diff --git a/ui/e2e/hotseat.spec.ts b/ui/e2e/hotseat.spec.ts
index 875beb6..2e26dab 100644
--- a/ui/e2e/hotseat.spec.ts
+++ b/ui/e2e/hotseat.spec.ts
@@ -41,8 +41,10 @@ test.describe('offline hotseat (pass-and-play)', () => {
     await enterLobby(page);
     await goOffline(page);
 
-    // A known bag seed so the locked seat deals a full rack deterministically.
-    await page.evaluate(() => (window as unknown as { __mock: { setLocalSeed(s: string): void } }).__mock.setLocalSeed('1'));
+    // A known seed: the bag deals a full rack deterministically, AND the seeded seating shuffle keeps
+    // the roster order (Ann first) so the locked-seat assertions below are stable. (Seat order is
+    // randomised at start; the shuffle is seed-driven — seed '1' would seat Bob first, '2' Ann first.)
+    await page.evaluate(() => (window as unknown as { __mock: { setLocalSeed(s: string): void } }).__mock.setLocalSeed('2'));
 
     // New game -> the offline mode selector now offers "with friends" (hotseat).
     await page.locator('button.tab').nth(0).click();
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/roster.test.ts b/ui/src/lib/roster.test.ts
index 8b7007d..117d0b2 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/roster.test.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/roster.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
-import { buildSeats, commitName, rosterReady, type RosterRow } from './roster';
+import { buildSeats, commitName, rosterReady, shuffleSeeded, type RosterRow } from './roster';
 
 describe('commitName (keep-last-valid)', () => {
   it('commits a valid, trimmed name', () => {
@@ -48,3 +48,21 @@ describe('buildSeats', () => {
     expect(seats.every((s) => !('accountId' in s) || s.accountId === undefined)).toBe(true);
   });
 });
+
+describe('shuffleSeeded', () => {
+  it('is deterministic for the same seed', () => {
+    expect(shuffleSeeded([0, 1, 2, 3], 42n)).toEqual(shuffleSeeded([0, 1, 2, 3], 42n));
+  });
+
+  it('keeps every element (a permutation) and does not mutate the input', () => {
+    const input = [0, 1, 2, 3];
+    const out = shuffleSeeded(input, 7n);
+    expect([...out].sort((a, b) => a - b)).toEqual([0, 1, 2, 3]);
+    expect(input).toEqual([0, 1, 2, 3]); // input untouched
+  });
+
+  it('varies the order across seeds (not always the identity)', () => {
+    const orders = new Set([1n, 2n, 3n, 4n, 5n, 6n, 7n, 8n].map((s) => shuffleSeeded([0, 1, 2, 3], s).join('')));
+    expect(orders.size).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/roster.ts b/ui/src/lib/roster.ts
index 31768bd..0c2c7b4 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/roster.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/roster.ts
@@ -30,3 +30,25 @@ export function rosterReady(rows: RosterRow[]): boolean {
 export function buildSeats(rows: RosterRow[]): Seat[] {
   return rows.map((r): Seat => ({ kind: 'human', name: r.committed, pin: r.pin }));
 }
+
+/**
+ * shuffleSeeded returns a deterministic shuffle of items driven by seed — a Fisher-Yates over a small
+ * in-house PRNG (a distinct seed derivation from the tile bag, so the seating is not correlated with
+ * the tile draws). Used to randomise the hotseat seating at game start, so the first mover is random;
+ * being seed-driven keeps it reproducible for replay and tests.
+ */
+export function shuffleSeeded<T>(items: readonly T[], seed: bigint): T[] {
+  const out = [...items];
+  let a = (Number(BigInt.asUintN(32, seed ^ 0x9e3779b9n)) >>> 0) || 1;
+  const rand = (): number => {
+    a = (a + 0x6d2b79f5) | 0;
+    let t = Math.imul(a ^ (a >>> 15), 1 | a);
+    t = (t + Math.imul(t ^ (t >>> 7), 61 | t)) ^ t;
+    return ((t ^ (t >>> 14)) >>> 0) / 4294967296;
+  };
+  for (let i = out.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
+    const j = Math.floor(rand() * (i + 1));
+    [out[i], out[j]] = [out[j], out[i]];
+  }
+  return out;
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/screens/NewGame.svelte b/ui/src/screens/NewGame.svelte
index f3c607b..be1e01d 100644
--- a/ui/src/screens/NewGame.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/screens/NewGame.svelte
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
   import { t, type MessageKey } from '../lib/i18n/index.svelte';
   import { validDisplayName } from '../lib/profileValidation';
   import { verifyPin, type PinLock } from '../lib/pin';
-  import { commitName, rosterReady, buildSeats, type RosterRow } from '../lib/roster';
+  import { commitName, rosterReady, buildSeats, shuffleSeeded, type RosterRow } from '../lib/roster';
   import type { AccountRef, Variant } from '../lib/model';
   import {
     availableVariants,
@@ -255,16 +255,19 @@
         return;
       }
       const id = newLocalGameId();
+      const seed = randomSeed();
+      // Randomise the seating so the FIRST mover is random (the engine starts at seat 0, so shuffling
+      // the seats picks a random starter and turn order). Seed-driven, so replay is consistent.
       // Snapshot the roster + PINs to plain objects: the rows/pins are $state proxies, and a proxy
-      // fails structured-clone when the record is persisted to IndexedDB (silently, since the store
-      // is best-effort) — so the game would vanish on reload. See lib/localgame/store.
+      // fails structured-clone when the record is persisted to IndexedDB (silently, best-effort store)
+      // — so the game would vanish on reload. See lib/localgame/store.
       await localSource.create({
         id,
         variant: inviteVariant,
         dictVersion: version,
-        seed: randomSeed(),
+        seed,
         multipleWords: multipleWordsForRequest(inviteVariant, multipleWords),
-        seats: $state.snapshot(buildSeats(rows)),
+        seats: $state.snapshot(shuffleSeeded(buildSeats(rows), seed)),
         hotseat: true,
         hostPin: hostPin ? $state.snapshot(hostPin) : undefined,
       });