feat(ui): vs-AI comms trim, overlay confirm button, recall-to-slot drag

- vs-AI: the comms hub drops the Chat tab (Dictionary only); a finished AI
  game has no comms at all, so its 💬 history-header entry is hidden too.
- Confirm-move ✅: redone as an absolute overlay pinned to the right edge (its
  right edge sits under the preview caption), so the rack keeps a fixed tile
  size — this reverts the tile-shrink that resized the letters at 6 tiles.
- Recall: dragging a placed tile back to the rack now drops it at the slot the
  pointer is over (drag-to-position, a gap opens), instead of snapping to its
  original slot; double-tap still recalls to the origin. New pure recallToSlot.

Tests: placement recallToSlot units; e2e recall-to-position; vs-AI comms e2e
updated. Docs: UI_DESIGN + FUNCTIONAL (+ru).

ui/e2e/game.spec.ts

@@ -284,6 +284,28 @@ test('a placed tile drags from one board cell to another (relocation)', async ({
   expect(to).not.toBe(from);
 });
 
+test('a placed tile drags back to a chosen rack slot (recall-to-position)', async ({ page }) => {
+  await openGame(page);
+  // Place the first rack tile (slot 0) on the board, remembering its letter.
+  await page.locator('.rack .tile').first().click();
+  const placed = (await page.locator('.rack .tile .letter').first().textContent()) ?? '';
+  await page.locator('[data-cell]:not(.filled)').nth(30).click();
+  const pending = page.locator('[data-cell].pending');
+  await expect(pending).toHaveCount(1);
+
+  // Drag it from the board back onto a later rack slot (the 4th visible tile), not its origin.
+  const fb = await pending.first().boundingBox();
+  const slot = await page.locator('[data-rack] .tile').nth(3).boundingBox();
+  await page.mouse.move(fb!.x + fb!.width / 2, fb!.y + fb!.height / 2);
+  await page.mouse.down();
+  await page.mouse.move(slot!.x + 2, slot!.y + slot!.height / 2, { steps: 10 });
+  await page.mouse.up();
+
+  // Recalled (no pending) and reinserted at the drop slot — slot 3, not its origin slot 0.
+  await expect(pending).toHaveCount(0);
+  await expect(page.locator('[data-rack] .tile .letter').nth(3)).toHaveText(placed);
+});
+
 test('comms hub: chat and dictionary share a screen, back returns to the game', async ({ page }) => {
   await openGame(page);
   await page.locator('.scoreboard').click(); // open the history

ui/e2e/quickmatch.spec.ts

@@ -50,18 +50,20 @@ test('AI game: 🤖 opponent, no wait, chat disabled, dictionary still works', a
   await expect(page.locator('.scoreboard').getByText('🤖')).toBeVisible();
   await expect(page.getByText(/Searching for opponent/)).toHaveCount(0);
 
-  // Chat is disabled (the message field), while the dictionary word-check stays usable.
+  // An AI game has no chat at all: the comms hub drops the Chat tab and lands on the Dictionary
+  // alone, which stays usable.
   await page.locator('.scoreboard').click(); // open the history
-  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Chat' }).click(); // 💬 -> comms hub
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Chat' }).click(); // 💬 (the history-header entry) -> comms hub
   await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/game\/.+\/chat$/);
-  await expect(page.locator('.chat input')).toBeDisabled();
-  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Dictionary' }).click();
-  await expect(page.locator('.check input')).toBeEnabled();
+  await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Chat' })).toHaveCount(0); // no Chat tab
+  await expect(page.locator('.chat input')).toHaveCount(0); // the chat body never mounts
+  await expect(page.locator('.check input')).toBeEnabled(); // the Dictionary is the only surface
 });
 
-// GCG export is pointless for a practice AI game, so the finished AI game hides the 📤 export
-// (the comms hub stays). Start an AI game, resign it, reopen the history and check the header.
-test('AI game: no GCG export offered after it ends', async ({ page }) => {
+// GCG export is pointless for a practice AI game, and a finished AI game has no comms at all
+// (no chat, and the dictionary closes with the game), so both the 📤 export and the 💬 comms
+// entry are gone. Start an AI game, resign it, reopen the history and check the header.
+test('AI game: after it ends, no GCG export and no comms entry', async ({ page }) => {
   await page.goto('/');
   await page.getByRole('button', { name: /guest/i }).click();
   await page.getByRole('button', { name: /🎲/ }).click();
@@ -75,11 +77,11 @@ test('AI game: no GCG export offered after it ends', async ({ page }) => {
   await page.locator('button.danger').click();
   await expect(page.locator('.status .over')).toBeVisible();
 
-  // Reopen the history (resigning auto-closed it): the finished AI game offers no GCG export,
-  // while the comms hub stays reachable.
+  // Reopen the history (resigning auto-closed it): the finished AI game offers no GCG export and
+  // no comms entry at all.
   await page.locator('.scoreboard').click();
   await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Export GCG' })).toHaveCount(0);
-  await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Chat' })).toBeVisible();
+  await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Chat' })).toHaveCount(0);
 });
 
 // The opponent_joined push is best-effort and never replayed, so a join that lands while the live

ui/src/game/CommsHub.svelte

@@ -8,19 +8,24 @@
 
   // The in-game comms hub: a single nav bar + bottom tab bar hosting Chat and the word
   // Dictionary. Tabs switch in place, so the back control always returns to the game. The
-  // Dictionary tab is offered only while the game is active (mirrors the old "check word").
+  // Dictionary tab is offered only while the game is active (mirrors the old "check word"); an
+  // honest-AI game has no Chat, so it shows the Dictionary alone.
   type CommsTab = 'chat' | 'dictionary';
   let { id, initialTab = 'chat' }: { id: string; initialTab?: CommsTab } = $props();
 
   // The game is rendered (and cached) before its comms open, so the cache tells us whether
   // it is still active without another fetch; an unknown game keeps the Dictionary offered.
   const active = $derived(getCachedGame(id)?.view.game.status !== 'finished');
-  // Seeded once from the entry route's tab and then owned locally; the effect below
-  // corrects a Dictionary deep-link into a finished game back to Chat.
+  // An honest-AI game has no chat at all, so its hub is Dictionary-only.
+  const vsAi = $derived(getCachedGame(id)?.view.game.vsAi ?? false);
+  // Seeded once from the entry route's tab, then owned locally. The effect keeps the tab valid:
+  // an AI game has only the Dictionary; a finished non-AI game has only Chat (a stale Dictionary
+  // deep-link falls back to Chat).
   // svelte-ignore state_referenced_locally
   let tab = $state<CommsTab>(initialTab);
   $effect(() => {
-    if (tab === 'dictionary' && !active) tab = 'chat';
+    if (vsAi) tab = 'dictionary';
+    else if (tab === 'dictionary' && !active) tab = 'chat';
   });
 </script>
 
@@ -38,9 +43,11 @@
 
   {#snippet tabbar()}
     <TabBar>
-      <button class="tab" class:active={tab === 'chat'} onclick={() => (tab = 'chat')}>
-        <span class="face"><span class="sq" aria-hidden="true">💬</span><span class="lbl">{t('game.chat')}</span></span>
-      </button>
+      {#if !vsAi}
+        <button class="tab" class:active={tab === 'chat'} onclick={() => (tab = 'chat')}>
+          <span class="face"><span class="sq" aria-hidden="true">💬</span><span class="lbl">{t('game.chat')}</span></span>
+        </button>
+      {/if}
       {#if active}
         <button class="tab" class:active={tab === 'dictionary'} onclick={() => (tab = 'dictionary')}>
           <span class="face"><span class="sq" aria-hidden="true">🔎</span><span class="lbl">{t('game.dictionary')}</span></span>

ui/src/game/Game.svelte

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
     placementFromHint,
     rackView,
     recallAt,
+    recallToSlot,
     reorderIndices,
     reset,
     toSubmit,
@@ -481,7 +482,12 @@
     if (c) {
       dropTarget = !board[c.row]?.[c.col] && !pendingMap.has(`${c.row},${c.col}`) ? c : null;
       reorderTo = null;
-    } else if (reorderDragId != null && overRack(e.clientY) && placement.pending.length === 0) {
+    } else if (
+      overRack(e.clientY) &&
+      // A rack-source reorder (only with a clean, pending-free rack) or a board tile dragged
+      // back to the rack — both preview the drop slot as a gap the dropped tile will fill.
+      ((reorderDragId != null && placement.pending.length === 0) || draggingPend != null)
+    ) {
       reorderTo = dropSlotAt(e.clientX);
       dropTarget = null;
     } else {
@@ -527,8 +533,15 @@
         // Dropped a placed tile on another board cell → relocate it there.
         relocatePending(di.src.row, di.src.col, cell.row, cell.col);
       } else if (di.src.from === 'board' && onRack) {
-        // Dropped a placed tile back onto the rack → recall it to its original slot.
-        placement = recallAt(placement, di.src.row, di.src.col);
+        // Dropped a placed tile back onto the rack → recall it to the drop slot the player aimed
+        // at (drag-to-position), or to its original slot when the drop is not over a gap.
+        if (to != null) {
+          const res = recallToSlot(placement, di.src.row, di.src.col, to);
+          rackIds = res.order.map((i) => rackIds[i] ?? i);
+          placement = res.placement;
+        } else {
+          placement = recallAt(placement, di.src.row, di.src.col);
+        }
         selected = null;
         recompute();
         scheduleDraftSave();
@@ -1114,9 +1127,13 @@
         <button class="hicon" onclick={() => (resignOpen = true)} disabled={waitingForOpponent} aria-label={t('game.dropGame')}>🏁</button>
       {/if}
       {#if !view.game.multipleWordsPerTurn}<span class="oneword-label">{t('game.oneWordRule')}</span>{/if}
-      <button class="hicon" onclick={() => navigate(`/game/${id}/chat`)} aria-label={t('game.chat')}>
-        {#key chatBlink}<span class="chat-ico" class:blink={chatBlink > 0 && !app.reduceMotion}>💬</span>{/key}
-      </button>
+      <!-- A finished AI game has no comms at all (no chat, and the dictionary closes with the
+           game), so the entry is dropped; an active AI game keeps it (it opens the dictionary). -->
+      {#if !(gameOver && view.game.vsAi)}
+        <button class="hicon" onclick={() => navigate(`/game/${id}/chat`)} aria-label={t('game.chat')}>
+          {#key chatBlink}<span class="chat-ico" class:blink={chatBlink > 0 && !app.reduceMotion}>💬</span>{/key}
+        </button>
+      {/if}
     </div>
     <div class="hgridwrap">
       <div class="hgrid" style="grid-template-columns: repeat({view.game.seats.length}, 1fr)">
@@ -1456,9 +1473,9 @@
     white-space: nowrap;
   }
   .rack-row {
+    position: relative;
     display: flex;
     flex: none;
-    gap: 8px;
     align-items: stretch;
     padding: 0 var(--pad) 6px;
   }
@@ -1471,11 +1488,17 @@
     min-width: 0;
   }
   /* A borderless icon button (like the tab bar), not a filled accent button — and disabled
-     while the pending word is known to be illegal. The glyph is right-aligned within its box so
-     its right edge lands under the right edge of the preview caption above it (both sit at
-     var(--pad) from the screen edge — .status and .rack-row share that padding). */
+     while the pending word is known to be illegal. It is an overlay, NOT a flex sibling of the
+     rack: the rack keeps the full row width with a fixed tile size (no reflow or tile resize
+     when a tile is staged), and the button is absolutely pinned over the slots a staged tile
+     frees on the right. Its right edge sits at var(--pad) — directly under the right edge of the
+     preview caption above (.status shares that padding). */
   .make {
-    min-width: 56px;
+    position: absolute;
+    right: var(--pad);
+    top: 0;
+    bottom: 6px;
+    width: 56px;
     background: none;
     color: var(--text);
     border: none;

ui/src/game/Rack.svelte

@@ -83,12 +83,7 @@
   }
   .tile {
     position: relative;
-    /* Sit at the natural tile width, but shrink to fit when the row is crowded so a full
-       rack never overflows its wrapper onto the MakeMove control to its right (the confirm
-       button stays pinned at the right screen edge). flex-grow stays 0 so a sparse rack does
-       not stretch its tiles. */
-    flex: 0 1 auto;
-    min-width: 0;
+    flex: 0 0 auto;
     width: min(12.5vw, 46px);
     aspect-ratio: 1;
     background: var(--tile-bg);

ui/src/lib/placement.test.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   rackView,
   recallAt,
   recallIndex,
+  recallToSlot,
   reorderIndices,
   reset,
   toSubmit,
@@ -112,3 +113,35 @@ describe('reorderIndices', () => {
     expect(reorderIndices(3, 0, 99)).toEqual([1, 2, 0]); // slot clamped to the end
   });
 });
+
+describe('recallToSlot', () => {
+  it('reinserts the recalled tile at the chosen visible slot, reordering the rack', () => {
+    // Lift Q (slot 1) onto the board, then recall it to visible slot 4.
+    const p = place(newPlacement(rack), 1, 7, 7);
+    const { placement, order } = recallToSlot(p, 7, 7, 4);
+    expect(placement.pending).toHaveLength(0);
+    expect(placement.rack).toEqual(['A', BLANK, 'N', 'I', 'Q', 'W', 'E']);
+    expect(order).toEqual([0, 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6]);
+  });
+
+  it('counts only still-visible slots and remaps the remaining pending tiles', () => {
+    // A (slot 0) and N (slot 3) are on the board; recall A to visible slot 2 — the placed N is
+    // skipped, and N's rackIndex follows the rack permutation.
+    let p = place(newPlacement(rack), 0, 7, 7);
+    p = place(p, 3, 7, 8);
+    const { placement, order } = recallToSlot(p, 7, 7, 2);
+    expect(placement.rack).toEqual(['Q', BLANK, 'N', 'A', 'I', 'W', 'E']);
+    expect(order).toEqual([1, 2, 3, 0, 4, 5, 6]);
+    expect(placement.pending).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(placement.pending[0].rackIndex).toBe(2);
+    expect(placement.rack[placement.pending[0].rackIndex]).toBe('N');
+  });
+
+  it('clamps the slot to the end and is an identity no-op when no tile sits at the cell', () => {
+    const p = place(newPlacement(rack), 1, 7, 7);
+    expect(recallToSlot(p, 7, 7, 99).placement.rack).toEqual(['A', BLANK, 'N', 'I', 'W', 'E', 'Q']);
+    const none = recallToSlot(p, 0, 0, 0);
+    expect(none.placement).toBe(p);
+    expect(none.order).toEqual([0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]);
+  });
+});

ui/src/lib/placement.ts

@@ -102,6 +102,51 @@ export function recallIndex(p: Placement, rackIndex: number): Placement {
   return { ...p, pending: p.pending.filter((t) => t.rackIndex !== rackIndex) };
 }
 
+/**
+ * recallToSlot recalls the pending tile at (row, col) and reinserts its rack letter at the
+ * given visible slot, reordering the rack the way a drag-to-reorder does (the drop position the
+ * player chose) instead of snapping the tile back to its original slot. It returns the new
+ * placement together with the index permutation applied to the rack, so the caller can permute
+ * its parallel stable ids in lockstep. toSlot counts the slots that stay visible after the
+ * recall (those still on the board are skipped); it is clamped to a valid position. The result
+ * is the unchanged placement and an identity permutation when no pending tile sits at (row, col).
+ */
+export function recallToSlot(
+  p: Placement,
+  row: number,
+  col: number,
+  toSlot: number,
+): { placement: Placement; order: number[] } {
+  const identity = p.rack.map((_, i) => i);
+  const tile = p.pending.find((t) => t.row === row && t.col === col);
+  if (!tile) return { placement: p, order: identity };
+  const ri = tile.rackIndex;
+  const rest = p.pending.filter((t) => t !== tile);
+  const usedByRest = new Set(rest.map((t) => t.rackIndex));
+  // Reinsert ri just before the toSlot-th slot that stays visible after the recall.
+  const others = identity.filter((i) => i !== ri);
+  let visible = 0;
+  let insertPos = others.length;
+  for (let pos = 0; pos < others.length; pos++) {
+    if (usedByRest.has(others[pos])) continue;
+    if (visible === toSlot) {
+      insertPos = pos;
+      break;
+    }
+    visible++;
+  }
+  const order = [...others];
+  order.splice(insertPos, 0, ri);
+  const newIndex = new Map(order.map((oldIdx, idx) => [oldIdx, idx]));
+  return {
+    placement: {
+      rack: order.map((i) => p.rack[i]),
+      pending: rest.map((t) => ({ ...t, rackIndex: newIndex.get(t.rackIndex)! })),
+    },
+    order,
+  };
+}
+
 export function reset(p: Placement): Placement {
   return { ...p, pending: [] };
 }