The first minute, for a stranger: what the game is, what to do, and how to join

The landing says the pitch before it asks for a name — steal treasure,
blast through walls, outwit your friends — and states the goal. The
coach says "select a card, then choose its target," which is what the
cards actually want. The turn banner counts treasures home beside the
moves left. The council speaks once when its three voices agree. A
friend arriving on an invite link meets "Join Eric's game," a name
field, and a seat, with the gallery an afterthought; the masthead
says "invite friends" beside the room code. The first-person view has
a toggle beside the board instead of a checkbox in preferences. How
to play opens with winning. And a shared moment's card is titled by
the turn's story — the treasure carried home, the blow that landed,
the spell cast — instead of whose turn it was.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Jm2auWk6RP71CjaAb4FMoG

packages/server/src/index.ts

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import { randomBytes } from "node:crypto";
 import { readFileSync, existsSync, realpathSync, statSync, createReadStream } from "node:fs";
 import { extname, join, normalize, sep } from "node:path";
 import { WebSocketServer, WebSocket } from "ws";
+import { cardDef } from "@wizwar/engine";
 import type { Command, PlayerId } from "@wizwar/engine";
 import {
   catchUpSteps,
@@ -198,10 +199,42 @@ function safeBase(rawHost: string, rawProto: string): string {
   return `${proto}://${escapeHtml(rawHost)}`;
 }
 
+/** The turn's story in one line, for the share card: the deed a
+ * stranger would click to see, chosen by weight — a crown, a treasure
+ * carried home, a blow that landed, a spell cast — before the bare fact
+ * of whose turn it was. */
+function headlineOf(data: ShareData): string | null {
+  const name = (id: string | null) => { if (!id) return "a spell"; try { return cardDef(id).name; } catch { return id; } };
+  let best: { rank: number; text: string } | null = null;
+  const offer = (rank: number, text: string) => { if (!best || rank > best.rank) best = { rank, text }; };
+  for (const step of data.steps) {
+    for (const e of step.events) {
+      switch (e.type) {
+        case "gameWon": offer(9, e.reason === "treasures" ? `${e.player} wins with two treasures home` : `${e.player} is the last wizard standing`); break;
+        case "playerEliminated": offer(8, e.reason === "killed" ? `${e.player} falls in the maze` : `${e.player} loses both treasures`); break;
+        case "treasureDropped": if (e.onHomeOf === e.player) offer(7, `${e.player} carries a stolen treasure home`); break;
+        case "treasurePickedUp": if (e.owner !== e.player) offer(5, `${e.player} snatches ${e.owner}'s treasure`); break;
+        case "attackResolved": if (e.damageDealt > 0) offer(6, `${e.attacker} hits ${e.defender} with ${name(e.attackCardId)} for ${e.damageDealt}`); else if (e.fullyStopped) offer(4, `${e.defender} stops ${e.attacker}'s ${name(e.attackCardId)} cold`); break;
+        case "punched": offer(3, `${e.attacker} punches ${e.target}`); break;
+        case "spellCast": offer(2, e.target ? `${e.caster} casts ${name(e.cardId)} at ${e.target}` : `${e.caster} casts ${name(e.cardId)}`); break;
+        case "jumpedPit": offer(3, `${e.player} leaps the pit`); break;
+        case "fellInPit": offer(3, `${e.player} falls into the pit`); break;
+        case "wardSprung": offer(4, `${e.owner}'s warded treasure bites ${e.victim}`); break;
+        case "slimeTrapSprung": offer(4, `the slime springs ${name(e.cardId)} on ${e.victim}`); break;
+        default: break;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return best ? (best as { text: string }).text : null;
+}
+
 function shareHtml(id: string, data: ShareData, rawHost: string, rawProto: string): string {
   const base = safeBase(rawHost, rawProto);
+  const headline = data.whole ? null : headlineOf(data);
   const title = data.whole
     ? "The whole tale — a game of Wiz-War, replayed"
+    : headline
+      ? `${escapeHtml(headline)} — a Wiz-War instant replay`
       : `${escapeHtml(data.actor)}'s turn — a Wiz-War instant replay`;
   const desc = data.whole
     ? `A full game of Wiz-War, magical combat in a stone labyrinth — every turn through its wizard's own eyes${data.actor ? `, to ${escapeHtml(data.actor)}'s triumph` : ""}. Watch it all, then deal yourself in.`

packages/web/src/App.svelte

@@ -1492,6 +1492,11 @@
   function pass() { dispatch({ type: "pass" }); }
 
   const me = $derived(view?.players.find((p) => p.id === view?.you) ?? null);
+  /** Enemy treasures resting on your home square: two wins the game. */
+  const treasuresHome = $derived(
+    view && me ? view.treasures.filter((t) => t.owner !== me!.id && t.position &&
+      t.position.x === me!.home.x && t.position.y === me!.home.y).length : 0,
+  );
   const paBurnable = $derived(me ? Array.from({ length: Math.max(0, me.life - 1) }, (_, i) => i + 1) : []);
   /** Two treasures can share a square: one dispatches, more ask whose. */
   const treasuresHere = $derived(
@@ -1660,7 +1665,7 @@
     {:else if net.roomId}
       <button class="mast-room" title="copy the invite link — friends can join, or watch once it's begun"
         onclick={copyInvite}>
-        {net.spectating ? "watching" : "room"} <b>{net.roomId}</b>{inviteCopied ? " — link copied!" : ""}
+        {net.spectating ? "watching" : "invite friends · room"} <b>{net.roomId}</b>{inviteCopied ? " — link copied!" : ""}
       </button>
       {#if net.audience > 0}
         <span class="mast-audience" title="the Peanut Gallery">👁 {net.audience}</span>
@@ -2232,7 +2237,9 @@
     <section class="boxlid">
       <div class="boxlid-inner">
         <div class="boxlid-title">Wiz-War</div>
-        <div class="boxlid-tag">A game of magical combat in a stone labyrinth</div>
+        <div class="boxlid-pitch">Steal treasure. Blast through walls. Outwit your friends.</div>
+        <div class="boxlid-tag">A turn-based wizard board game for two to six, free in your browser, with
+          friends or clockwork opponents. Carry home two treasures that aren't yours, or be the last wizard standing.</div>
         <button class="about-link" onclick={() => { helpTab = "about"; showHelp = true; }}>
           about this game — a labor of love
         </button>
@@ -2375,12 +2382,29 @@
             {/each}
           </div>
         {/if}
+        {#if net.spectating}
+          {#if net.players.length < 6}
+            <!-- A friend's link lands here: the seat is the invitation, the gallery the afterthought. -->
+            <div class="lobby-head">Join {net.hostId ?? "the"}'s game</div>
+            <div class="boxlid-tag">Choose your wizard's name and take a seat; the boards flip when the host starts.</div>
+            <div class="gallery-join">
+              <input bind:value={name} maxlength="20" placeholder="e.g. Mordecai" aria-label="your wizard's name" />
+              <button class="stamp primary" disabled={!name.trim()}
+                onclick={() => { setPref("wizardName", name.trim()); net.join(net.roomId!, name.trim()); }}>
+                Take a seat
+              </button>
+            </div>
+            <p class="waiting">👁 Just watching? You're in the Peanut Gallery until you sit.</p>
+          {:else}
+            <p class="waiting">👁 The table is full — you watch from the Peanut Gallery. Waiting for the boards to flip…</p>
+          {/if}
+        {/if}
         <div class="lobby-head">Fill the table</div>
         <div class="boxlid-tag">Two to six wizards enter the maze — friends by code or link,
           computer wizards seated below, or a mix of both.</div>
         <div class="invite-row">
           <code class="invite-link">{inviteLink}</code>
-          <button class="stamp tiny" onclick={copyInvite}>{inviteCopied ? "copied!" : "copy link"}</button>
+          <button class="stamp tiny" onclick={copyInvite}>{inviteCopied ? "copied!" : "copy invite link"}</button>
         </div>
         <ul class="roster">
           {#each net.players as p (p)}
@@ -2399,18 +2423,7 @@
             </li>
           {/each}
         </ul>
-        {#if net.spectating}
-          <p class="waiting">👁 You watch from the Peanut Gallery. Waiting for the boards to flip…</p>
-          {#if net.players.length < 6}
-            <div class="gallery-join">
-              <input bind:value={name} maxlength="20" placeholder="e.g. Mordecai" aria-label="your wizard's name" />
-              <button class="stamp" disabled={!name.trim()}
-                onclick={() => { setPref("wizardName", name.trim()); net.join(net.roomId!, name.trim()); }}>
-                …or take a seat
-              </button>
-            </div>
-          {/if}
-        {:else if net.you === net.hostId}
+        {#if net.you === net.hostId}
           {#if net.players.length < 6}
             <div class="lobby-head">Seat a computer wizard</div>
             <div class="boxlid-tag">An automaton plays a full seat by the rules — a hunter goes for treasure,
@@ -2645,6 +2658,14 @@
         {/if}
       {/snippet}
       <section class="board-zone">
+        {#if view.you && !net.spectating}
+          <div class="view-toggle">
+            <button class="stamp tiny" class:lit={prefs.liveFp} onclick={() => setPref("liveFp", !prefs.liveFp)}
+              title="a first-person pane above the board, through your wizard's eyes">
+              {prefs.liveFp ? "▦ the board only" : "👁 through your eyes"}
+            </button>
+          </div>
+        {/if}
         <div class="table-stack" class:fpv-primary={prefs.liveFp && !!view.you && !net.spectating}>
         {#if prefs.liveFp && view.you && !net.spectating}
           <LiveFirstPerson {view} batch={fpBatch} onhide={() => setPref("liveFp", false)}
@@ -2768,7 +2789,7 @@
                 picking up ended your actions for this turn — <strong>End turn</strong> when ready.
               {/if}
             {:else}
-              {view.turn.movementAllowance - view.turn.movementUsed} moves left{view.turn.attackUsed ? " · attack spent" : ""}
+              {view.turn.movementAllowance - view.turn.movementUsed} moves left{view.turn.attackUsed ? " · attack spent" : ""} · treasures home {treasuresHome} of 2
             {/if}
           </div>
           {#if !prefs.coached && !view.turn.actionsEnded}
@@ -2777,7 +2798,8 @@
             <div class="slip coach">
               <strong>How a turn works.</strong> Walk up to {view.turn.movementAllowance} squares by tapping
               the square beside your wizard, one step at a time; play a NUMBER card first to walk farther.
-              Tap a card to cast it. When you're done, <strong>End turn</strong>. Stuck? Ask the automatons for hints.
+              Select a card, then choose its target — a wizard, a square, or a wall, as the hint bar says.
+              When you're done, <strong>End turn</strong>. Stuck? Ask the automatons for hints.
               <button class="stamp tiny" onclick={() => setPref("coached", true)}>got it</button>
             </div>
           {/if}
@@ -2832,6 +2854,9 @@
             <div class="council-head">The council considers your position…
               <button class="hint-cancel" onclick={() => (councilHints = null)}>enough</button>
             </div>
+            {#if councilHints.length > 1 && councilHints.every((h) => h.advice === councilHints![0]!.advice)}
+              <div class="council-row"><span class="council-name">The council agrees:</span> {councilHints[0]!.advice}</div>
+            {:else}
               {#each councilHints as h (h.name)}
                 <div class="council-row">
                   <span class="council-name">{h.glyph} {h.name}</span>
@@ -2839,6 +2864,7 @@
                   {h.advice}
                 </div>
               {/each}
+            {/if}
             <button class="stamp tiny" onclick={askCouncil}>ask again</button>
           </div>
         {/if}
@@ -3445,6 +3471,15 @@
     letter-spacing: 0.02em;
   }
   .boxlid-title.small { font-size: 1.7rem; }
+  .boxlid-pitch {
+    font-family: "Oswald", sans-serif;
+    font-weight: 700;
+    font-size: 1.15rem;
+    letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+    color: #3a2f1f;
+    margin: 0.2rem 0 0.1rem;
+  }
+  .view-toggle { display: flex; justify-content: flex-end; margin: 0 0 0.3rem; }
   .boxlid-tag {
     font-size: 0.95rem;
     color: #6b5a41;

packages/web/src/rules.ts

@@ -91,6 +91,13 @@ export const RULES_SECTIONS: RulesSection[] = [
 ];
 
 export const HOW_TO_PLAY: RulesSection[] = [
+  {
+    title: "Winning",
+    body: [
+      "Carry two treasures that aren't yours home — one at a time, to your home square, and drop them there — or be the last wizard standing. Lose both of your own treasures to enemy homes and you're out.",
+      "A turn is: walk, then act. Step up to three squares, select a card and choose its target, and End turn. The banner above the board keeps count of your moves and your treasures home.",
+    ],
+  },
   {
     title: "Moving",
     body: [