diff --git a/packages/engine/src/game.ts b/packages/engine/src/game.ts
index 07d3f82..59568b5 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/game.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/game.ts
@@ -2433,17 +2433,14 @@ const CARD_EFFECTS: Record<string, AttackEffect | NeutralEffect | CounterEffect>
     // Earlier revisions rammed at any range; their ledgers keep it.
     validate: (state, _cmd, _caster, target) => {
       if ((state.config.deckRev ?? 1) < 10 || !target) return null;
-      const caster = activePlayer(state);
-      const legs = state.turn.movementAllowance - state.turn.movementUsed;
-      const d = walkingDistance(state, caster.position, target.position, chargeReach(state, legs));
+      const { d, legs } = charge(state, activePlayer(state), target);
       if (d > legs) return "the goat charges on legs, not wings — you cannot walk that far this turn";
       return null;
     },
     onResolved: (ctx) => {
       if (ctx.fullyStopped || !ctx.defender.alive || !ctx.attacker.alive) return;
       if ((ctx.state.config.deckRev ?? 1) >= 10) {
-        const legs = ctx.state.turn.movementAllowance - ctx.state.turn.movementUsed;
-        const d = walkingDistance(ctx.state, ctx.attacker.position, ctx.defender.position, chargeReach(ctx.state, legs));
+        const { d, legs } = charge(ctx.state, ctx.attacker, ctx.defender);
         if (d === 0) return;
         if (d > legs) {
           // The target slipped beyond the charge (a counter-teleport, say):
@@ -2454,9 +2451,9 @@ const CARD_EFFECTS: Record<string, AttackEffect | NeutralEffect | CounterEffect>
         ctx.state.turn.movementUsed += d;
         ctx.attacker.position = { ...ctx.defender.position };
         ctx.events.push({ type: "rammed", attacker: ctx.attacker.id, target: ctx.defender.id, distance: d });
-        // Rev 26: the ram was priced into the blow itself (ramDistance),
-        // so STRENGTH, AMPLIFY, and the counters have already weighed it.
-        // Older games dealt the bare distance here, past all of them.
+        // From rev 26 the ram is priced into the blow itself (ramDistance),
+        // so STRENGTH, AMPLIFY, and the counters have already weighed it;
+        // earlier revs deal the bare distance here, past all of them.
         if ((ctx.state.config.deckRev ?? 1) < 26) resolvedBlow(ctx, d, "goat ram", "physical");
         return;
       }
@@ -3357,7 +3354,6 @@ function springSlimeTrap(state: GameState, events: GameEvent[], victim: PlayerSt
   };
 }
 
-/** A creature's blow opens a counteraction window like any attack. */
 /** What a creature's blow is called on the stack and in the chronicle:
  * the counteraction is played against this, and the damage is dealt as it. */
 function creatureBlowName(kind: CreatureState["kind"]): string {
@@ -3369,6 +3365,7 @@ function creatureBlowName(kind: CreatureState["kind"]): string {
   }
 }
 
+/** A creature's blow opens a counteraction window like any attack. */
 function openCreatureStack(
   state: GameState,
   creature: CreatureState,
@@ -5584,8 +5581,7 @@ function doCast(prev: GameState, cmd: Extract<Command, { type: "cast" }>): Comma
           if (werr) return err(werr);
         }
         if (likeAWall && mods.powerAttackPoints > 0) {
-          caster.life -= mods.powerAttackPoints;
-          wandEvents.push({ type: "lifeTraded", player: caster.id, points: mods.powerAttackPoints, newAllowance: state.turn.movementAllowance });
+          payPowerAttack(state, caster, mods.powerAttackPoints, wandEvents);
         }
         consumeCast(state, caster, inHand, mods, effect.keepInHand ?? false);
         if (state.turn.attackUsed) state.turn.secondAttackUsed = true;
@@ -5681,8 +5677,7 @@ function doCast(prev: GameState, cmd: Extract<Command, { type: "cast" }>): Comma
         if (werr) return err(werr);
       }
       if (mods.powerAttackPoints > 0) {
-        caster.life -= mods.powerAttackPoints;
-        wandEvents.push({ type: "lifeTraded", player: caster.id, points: mods.powerAttackPoints, newAllowance: state.turn.movementAllowance });
+        payPowerAttack(state, caster, mods.powerAttackPoints, wandEvents);
       }
       consumeCast(state, caster, inHand, mods, effect.keepInHand ?? false);
       if (state.turn.attackUsed) state.turn.secondAttackUsed = true;
@@ -5773,8 +5768,7 @@ function doCast(prev: GameState, cmd: Extract<Command, { type: "cast" }>): Comma
       if (werr) return err(werr);
     }
     if (mods.powerAttackPoints > 0) {
-      caster.life -= mods.powerAttackPoints;
-      wandEvents.push({ type: "lifeTraded", player: caster.id, points: mods.powerAttackPoints, newAllowance: state.turn.movementAllowance });
+      payPowerAttack(state, caster, mods.powerAttackPoints, wandEvents);
     }
 
     // BLIND: casts at others fly in a rolled direction. "Misdirected spells
@@ -6051,17 +6045,23 @@ function checkAmbushes(
   }
 }
 
-/** Damage dealt inside an attack's own resolution hook still honors
- * EMPATHY — "Any attack done in ANY form against you acts against both you
- * and the caster". */
+/** The goat's charge: the corridor distance to its mark, and the legs
+ * this turn has left to cover it. */
+function charge(state: GameState, attacker: PlayerState, defender: PlayerState): { d: number; legs: number } {
+  const legs = state.turn.movementAllowance - state.turn.movementUsed;
+  return { d: walkingDistance(state, attacker.position, defender.position, chargeReach(state, legs)), legs };
+}
+
 /** How far the goat charges: the corridor distance to its mark within
  * this turn's legs, or zero when the mark is underfoot or out of reach. */
 function ramDistance(state: GameState, attacker: PlayerState, defender: PlayerState): number {
-  const legs = state.turn.movementAllowance - state.turn.movementUsed;
-  const d = walkingDistance(state, attacker.position, defender.position, chargeReach(state, legs));
+  const { d, legs } = charge(state, attacker, defender);
   return d > legs ? 0 : d;
 }
 
+/** Damage dealt inside an attack's own resolution hook still honors
+ * EMPATHY — "Any attack done in ANY form against you acts against both you
+ * and the caster". */
 function resolvedBlow(
   ctx: ResolutionContext, dmg: number, source: string, kind?: "physical",
 ): void {
@@ -6072,6 +6072,12 @@ function resolvedBlow(
   }
 }
 
+/** POWER ATTACK: the caster pays in life for the extra points. */
+function payPowerAttack(state: GameState, caster: PlayerState, points: number, events: GameEvent[]): void {
+  caster.life -= points;
+  events.push({ type: "lifeTraded", player: caster.id, points, newAllowance: state.turn.movementAllowance });
+}
+
 /** A NUMBER card riding a counteraction sets the raised spell's duration. */
 function counterDuration(state: GameState, player: PlayerState, numberInstanceIds?: string[]): number {
   const num = (numberInstanceIds ?? [])
diff --git a/packages/engine/test/creatures.test.ts b/packages/engine/test/creatures.test.ts
index 4572d17..cb93e56 100644
--- a/packages/engine/test/creatures.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/test/creatures.test.ts
@@ -931,8 +931,8 @@ describe("the imp's fire is a spell (rev 8)", () => {
     if (!r.ok) throw new Error(r.error);
     state = r.state;
     if (!state.stack) state = must(state, "imp-owner", { type: "endTurn", draw: 0 });
-    // The scorch rides the stack now: a counteraction window, spell-kind,
-    // named for the imp so the counter is played against the scorch, never a punch.
+    // The scorch rides the stack as a spell-kind counteraction window,
+    // named for the imp: the counter is played against the scorch.
     expect(state.stack?.creatureId).toBeTruthy();
     expect(state.stack?.kind).toBe("spell");
     expect(state.stack?.sourceName).toBe("fire imp's scorch");
diff --git a/packages/engine/test/expansion-combat.test.ts b/packages/engine/test/expansion-combat.test.ts
index f38a348..22f8084 100644
--- a/packages/engine/test/expansion-combat.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/test/expansion-combat.test.ts
@@ -942,8 +942,8 @@ describe("the goat's ram is a physical blow like any other (rev 26)", () => {
 
 describe("an illusion is priced as the spell it fakes (rev 27)", () => {
   /** A faked FIREBALL met by the given counteraction, then both wizards pass. */
-  function fakedFireball(counter: string | null, deckRev?: number) {
-    let { state } = createGame({ playerIds: ["liar", "mark"], seed: 42, sets: ["basic", "expansion1"], ...(deckRev ? { deckRev } : {}) });
+  function fakedFireball(counter: string | null, deckRev?: number, seed = 42) {
+    let { state } = createGame({ playerIds: ["liar", "mark"], seed, sets: ["basic", "expansion1"], ...(deckRev ? { deckRev } : {}) });
     state = toRound2(state);
     const { attacker, defender } = faceOff(state);
     const ill = giveCard(state, attacker, "illusionary-attack");
@@ -965,11 +965,22 @@ describe("an illusion is priced as the spell it fakes (rev 27)", () => {
     return { events: done.events, believed, life: done.state.players.find((p) => p.id === defender)!.life };
   }
 
+  /** The first seed whose die comes up each way: one believed, one disbelieved. */
+  function bothWays(counter: string | null, deckRev?: number) {
+    const found: Partial<Record<"believed" | "doubted", ReturnType<typeof fakedFireball>>> = {};
+    for (let seed = 1; seed <= 40 && !(found.believed && found.doubted); seed++) {
+      const r = fakedFireball(counter, deckRev, seed);
+      expect(r.believed).not.toBeNull();
+      found[r.believed ? "believed" : "doubted"] ??= r;
+    }
+    return { believed: found.believed!, doubted: found.doubted! };
+  }
+
   it("BLUNT halves a believed fake fireball to three, and disbelief costs nothing", () => {
-    const { events, believed, life } = fakedFireball("blunt");
-    expect(believed).not.toBeNull();
-    expect(events).toContainEqual(expect.objectContaining({ type: "attackResolved", incoming: 5 }));
-    expect(life).toBe(believed ? 12 : 15);
+    const { believed, doubted } = bothWays("blunt");
+    expect(believed.events).toContainEqual(expect.objectContaining({ type: "attackResolved", incoming: 5 }));
+    expect(believed.life).toBe(12);
+    expect(doubted.life).toBe(15);
   });
 
   it("FULL SHIELD stops the fake outright: nothing to believe in, no die rolled", () => {
@@ -980,14 +991,10 @@ describe("an illusion is priced as the spell it fakes (rev 27)", () => {
   });
 
   it("uncountered, a believed fake fireball still does its five", () => {
-    const { believed, life } = fakedFireball(null);
-    expect(believed).not.toBeNull();
-    expect(life).toBe(believed ? 10 : 15);
+    expect(bothWays(null).believed.life).toBe(10);
   });
 
   it("older games dealt a believed illusion's full points past a BLUNT", () => {
-    const { believed, life } = fakedFireball("blunt", 26);
-    expect(believed).not.toBeNull();
-    expect(life).toBe(believed ? 10 : 15);
+    expect(bothWays("blunt", 26).believed.life).toBe(10);
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/web/src/App.svelte b/packages/web/src/App.svelte
index a35d3d7..36dfcc2 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/App.svelte
+++ b/packages/web/src/App.svelte
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
   import Card from "./Card.svelte";
   import Help from "./Help.svelte";
   import { HELP_TABS, type HelpTab } from "./help-state";
-  import { loadFamily, type FamilyGame } from "./family";
+  import { family as kin } from "./family.svelte";
   import { summarizeMissed } from "./catchup";
   import Replay from "./Replay.svelte";
   import FxGallery from "./FxGallery.svelte";
@@ -28,14 +28,8 @@
 
   let name = $state(prefs.wizardName);
   /** The other games of Kestrel's Hall, for the front page. */
-  let family = $state<FamilyGame[]>([]);
-  let hall = $state("");
-  $effect(() => {
-    void loadFamily("wizwar").then((f) => {
-      family = f.games;
-      hall = f.hall;
-    });
-  });
+  const family = $derived(kin.games);
+  const hall = $derived(kin.hall);
   let joinCode = $state("");
   let claimPhrase = $state("");
   /** A /join/<CODE> recruiting link. The visitor lands looking at the
@@ -274,13 +268,15 @@
   let peekToken = $state<string | null>(null);
   /** Ledger chest tapped: the treasure full-size, with whose and who-holds. */
   let peekTreasure = $state<{ src: string; note: string } | null>(null);
-  /** Cardless blows that a card nonetheless made: the stack names the
-   * blow, and this names the card to show for it. */
-  const BLOW_CARD: Record<string, string> = {
-    "warded treasure": "ward",
-    "fire imp's scorch": "fire-imp", "troll's blow": "troll", "skeleton's blow": "skeleton",
-    "wraith's touch": "wraith", "democratic monster's claw": "democratic-monster",
-  };
+  /** Cardless blows that a card nonetheless made: a creature's blow shows
+   * the card that summoned it (its kind is the card's id), the ward's bite
+   * shows WARD. */
+  const blowCard = $derived.by(() => {
+    const stack = view?.stack;
+    if (!stack) return null;
+    const creature = stack.creatureId ? view!.creatures.find((c) => c.id === stack.creatureId) : undefined;
+    return creature?.kind ?? (stack.sourceName === "warded treasure" ? "ward" : null);
+  });
 
   /** Bare-knuckle demolition: click a wall to punch it. */
   let punchWallMode = $state(false);
@@ -1534,6 +1530,8 @@
   }
   /** What the chronicle shows: everything, the game's own lines, or the talk. */
   let logFilter = $state<"all" | "game" | "talk">("all");
+  /** The last few lines of talk, for the lobby and the gallery before the boards flip. */
+  const lobbyTalk = $derived(net.log.filter((l) => l.text.startsWith("\u{1F4AC}")).slice(-6));
   const isTalk = (text: string) => text.startsWith("\u{1F4AC}") || text.startsWith("\u{1F3B2}");
   function showLine(line: { text: string }): boolean {
     return logFilter === "all" ? true : logFilter === "talk" ? isTalk(line.text) : !isTalk(line.text);
@@ -1778,6 +1776,10 @@
   /** The attack on the stack draws its sight line; a cast that resolved
    * at once (a creation, a curse) draws the line it was accepted on for a
    * few seconds, so the table can see how the aim was legal. */
+  let castTrace = $state.raw<SightLine | null>(null);
+  let castTraceTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
+  const sightTrace = $derived((view ? stackSightTrace(view) : null) ?? castTrace);
+
   /** The hour where the keeper lives, in words, kept current by the minute. */
   let minuteTick = $state(0);
   $effect(() => {
@@ -1795,10 +1797,6 @@
     } catch { return null; }
   });
 
-  let castTrace = $state.raw<SightLine | null>(null);
-  let castTraceTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null;
-  const sightTrace = $derived((view ? stackSightTrace(view) : null) ?? castTrace);
-
   /** A first game's first turn lights itself; after that only by choice. */
   const firstTurnEver = $derived(!!view && prefs.finishedGames === 0 && view.turn.round === 1);
   /** The step light: with no card in hand, your square and the squares a
@@ -2463,8 +2461,8 @@
         {:else if view.stack.defenderId === view.you && view.stack.sourceName}
           <!-- A cardless bite with a name — the WARD springing on a grabbed
                treasure. The card that did it is shown; nobody threw it. -->
-          {#if BLOW_CARD[view.stack.sourceName]}
-            <div class="attack-card"><Card card={{ instanceId: `blow-${view.stack.sourceName}`, cardId: BLOW_CARD[view.stack.sourceName]! }} onfaq={(id) => (faqCardId = id)} /></div>
+          {#if blowCard}
+            <div class="attack-card"><Card card={{ instanceId: `blow-${view.stack.sourceName}`, cardId: blowCard }} onfaq={(id) => (faqCardId = id)} /></div>
           {/if}
           <div class="attack-power">
             {view.stack.sourceName.toUpperCase()} — {view.stack.params?.damage ?? 0} damage inbound unless you answer it
@@ -2848,7 +2846,6 @@
               back, as long as nobody abandons it.</div>
           {/if}
           <!-- Talk before the boards flip: to say when, or to leave a word. -->
-          {@const lobbyTalk = net.log.filter((l) => l.text.startsWith("\u{1F4AC}")).slice(-6)}
           <div class="lobby-talk">
             {#each lobbyTalk as line, i (i)}
               <div class="lobby-line">{line.text}</div>
@@ -2880,9 +2877,8 @@
             </div>
           {/if}
         {:else}
-          {@const galleryTalkLines = net.log.filter((l) => l.text.startsWith("\u{1F4AC}")).slice(-6)}
-          <div class="lobby-talk">
-            {#each galleryTalkLines as line, i (i)}
+                    <div class="lobby-talk">
+            {#each lobbyTalk as line, i (i)}
               <div class="lobby-line">{line.text}</div>
             {/each}
             {#if net.galleryTalk}
@@ -3466,8 +3462,8 @@
               {#if view.stack.attackCard}
                 <div class="cast-panel-card"><Card card={view.stack.attackCard} onfaq={(id) => (faqCardId = id)} /></div>
               {:else if view.stack.sourceName}
-                {#if BLOW_CARD[view.stack.sourceName]}
-                  <div class="cast-panel-card"><Card card={{ instanceId: `blow-${view.stack.sourceName}`, cardId: BLOW_CARD[view.stack.sourceName]! }} onfaq={(id) => (faqCardId = id)} /></div>
+                {#if blowCard}
+                  <div class="cast-panel-card"><Card card={{ instanceId: `blow-${view.stack.sourceName}`, cardId: blowCard }} onfaq={(id) => (faqCardId = id)} /></div>
                 {/if}
                 <div class="cast-panel-note">{defending ? "" : "your "}{view.stack.sourceName} — it bites for {view.stack.params?.damage ?? 0}</div>
               {:else}
diff --git a/packages/web/src/Board.svelte b/packages/web/src/Board.svelte
index 32b923d..5008221 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/Board.svelte
+++ b/packages/web/src/Board.svelte
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   import type { Component } from "svelte";
   import type { GameView, SightTrace } from "@wizwar/engine";
   import type { Side } from "@wizwar/engine";
-  import { edgeKey, fearCells } from "@wizwar/engine";
+  import { edgeKey, fearCells, neighbor } from "@wizwar/engine";
   import type { BoardFx } from "./fx";
   import { colorIndexOf as sharedColorIndex, wizardColor } from "./colors";
   import { CREATURE_ART, objectArt, TERRAIN_ART, tokenArt } from "./art";
@@ -215,8 +215,7 @@
     }
     if (!punchFrom) return boxes;
     const beside = (b: { cell: { x: number; y: number }; side: Side }) => {
-      const far = b.side === "E" ? { x: b.cell.x + 1, y: b.cell.y } : b.side === "W" ? { x: b.cell.x - 1, y: b.cell.y }
-        : b.side === "S" ? { x: b.cell.x, y: b.cell.y + 1 } : { x: b.cell.x, y: b.cell.y - 1 };
+      const far = neighbor(b.cell, b.side);
       const at = (c: { x: number; y: number }) => c.x === punchFrom!.x && c.y === punchFrom!.y;
       return at(b.cell) || at(far);
     };
diff --git a/packages/web/src/Help.svelte b/packages/web/src/Help.svelte
index 6ce5a56..a000135 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/Help.svelte
+++ b/packages/web/src/Help.svelte
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   // body, the card library with proper entries, the house rulings, the
   // story of the table, and the tally. Every section and card has a link
   // a player can send; the desk remembers where the reader was.
-  import { loadFamily, type FamilyGame } from "./family";
+  import { family as kin } from "./family.svelte";
   import { cardDef } from "@wizwar/engine";
   import { tick } from "svelte";
   import Card from "./Card.svelte";
@@ -129,14 +129,8 @@
     else if (bodyEl) bodyEl.scrollTop = helpState.scroll[tab] ?? 0;
   });
   /** The other games of Kestrel's Hall, for the about page. */
-  let family = $state<FamilyGame[]>([]);
-  let hall = $state("");
-  $effect(() => {
-    void loadFamily("wizwar").then((f) => {
-      family = f.games;
-      hall = f.hall;
-    });
-  });
+  const family = $derived(kin.games);
+  const hall = $derived(kin.hall);
 </script>
 
 {#snippet section(s: RefSection, withSource: boolean)}
diff --git a/packages/web/src/family.svelte.ts b/packages/web/src/family.svelte.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7fcb1a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/web/src/family.svelte.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+// The other games of Kestrel's Hall, from the family list the kit keeps
+// (family.json, one copy shipped with every game), so a player who liked one
+// table can find the next, and the hall's front door. This game is left out
+// of its own list. Fetched once, shared by every page that shows it.
+
+export interface FamilyGame {
+  slug: string;
+  name: string;
+  url: string;
+  pitch: string;
+  players: string;
+  origin: string;
+}
+
+/** The hall's front door and every game but this one; empty until the list arrives. */
+export const family = $state<{ hall: string; games: FamilyGame[] }>({ hall: "", games: [] });
+
+void (async () => {
+  try {
+    const res = await fetch("/family.json", { cache: "no-cache" });
+    if (!res.ok) return;
+    const data = (await res.json()) as { hall?: string; games?: FamilyGame[] };
+    family.hall = data.hall ?? "";
+    family.games = (data.games ?? []).filter((g) => g.slug !== "wizwar");
+  } catch {
+    // No list, no neighbors shown.
+  }
+})();
diff --git a/packages/web/src/family.ts b/packages/web/src/family.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index cc83776..0000000
--- a/packages/web/src/family.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-// The other games of Kestrel's Hall, from the family list the kit keeps
-// (family.json, one copy shipped with every game), so a player who liked one
-// table can find the next, and the hall's front door. This game is left out
-// of its own list.
-
-export interface FamilyGame {
-  slug: string;
-  name: string;
-  url: string;
-  pitch: string;
-  players: string;
-  origin: string;
-}
-
-/** The family list: the hall's front door and every game but this one. */
-export interface Family {
-  hall: string;
-  games: FamilyGame[];
-}
-
-export async function loadFamily(self: string): Promise<Family> {
-  try {
-    const res = await fetch('/family.json', { cache: 'no-cache' });
-    if (!res.ok) return { hall: '', games: [] };
-    const data = (await res.json()) as { hall?: string; games?: FamilyGame[] };
-    return { hall: data.hall ?? '', games: (data.games ?? []).filter((g) => g.slug !== self) };
-  } catch {
-    return { hall: '', games: [] };
-  }
-}