README's rules-page claims check out: `/rules` exists, is linked from the landing page, the
+  board header (`GameBoard.svelte`) and the lobby, and is a link rather than a button.
+
+---
+
+# Recommended actions, ranked
+
+1. **F1** — unique chat key. Blocking.
+2. **F2** — nginx `proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For`, and fix the claim at `:151`. Blocking;
+   ship it with, or before, the `NOITU_TRUSTED_PROXIES` announcement.
+3. **F3** — skip dead waiters at dequeue + post-attach liveness check.
+4. **F4** — filter `NearMiss` by the current link.
+5. **F5/F11** — clear `queued` on the refusal path.
+6. **F6** — per-IP concurrent-connection cap (finishes C2).
+7. **F7** — refuse `beginGame` while draining.
+8. **F8/F9/F10** — counter symmetry, Windows-only pre-remove, unmapped IP keys.
+9. P1–P3 when the surrounding code is next touched.
+
+---
+
+# Unresolved questions
+
+1. **F4** — is a suggestion that is real-but-unplayable *intended* ("this word exists, just
+   not here")? The comment on `nearMissFor` argues only about spelling vs. vocabulary and
+   does not address the link, so I read it as an oversight — but it is a product call and the
+   i18n copy (`suggestionPrompt`) is phrased as a correction, not as trivia.
+2. **F7** — should a drain also stop *rematches* in rooms that are mid-session, or only new
+   first games? Stopping rematches is what bounds the wait; not stopping them is friendlier to
+   the players already there. The drain comment argues for the deploy, which suggests the
+   former.
+3. **F6** — what is the expected legitimate concurrency per IP? A shared NAT (a school, a
+   café) behind the new trusted-proxy mode could plausibly want 20+. The number decides
+   whether a per-IP cap is safe to add at all, and it is not in the docs.
+4. **Protocol version** — `PROTOCOL_VERSION` stays 2 through four new client messages and
+   three new server fields. Correct as analysed (old clients ignore unknown server payloads,
+   and the server only emits the new ones in reply to new client ones), but confirm that a
+   cached SPA silently lacking quick-match is the intended degradation rather than something
+   the handshake should refuse.
+5. **F9** — was the "any rename error" fallback deliberate defensiveness, or is Windows the
+   only case in mind? The comment says Windows; the code says anything.
diff --git a/server/cmd/build-dictionary/main.go b/server/cmd/build-dictionary/main.go
index cd9183d..0dec3b8 100644
--- a/server/cmd/build-dictionary/main.go
+++ b/server/cmd/build-dictionary/main.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -382,6 +383,12 @@ func write(path string, words map[string]entry, meanings map[string][]sense, ali
 	// refuses to rename over an existing file — is the target cleared first,
 	// accepting the window there rather than opening it everywhere.
 	if err := os.Rename(tmp, path); err != nil {
+		if runtime.GOOS != "windows" {
+			// Anywhere else a failed rename is a real error — a different
+			// filesystem, a permission — and deleting the good database in
+			// response would turn it into a lost one.
+			return fmt.Errorf("move temp database into place: %w", err)
+		}
 		if rmErr := os.Remove(path); rmErr != nil && !errors.Is(rmErr, os.ErrNotExist) {
 			return fmt.Errorf("remove existing output: %w", rmErr)
 		}
diff --git a/server/internal/wsapi/hub.go b/server/internal/wsapi/hub.go
index eb0a1a8..9878d03 100644
--- a/server/internal/wsapi/hub.go
+++ b/server/internal/wsapi/hub.go
@@ -178,15 +178,25 @@ func (h *hub) quickMatch(s *session) error {
 			return errAlreadyQueued
 		}
 	}
-	if len(h.waiting) == 0 {
+	// A waiter whose connection ended is skipped, not paired. Its teardown
+	// dequeues it, but that runs after the socket has gone, and in that
+	// window the queue still names a session nobody is behind; seating it
+	// would start a game against an empty chair.
+	var waiter *session
+	for waiter == nil && len(h.waiting) > 0 {
+		candidate := h.waiting[0]
+		h.waiting = h.waiting[1:]
+		if candidate.ctx.Err() == nil {
+			waiter = candidate
+		}
+	}
+	if waiter == nil {
 		h.waiting = append(h.waiting, s)
 		h.mu.Unlock()
 		metrics.quickMatchQueued.Add(1)
 		s.send(quickMatchStatusMsg(true))
 		return nil
 	}
-	waiter := h.waiting[0]
-	h.waiting = h.waiting[1:]
 	h.mu.Unlock()
 
 	r, err := h.newRegisteredRoom(roomModePvP)
diff --git a/server/internal/wsapi/quick_match_test.go b/server/internal/wsapi/quick_match_test.go
index 7ee67b9..4964e3d 100644
--- a/server/internal/wsapi/quick_match_test.go
+++ b/server/internal/wsapi/quick_match_test.go
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 package wsapi
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/coder/websocket"
 	noituv1 "github.com/tiennm99dev/noitu/server/gen/noitu/v1"
@@ -166,3 +168,54 @@ func TestQuickMatchServerFullTellsBothSides(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("third should be freshly queued, not immediately matched with a stale waiter")
 	}
 }
+
+// TestQuickMatchSkipsAWaiterWhoseConnectionEnded covers the window between a
+// waiter's socket closing and its teardown dequeuing it: a match drawn in that
+// window must not seat the ghost.
+func TestQuickMatchSkipsAWaiterWhoseConnectionEnded(t *testing.T) {
+	h := newHub(t.Context(), chainDict(), time.Second, time.Second, time.Minute, 0)
+
+	gone, cancelGone := context.WithCancel(t.Context())
+	cancelGone()
+	ghost := &session{id: "ghost", ctx: gone, out: make(chan []byte, 1)}
+	live := &session{id: "live", ctx: t.Context(), out: make(chan []byte, 8)}
+
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	h.waiting = append(h.waiting, ghost)
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if err := h.quickMatch(live); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("quickMatch: %v", err)
+	}
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	defer h.mu.Unlock()
+	if len(h.waiting) != 1 || h.waiting[0] != live {
+		t.Fatalf("queue = %v, want the live session alone", h.waiting)
+	}
+	if len(h.rooms) != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("a room was opened for a waiter with no connection behind it")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestNearMissIsWithheldWhenUnplayable: a real word one tone mark away is not
+// offered when it does not answer the syllable in play, because taking the
+// suggestion would only earn a second refusal.
+func TestNearMissIsWithheldWhenUnplayable(t *testing.T) {
+	// Opening "ngôn ngữ" leaves "ngữ" to answer; "cà phê" is real but does not.
+	_, url := newTestServer(t, newTestDict("ngôn ngữ", "ngữ pháp", "cà phê"), Config{})
+	c := dial(t, url)
+	c.hello("Người chơi")
+	c.send(&noituv1.ClientMessage{Payload: &noituv1.ClientMessage_StartBotGame{
+		StartBotGame: &noituv1.StartBotGame{Difficulty: noituv1.Difficulty_DIFFICULTY_EASY},
+	}})
+	started := c.await("game_started").GetGameStarted()
+
+	c.submit("ca phe", started.GetTurnSeq())
+	rejected := c.await("move_rejected").GetMoveRejected()
+	if rejected.GetReason() != noituv1.RejectReason_REJECT_REASON_NOT_IN_DICTIONARY {
+		t.Fatalf("reason = %v, want NOT_IN_DICTIONARY", rejected.GetReason())
+	}
+	if rejected.GetSuggestion() != "" {
+		t.Errorf("suggestion = %q, want none for a word that does not link", rejected.GetSuggestion())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/server/internal/wsapi/room.go b/server/internal/wsapi/room.go
index 40666ef..b0d8f1b 100644
--- a/server/internal/wsapi/room.go
+++ b/server/internal/wsapi/room.go
@@ -1001,6 +1001,12 @@ func (r *room) nearMissFor(reason game.RejectReason, raw string) string {
 	if !ok {
 		return ""
 	}
+	// The dictionary check comes before the link and reuse checks in Submit,
+	// so a real word can be a near miss and still be unplayable here. Offering
+	// it would send the player straight into a second refusal.
+	if first, ok := r.dict.FirstSyllable(suggestion); !ok || first != r.engine.Current() || r.engine.Used(suggestion) {
+		return ""
+	}
 	return suggestion
 }
 
diff --git a/web/src/lib/components/ChatPanel.svelte b/web/src/lib/components/ChatPanel.svelte
index ac3bae9..3f3ecc9 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/components/ChatPanel.svelte
+++ b/web/src/lib/components/ChatPanel.svelte
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@
 				aria-relevant="additions"
 				data-testid="chat-log"
 			>
-				{#each messages as entry (entry.playerId + "@" + entry.atMs)}
+				{#each messages as entry (entry.n)}
 					<li style:color={colourOf(entry.playerId)}>
 						<!-- An author the server cleared belongs to nobody: the seat
 						     they spoke from may be somebody else's now. -->
diff --git a/web/src/lib/stores/game.svelte.js b/web/src/lib/stores/game.svelte.js
index 56d80c7..3c9ed21 100644
--- a/web/src/lib/stores/game.svelte.js
+++ b/web/src/lib/stores/game.svelte.js
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ import { rejectMessage, errorMessage, fill, t } from '$lib/i18n/vi.js';
  */
 export const CHAT_WINDOW = 20;
 
+// Ordinal handed to each chat line as it arrives, for list keys. Never reset:
+// a replayed history must not reuse numbers a line still on screen holds.
+let chatOrdinal = 0;
+
 /**
  * The game model is a projection of what the server sent. The client never
  * decides whether a word is valid, whose turn it is, or who won — it renders
@@ -141,7 +145,10 @@ function initialState() {
 		 * The room's conversation, oldest first, capped at CHAT_WINDOW. Chat
 		 * belongs to the room rather than to a game, so it survives reset();
 		 * leaving the room is what clears it.
-		 * @type {{ fromMe: boolean, playerId: string, author: string, text: string, atMs: number }[]}
+		 * `n` is a client-side ordinal for list keys: the server stamps lines at
+		 * millisecond resolution and one seat may send a burst, so a timestamp
+		 * is not unique.
+		 * @type {{ n: number, fromMe: boolean, playerId: string, author: string, text: string, atMs: number }[]}
 		 */
 		chat: [],
 		/**
@@ -440,6 +447,7 @@ export function createGameStore() {
 
 			case 'chatMessage':
 				state.chat.push({
+					n: ++chatOrdinal,
 					fromMe: value.fromMe,
 					playerId: value.playerId,
 					author: value.author,
@@ -461,6 +469,7 @@ export function createGameStore() {
 				// client arriving in a new room is given, so a conversation
 				// cannot outlive the room it was had in.
 				state.chat = value.messages.map((/** @type {any} */ m) => ({
+					n: ++chatOrdinal,
 					fromMe: m.fromMe,
 					playerId: m.playerId,
 					author: m.author,
@@ -482,6 +491,11 @@ export function createGameStore() {
 					state.claimError = errorMessage(value.code);
 					break;
 				}
+				// A match the server could not open leaves nobody queued, and
+				// the only frame that says so is this refusal.
+				if (value.code === 'server_full' || value.code === 'room_start_failed' || value.code === 'server_restarting') {
+					state.queued = false;
+				}
 				state.error = errorMessage(value.code);
 				break;
 
diff --git a/web/tests/game-store.test.js b/web/tests/game-store.test.js
index de5250a..5f8ea7c 100644
--- a/web/tests/game-store.test.js
+++ b/web/tests/game-store.test.js
@@ -572,6 +572,16 @@ describe('quickMatchStatus', () => {
 		expect(store.state.queued).toBe(false);
 	});
 
+	it('ends the wait when the server could not open the room', () => {
+		// The server dequeues both sides of a match it cannot seat, and this
+		// refusal is the only frame that says so.
+		const store = createGameStore();
+		store.apply(msg('quickMatchStatus', { queued: true }));
+		store.apply(msg('error', { code: 'server_full', message: 'server_full' }));
+		expect(store.state.queued).toBe(false);
+		expect(store.state.error).toBeTruthy();
+	});
+
 	it('ends the wait the moment a room seats this connection, even with no prior status', () => {
 		const store = createGameStore();
 		store.apply(msg('quickMatchStatus', { queued: true }));
@@ -593,6 +603,19 @@ describe('chat', () => {
 		});
 	}
 
+	it('keys two lines sent in the same millisecond apart', () => {
+		// The server stamps at millisecond resolution and one seat may send a
+		// burst, so the timestamp cannot be the list key.
+		const store = createGameStore();
+		store.apply(line({ text: 'một' }));
+		store.apply(line({ text: 'hai' }));
+		const [a, b] = store.state.chat;
+		expect(a.atMs).toBe(b.atMs);
+		expect(a.n).not.toBe(b.n);
+		store.apply(msg('chatHistory', { messages: [line({ text: 'ba' }).payload.value] }));
+		expect(store.state.chat[0].n).not.toBe(b.n);
+	});
+
 	it('appends in arrival order and converts the time out of bigint', () => {
 		const store = createGameStore();
 		store.apply(line({ text: 'một' }));