diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/WordSearchGame.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/WordSearchGame.svelte
index 5ba808a..349b28d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/WordSearchGame.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/WordSearchGame.svelte
@@ -22,7 +22,8 @@
   let ready = $state(false);
   let okFlash = $state(false);
   let copied = $state(false);
-  let gridEl;
+  let gridEl = $state(null);
+  let loadSeq = 0;
 
   const n = $derived(grid.length);
   const stateKey = $derived(`goodnews:wordsearch:${size}:${date}`);
@@ -42,17 +43,21 @@
   });
 
   async function load() {
+    const seq = ++loadSeq;                 // stale-load guard for rapid size switches
     loading = true; ready = false;
     foundWords = []; sel = []; resultMs = 0; startTime = 0;
     try {
       const p = await getJSON('/api/puzzle/wordsearch?variant=' + size);
+      if (seq !== loadSeq) return;         // a newer size was selected — abandon
       theme = p.theme; words = p.words; grid = p.grid; date = p.date;
       restore();
       if (!startTime) startTime = Date.now();
       try { best = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem(bestKey) || '0'); } catch { best = 0; }
     } catch {
+      if (seq !== loadSeq) return;
       theme = ''; words = [];
     }
+    if (seq !== loadSeq) return;
     loading = false;
     requestAnimationFrame(() => (ready = true));
   }
@@ -61,9 +66,14 @@
     try {
       const s = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem(stateKey) || 'null');
       if (s && Array.isArray(s.foundWords)) {
-        foundWords = s.foundWords;
+        // Keep only finds whose stored cells still spell their word in the CURRENT
+        // grid — guards against stale highlights if the day's puzzle changed.
+        const valid = s.foundWords.filter((fw) =>
+          fw && Array.isArray(fw.cells) && words.includes(fw.word) &&
+          fw.cells.map(([r, c]) => (grid[r] && grid[r][c]) || '').join('') === fw.word);
+        foundWords = valid;
         startTime = s.startTime || 0;
-        resultMs = s.ms || 0;
+        resultMs = valid.length === words.length ? (s.ms || 0) : 0;
       }
     } catch { /* ignore */ }
     onstatus?.(summary());
@@ -77,9 +87,10 @@
 
   function cellAt(e) {
     const rect = gridEl.getBoundingClientRect();
-    const cw = rect.width / n;
-    const c = Math.min(n - 1, Math.max(0, Math.floor((e.clientX - rect.left) / cw)));
-    const r = Math.min(n - 1, Math.max(0, Math.floor((e.clientY - rect.top) / cw)));
+    const pad = 7;                                  // grid padding (6) + border (1)
+    const cw = (rect.width - 2 * pad) / n;          // even 1fr columns share the inner width
+    const c = Math.min(n - 1, Math.max(0, Math.floor((e.clientX - rect.left - pad) / cw)));
+    const r = Math.min(n - 1, Math.max(0, Math.floor((e.clientY - rect.top - pad) / cw)));
     return [r, c];
   }
 
@@ -144,6 +155,7 @@
     <p class="theme"><span class="lbl">Today’s theme</span>{theme}</p>
 
     <div class="grid" class:ok={okFlash} class:done={status === 'done'} bind:this={gridEl} style="--n:{n}"
+         role="application" aria-label="Word search grid — drag across letters to find words"
          onpointerdown={down} onpointermove={move} onpointerup={up} onpointercancel={up}>
       {#each grid as rowStr, r (r)}
         {#each rowStr.split('') as ch, c (c)}
@@ -180,24 +192,23 @@
 </div>
 
 <style>
-  .wordsearch { max-width: 460px; margin: 0 auto; opacity: 0; transform: translateY(6px); }
+  .wordsearch { max-width: 520px; margin: 0 auto; opacity: 0; transform: translateY(6px); }
   .wordsearch.ready { opacity: 1; transform: none; transition: opacity 0.3s ease, transform 0.3s ease; }
   .theme { text-align: center; font-family: var(--serif); font-size: 1.3rem; color: var(--accent-deep); margin: 0 0 14px; }
   .theme .lbl { display: block; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.1em; font-size: 0.64rem;
                 font-family: var(--label); color: var(--muted); margin-bottom: 2px; }
   .grid {
-    /* Constant cell size — the board grows with the grid; on a narrow phone the
-       biggest grid gently shrinks to fit the width. */
-    --cell: min(32px, calc((100vw - 44px) / var(--n)));
-    display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(var(--n), var(--cell)); gap: 2px;
-    width: fit-content; max-width: 100%; margin: 0 auto 16px; touch-action: none;
-    user-select: none; -webkit-user-select: none; border-radius: 10px; padding: 6px;
-    background: var(--surface); border: 1px solid var(--line);
+    /* Cells are ~32px on a wide screen (board grows with the grid) and shrink via
+       1fr to fit a narrow phone — capped by max-width so it can never overflow. */
+    display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(var(--n), 1fr); gap: 2px;
+    width: 100%; max-width: calc(var(--n) * 32px + 16px); margin: 0 auto 16px;
+    touch-action: none; user-select: none; -webkit-user-select: none;
+    border-radius: 10px; padding: 6px; background: var(--surface); border: 1px solid var(--line);
   }
   .grid.done { opacity: 0.9; }
   .cell {
-    width: var(--cell); height: var(--cell); display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
-    font-family: var(--label); font-weight: 600; font-size: calc(var(--cell) * 0.5);
+    aspect-ratio: 1; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
+    font-family: var(--label); font-weight: 600; font-size: clamp(0.58rem, 2.5vw, 1rem);
     color: var(--ink); border-radius: 5px; background: transparent; text-transform: uppercase;
   }
   .cell.sel { background: var(--accent) !important; color: #fff !important; }
diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/play/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/play/+page.svelte
index 6d867e5..8d04e2c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/play/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/play/+page.svelte
@@ -140,13 +140,10 @@
     box-shadow: var(--shadow); transition: border-color 0.14s ease, transform 0.14s ease;
   }
   .gamecard:hover { border-color: var(--accent); transform: translateY(-1px); }
-  .gamecard.soon { cursor: default; opacity: 0.6; box-shadow: none; }
-  .gamecard.soon:hover { border-color: var(--line); transform: none; }
   .gc-icon { font-size: 2rem; color: var(--accent); line-height: 1; flex-shrink: 0; }
   .gc-body h2 { font-size: 1.2rem; margin: 0 0 3px; }
   .gc-sub { color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.86rem; margin: 0 0 8px; }
   .gc-status { font-size: 0.84rem; color: var(--accent-deep); font-weight: 600; margin: 0; }
-  .gamecard.soon .gc-status { color: var(--muted); font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; }
 
   .variant { display: flex; gap: 10px; justify-content: center; margin: 0 0 22px; }
   .vchip {
diff --git a/goodnews/games.py b/goodnews/games.py
index 1a65361..16937a4 100644
--- a/goodnews/games.py
+++ b/goodnews/games.py
@@ -162,7 +162,10 @@ _DIRS = [(-1, -1), (-1, 0), (-1, 1), (0, -1), (0, 1), (1, -1), (1, 0), (1, 1)]
 # stored theme+word list, sampling a different subset per size so each is its own
 # puzzle, while all three share the day's theme.
 WS_TIERS = {"small": {"grid": 8, "count": 6}, "med": {"grid": 11, "count": 10}, "large": {"grid": 14, "count": 14}}
-WS_TARGET = 28  # words to gather per theme, so there's variety to sample from
+WS_TARGET = 28      # words to ask the LLM for, so there's variety to sample from
+# Only accept an LLM proposal with enough words to fill Large with room to spare;
+# otherwise fall back to a curated theme (which always has plenty).
+WS_MIN_ACCEPT = WS_TIERS["large"]["count"] + 4
 
 # Curated fallbacks — calm and neutral everyday scenes, not just upbeat. ~22 words
 # each (4–8 letters, uppercase) so every size has a fresh subset to draw from.
@@ -217,7 +220,7 @@ def _ws_propose(client) -> tuple[str, list[str]] | None:
             elif s.upper().startswith("WORDS:"):
                 words = [w.strip().upper() for w in re.split(r"[,\s]+", s.split(":", 1)[1]) if w.strip()]
         words = [w for w in dict.fromkeys(words) if w.isalpha() and 4 <= len(w) <= 8]
-        if theme and len(words) >= 6:
+        if theme and len(words) >= WS_MIN_ACCEPT:  # enough to fill Large + spare
             return theme, words
     except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — fall back to a curated theme
         pass
diff --git a/tests/test_admin.py b/tests/test_admin.py
index a1628f6..91bc036 100644
--- a/tests/test_admin.py
+++ b/tests/test_admin.py
@@ -336,3 +336,28 @@ def test_wordsearch_endpoint(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     assert len(themes) == 1  # all sizes share the day's one theme
     # an unknown size falls back to med
     assert tc.get("/api/puzzle/wordsearch?variant=nope").json()["size"] == "med"
+
+
+def test_wordsearch_thin_llm_falls_back(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    from goodnews.db import connect, init_db
+    from goodnews import games
+
+    class FakeClient:
+        def __init__(self, text):
+            self.text = text
+
+        def chat_text(self, msg):
+            return self.text
+
+    c = connect(":memory:"); init_db(c)
+    # Thin proposal (only ~6 valid words) must be REJECTED so Large can't underfill.
+    thin = FakeClient("THEME: Thin Theme\nWORDS: ONE, TWO, FOUR, FIVE, SEVEN, EIGHT, THREE")
+    p = games.generate_wordsearch_puzzle(c, "2026-07-01", client=thin)
+    assert p["theme"] != "Thin Theme"  # fell back to a curated theme
+    large = games.wordsearch_response(c, "2026-07-01", "large")
+    assert len(large["words"]) == games.WS_TIERS["large"]["count"]  # still full
+
+    # A rich proposal (>= WS_MIN_ACCEPT valid words) is accepted.
+    rich = FakeClient("THEME: Rich Theme\nWORDS: " + ", ".join(chr(65 + i) * 5 for i in range(20)))
+    p2 = games.generate_wordsearch_puzzle(c, "2026-07-02", client=rich)
+    assert p2["theme"] == "Rich Theme" and len(p2["words"]) >= games.WS_MIN_ACCEPT