diff --git a/packages/web/src/net.svelte.ts b/packages/web/src/net.svelte.ts
index 1121c72..cd6cb30 100644
--- a/packages/web/src/net.svelte.ts
+++ b/packages/web/src/net.svelte.ts
@@ -507,8 +507,17 @@ class Net {
           break;
         }
         case "error":
-          if (this.roomIdPending && /no such room|name is taken/.test(msg.message)) {
+          // "Name is taken" means THIS token was tried and refused: the
+          // credential itself is dead, and holding it helps nobody. But
+          // "no such room" proves nothing about the seat — a restarting
+          // server, a stale restore, or the wrong backend all say it —
+          // and burning credentials on a transient locked a real player
+          // out of a live game. The seat stays; the error shows; a later
+          // reconnect against the right server walks back in.
+          if (this.roomIdPending && /name is taken/.test(msg.message)) {
             localStorage.removeItem(SEAT_KEY);
+          }
+          if (this.roomIdPending && /no such room|name is taken/.test(msg.message)) {
             this.roomIdPending = null;
           }
           this.error = msg.message;