diff --git a/backend/internal/adminconsole/templates/pages/game_detail.gohtml b/backend/internal/adminconsole/templates/pages/game_detail.gohtml
index 0c33a48..8afe55d 100644
--- a/backend/internal/adminconsole/templates/pages/game_detail.gohtml
+++ b/backend/internal/adminconsole/templates/pages/game_detail.gohtml
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 <li><b>Dictionary</b> {{.DictVersion}}</li>
 <li><b>Status</b> {{.Status}}{{if .EndReason}} ({{.EndReason}}){{end}}</li>
 <li><b>AI game</b> {{if .VsAI}}🤖 yes{{else}}no{{end}}</li>
+<li><b>Word rule</b> {{if .MultipleWordsPerTurn}}multiple words per turn{{else}}single word per turn{{end}}</li>
 <li><b>Players</b> {{.Players}}</li>
 <li><b>To move</b> seat {{.ToMove}}</li>
 <li><b>Moves</b> {{.MoveCount}}</li>
diff --git a/backend/internal/adminconsole/views.go b/backend/internal/adminconsole/views.go
index 5f354b0..cdc8676 100644
--- a/backend/internal/adminconsole/views.go
+++ b/backend/internal/adminconsole/views.go
@@ -348,8 +348,12 @@ type GameDetailView struct {
 	UpdatedAt   string
 	FinishedAt  string
 	// VsAI marks an honest-AI game (shown as a 🤖 flag in the summary).
-	VsAI  bool
-	Seats []SeatRow
+	VsAI bool
+	// MultipleWordsPerTurn is the game's cross-word rule: true = standard Scrabble (every cross-word
+	// is validated and scored), false = the single-word rule (only the main word along the play
+	// direction counts). Shown in the summary so an operator can tell the rule at a glance.
+	MultipleWordsPerTurn bool
+	Seats                []SeatRow
 	// HasRobot is true when any seat is a robot, gating the robot-target caption;
 	// RobotTargetPct is the configured global play-to-win rate, in percent.
 	HasRobot       bool
diff --git a/backend/internal/server/handlers_admin_console.go b/backend/internal/server/handlers_admin_console.go
index bc39dcf..cfb72f9 100644
--- a/backend/internal/server/handlers_admin_console.go
+++ b/backend/internal/server/handlers_admin_console.go
@@ -566,6 +566,7 @@ func (s *Server) consoleGameDetail(c *gin.Context) {
 		Status: g.Status, Players: g.Players, ToMove: g.ToMove, EndReason: g.EndReason,
 		MoveCount: g.MoveCount, CreatedAt: fmtTime(g.CreatedAt), UpdatedAt: fmtTime(g.UpdatedAt),
 		FinishedAt: fmtTimePtr(g.FinishedAt), VsAI: g.VsAI,
+		MultipleWordsPerTurn: g.MultipleWordsPerTurn,
 	}
 	// Resolve seats and detect robot seats; capture the human opponent's timezone, which
 	// anchors the robot's sleep window for the next-move ETA.
diff --git a/docs/FUNCTIONAL.md b/docs/FUNCTIONAL.md
index 29caaeb..e8b7f0b 100644
--- a/docs/FUNCTIONAL.md
+++ b/docs/FUNCTIONAL.md
@@ -211,8 +211,9 @@ tile that extends
 an existing word (down a column or across a row) is accepted. A play is validated
 against the game's dictionary at submit time and scored; an unlimited preview shows
 **on the board itself** whether the tentative move is legal — the staged tiles turn a light
-green once they form a word, a shade darker on the board tiles the word runs through, or a
-calm pink when they form none — and an **orange badge** on the main word carries the move's
+green once they form a word, a shade darker on the board tiles the word runs through (in a
+one-word-per-turn game only the main word), or a calm pink when they form none — and an
+**orange badge** on the main word carries the move's
 score. The confirm control is offered only once the move is legal. The preview is
 computed **on-device** for an instant response once the game's dictionary has loaded — a
 brief warm-up shows on the first open otherwise — and falls back to the server whenever the
diff --git a/docs/FUNCTIONAL_ru.md b/docs/FUNCTIONAL_ru.md
index b01c083..40efc4c 100644
--- a/docs/FUNCTIONAL_ru.md
+++ b/docs/FUNCTIONAL_ru.md
@@ -219,8 +219,9 @@ e-mail) либо ввод фразы. Активные игры форфейтя
 слово (по столбцу или по строке), принимается. Ход проверяется по словарю партии при
 сдаче и считается; безлимитный предпросмотр показывает **прямо на доске**, допустим ли
 предполагаемый ход: выложенные фишки становятся светло-зелёными, когда образуют слово
-(и чуть темнее — фишки доски, через которые проходит слово), или спокойно-розовыми,
-когда слова нет, — а **оранжевый бейдж** на основном слове несёт очки хода. Кнопка
+(и чуть темнее — фишки доски, через которые проходит слово; в партии «одно слово за ход»
+подсвечивается только основное слово), или спокойно-розовыми, когда слова нет, — а
+**оранжевый бейдж** на основном слове несёт очки хода. Кнопка
 подтверждения появляется только когда ход допустим. Предпросмотр считается **на устройстве**
 и отвечает мгновенно, как только словарь партии загружен — иначе при первом открытии показывается
 короткий прогрев, — и уходит на сервер, если локальный словарь недоступен. Инструмент проверки слова безлимитный и
diff --git a/docs/UI_DESIGN.md b/docs/UI_DESIGN.md
index 7681013..0d2c510 100644
--- a/docs/UI_DESIGN.md
+++ b/docs/UI_DESIGN.md
@@ -249,7 +249,8 @@ e2e and the screenshots.
   width in both layouts, so the tiles are square and as large as the row allows (the confirm ✅ takes
   the fixed 7th slot while a play is staged).
 - **Highlights**: while composing a play the staged tiles are **tinted by legality** — a light
-  green once they form a word (a shade darker on the committed board tiles the word runs through),
+  green once they form a word (a shade darker on the committed board tiles the word runs through —
+  in a **single-word game** only the main word lights up, since the engine ignores cross words),
   a calm pink when they form none — and an **orange score badge** sits on a corner of the main
   word's tile, its digit sized like a tile's point value (so it scales with the zoom) and clamped
   to stay on the board. Off-turn or with no preview the staged tiles keep the plain pending fill.
@@ -286,9 +287,10 @@ e2e and the screenshots.
   remains), 🛟 Hint (with a remaining-count badge, disabled at zero); 🔀 Shuffle (no label,
   no confirm), which
   **animates** — tiles hop along a low parabola to their new slots (duration scaled by the
-  distance, the longest ≤ 0.3 s; off under reduce-motion) with a short haptic shake. Whose turn it
-  is — or the viewer's result once the game ends — shows in a **thin strip above the score
-  plaques**; the tentative move's score rides the board badge (above), not an under-board caption.
+  distance, the longest ≤ 0.3 s; off under reduce-motion) with a short haptic shake. A **thin strip
+  above the score plaques** reads, while composing a legal play, the formed word(s) and the move
+  score ("WORD+WORD = N"); otherwise whose turn it is, or the viewer's result once the game ends. The
+  move score also rides the board badge (above), never an under-board caption.
   The screen **title** is the variant's
   display name (Scrabble / Скрэббл / Erudite / Эрудит), not a constant "Scrabble".
 
diff --git a/ui/src/components/Modal.svelte b/ui/src/components/Modal.svelte
index c0adfea..a3200c6 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/Modal.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/components/Modal.svelte
@@ -3,12 +3,16 @@
 
   let {
     title = '',
+    titleAside = '',
     onclose,
     overlayKeyboard = false,
     bottomSheet = false,
     children,
   }: {
     title?: string;
+    /** Optional secondary text pinned to the right of the title row, in a lighter (non-bold)
+     *  muted style — e.g. the bag count beside the "Exchange or pass" title. */
+    titleAside?: string;
     onclose?: () => void;
     overlayKeyboard?: boolean;
     bottomSheet?: boolean;
@@ -65,7 +69,12 @@
     style:--kb={bottomSheet ? `${kb}px` : null}
     onclick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
   >
-    {#if title}<h2>{title}</h2>{/if}
+    {#if title}
+      <div class="titlerow">
+        <h2>{title}</h2>
+        {#if titleAside}<span class="aside">{titleAside}</span>{/if}
+      </div>
+    {/if}
     {@render children?.()}
   </div>
 </div>
@@ -121,8 +130,21 @@
     max-height: 86dvh;
     overflow: auto;
   }
+  .titlerow {
+    display: flex;
+    justify-content: space-between;
+    align-items: baseline;
+    gap: 8px;
+  }
   h2 {
     margin: 0 0 10px;
     font-size: 1.05rem;
   }
+  /* Secondary title-row text (e.g. the bag count): lighter and muted so the title still leads. */
+  .aside {
+    font-weight: 400;
+    font-size: 0.9rem;
+    color: var(--text-muted);
+    white-space: nowrap;
+  }
 </style>
diff --git a/ui/src/components/TabBar.svelte b/ui/src/components/TabBar.svelte
index 8f6d512..e518098 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/TabBar.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/components/TabBar.svelte
@@ -85,7 +85,9 @@
     color: var(--accent-text);
     border-radius: 999px;
     min-width: 15px;
-    padding: 0 3px;
+    /* Enough horizontal room that a two/three-digit count (e.g. the bag count) does not touch the
+       pill's rounded ends. */
+    padding: 0 5px;
     line-height: 1.4;
     text-align: center;
   }
diff --git a/ui/src/game/Game.svelte b/ui/src/game/Game.svelte
index 324cf30..f2ab090 100644
--- a/ui/src/game/Game.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/game/Game.svelte
@@ -490,7 +490,9 @@
   // rack (recallOverRack), so the highlight and badge clear the instant a recall begins.
   const EMPTY_FORMED = new Set<string>();
   const formedGeom = $derived(
-    preview?.legal && !recallOverRack ? formedGeometry(board, placement.pending) : null,
+    preview?.legal && !recallOverRack
+      ? formedGeometry(board, placement.pending, !!view?.game.multipleWordsPerTurn)
+      : null,
   );
   const formedCells = $derived(formedGeom?.cells ?? EMPTY_FORMED);
   const boardBadge = $derived(
@@ -1522,13 +1524,16 @@
 <!-- Reusable game-screen pieces, arranged differently by the portrait and landscape branches
      above so the markup and logic stay single-sourced (see the {#if landscape} split). -->
 {#snippet turnStrip()}
-  <!-- A thin line above the score plaques: whose turn it is during play, or the viewer's
-       result once the game ends. A hotseat game shows its result as per-seat medals on the
+  <!-- A thin line above the score plaques: while composing a legal play it reads the formed
+       word(s) and the move score ("WORD+WORD = N"); otherwise whose turn it is during play, or the
+       viewer's result once the game ends. A hotseat game shows its result as per-seat medals on the
        plaques (2-4 local players have no single "you"), so the strip is hidden when it is over. -->
   {#if view && !(gameOver && view.game.hotseat)}
     <div class="turnstrip" class:result={gameOver}>
       {#if gameOver}
         {resultText()}
+      {:else if preview?.legal && !recallOverRack}
+        {preview.words.map((w) => w.toUpperCase()).join('+')} = {preview.score}
       {:else}
         {view.game.hotseat ? t('hotseat.turnOf', { name: hotseatName(view.game.toMove) }) : isMyTurn ? t('game.yourTurn') : turnLabel()}
       {/if}
@@ -1764,7 +1769,11 @@
 {/if}
 
 {#if exchangeOpen && view}
-  <Modal title={t('game.exchangeTitle')} onclose={() => (exchangeOpen = false)}>
+  <Modal
+    title={t('game.exchangeTitle')}
+    titleAside={view.bagLen === 0 ? t('game.bagEmpty') : t('game.bagCount', { n: view.bagLen })}
+    onclose={() => (exchangeOpen = false)}
+  >
     <div class="exch">
       {#each view.rack as letter, i (i)}
         <button class="etile" class:sel={exchangeSel.includes(i)} disabled={!canExchange} onclick={() => toggleExch(i)}>
@@ -1917,7 +1926,9 @@
      play, accented for the viewer's win/lose result once the game ends. */
   .turnstrip {
     flex: none;
-    padding: 4px var(--pad);
+    /* A smaller bottom pad than top: the score plaques below carry their own top padding, so an
+       even strip read as too tall with the text pushed up. */
+    padding: 4px var(--pad) 2px;
     text-align: center;
     font-size: 0.85rem;
     font-weight: 600;
@@ -2049,6 +2060,11 @@
     pointer-events: none;
     opacity: 0.55;
   }
+  /* Landscape: the rack sits directly under the docked history (no board between them), so give it a
+     small gap above; portrait gets its spacing from the board's own padding. */
+  .game-land .rack-row {
+    padding-top: 6px;
+  }
   .rack-wrap {
     flex: 1;
     min-width: 0;
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/formed.test.ts b/ui/src/lib/formed.test.ts
index 62bec8e..bde1577 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/formed.test.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/formed.test.ts
@@ -20,14 +20,14 @@ const cells = (g: ReturnType<typeof formedGeometry>) => [...(g?.cells ?? new Set
 
 describe('formedGeometry', () => {
   it('returns null with nothing staged', () => {
-    expect(formedGeometry(board(), [])).toBeNull();
+    expect(formedGeometry(board(), [], true)).toBeNull();
   });
 
   it('finds a fresh horizontal word with no cross words', () => {
     const g = formedGeometry(board(), [
       { row: 7, col: 7 },
       { row: 7, col: 8 },
-    ]);
+    ], true);
     expect(g?.main).toEqual({ row: 7, col: 7, dir: 'H', len: 2 });
     expect(cells(g)).toEqual(['7,7', '7,8']);
   });
@@ -36,14 +36,14 @@ describe('formedGeometry', () => {
     const g = formedGeometry(board(), [
       { row: 7, col: 7 },
       { row: 8, col: 7 },
-    ]);
+    ], true);
     expect(g?.main).toEqual({ row: 7, col: 7, dir: 'V', len: 2 });
     expect(cells(g)).toEqual(['7,7', '8,7']);
   });
 
   it('extends a committed tile into the main word (committed cell in the set)', () => {
     // A committed A at (7,7); a lone tile to its right forms the two-letter main word.
-    const g = formedGeometry(board([[7, 7, 'A']]), [{ row: 7, col: 8 }]);
+    const g = formedGeometry(board([[7, 7, 'A']]), [{ row: 7, col: 8 }], true);
     expect(g?.main).toEqual({ row: 7, col: 7, dir: 'H', len: 2 });
     expect(cells(g)).toEqual(['7,7', '7,8']);
   });
@@ -54,11 +54,23 @@ describe('formedGeometry', () => {
     const g = formedGeometry(board([[6, 8, 'X'], [8, 8, 'Y']]), [
       { row: 7, col: 7 },
       { row: 7, col: 8 },
-    ]);
+    ], true);
     expect(g?.main).toEqual({ row: 7, col: 7, dir: 'H', len: 2 });
     expect(cells(g)).toEqual(['6,8', '7,7', '7,8', '8,8']);
   });
 
+  it('omits cross words under the single-word rule (multipleWords = false)', () => {
+    // The same board as the cross-word case, but a single-word game: the engine ignores the vertical
+    // X-_-Y run (and it need not be a real word), so the geometry must highlight only the main
+    // (horizontal) word — the reported "БО lights up green in a one-word game" bug.
+    const g = formedGeometry(board([[6, 8, 'X'], [8, 8, 'Y']]), [
+      { row: 7, col: 7 },
+      { row: 7, col: 8 },
+    ], false);
+    expect(g?.main).toEqual({ row: 7, col: 7, dir: 'H', len: 2 });
+    expect(cells(g)).toEqual(['7,7', '7,8']);
+  });
+
   it('takes the longer axis as the main word for a lone connecting tile', () => {
     // (7,8) joins a length-3 horizontal (cols 6-8) and a length-4 vertical (rows 5-8): the vertical
     // is longer, so it is the main word and the horizontal becomes a cross word.
@@ -71,6 +83,7 @@ describe('formedGeometry', () => {
         [8, 8, 'E'],
       ]),
       [{ row: 7, col: 8 }],
+      true,
     );
     expect(g?.main).toEqual({ row: 5, col: 8, dir: 'V', len: 4 });
     expect(cells(g)).toEqual(['5,8', '6,8', '7,6', '7,7', '7,8', '8,8']);
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/formed.ts b/ui/src/lib/formed.ts
index ee13946..924371b 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/formed.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/formed.ts
@@ -77,12 +77,19 @@ function span(
  * formedGeometry derives the composed play's word geometry from the board and the staged tiles.
  * It returns the main word (the maximal run along the play axis through the staged tiles) and the
  * set of every cell the main word and each cross word (a perpendicular run of two or more cells
- * through a staged tile) cover. It returns null when nothing is staged, or when the staged tiles
- * are not on a single line — a shape only an illegal play produces, which the caller never asks
- * about (it is invoked only for a legal preview). The play axis is fixed by the staged tiles when
- * two or more are colinear; a lone tile takes whichever axis forms the longer word.
+ * through a staged tile) cover. Under the **single-word rule** (multipleWords = false) cross words
+ * are omitted, matching the engine, which ignores them entirely — a perpendicular run there is
+ * neither validated nor scored (and need not even be a real word), so highlighting it would be
+ * misleading. It returns null when nothing is staged, or when the staged tiles are not on a single
+ * line — a shape only an illegal play produces, which the caller never asks about (it is invoked
+ * only for a legal preview). The play axis is fixed by the staged tiles when two or more are
+ * colinear; a lone tile takes whichever axis forms the longer word.
  */
-export function formedGeometry(board: Board, pending: readonly Cell[]): FormedGeometry | null {
+export function formedGeometry(
+  board: Board,
+  pending: readonly Cell[],
+  multipleWords: boolean,
+): FormedGeometry | null {
   if (pending.length === 0) return null;
   const filled = filledPredicate(board, pending);
   const first = pending[0];
@@ -115,15 +122,18 @@ export function formedGeometry(board: Board, pending: readonly Cell[]): FormedGe
   }
 
   // Cross words: the perpendicular run through each staged tile, kept only when it is a real word
-  // (two or more cells).
-  const cross: Dir = dir === 'H' ? 'V' : 'H';
-  for (const p of pending) {
-    const cs = span(filled, cross, p.row, p.col);
-    if (cs.len < 2) continue;
-    if (cross === 'H') {
-      for (let c = cs.start; c < cs.start + cs.len; c++) cells.add(key(p.row, c));
-    } else {
-      for (let r = cs.start; r < cs.start + cs.len; r++) cells.add(key(r, p.col));
+  // (two or more cells). Skipped under the single-word rule, where the engine ignores cross words,
+  // so a perpendicular run must not be highlighted as if it were a formed word.
+  if (multipleWords) {
+    const cross: Dir = dir === 'H' ? 'V' : 'H';
+    for (const p of pending) {
+      const cs = span(filled, cross, p.row, p.col);
+      if (cs.len < 2) continue;
+      if (cross === 'H') {
+        for (let c = cs.start; c < cs.start + cs.len; c++) cells.add(key(p.row, c));
+      } else {
+        for (let r = cs.start; r < cs.start + cs.len; r++) cells.add(key(r, p.col));
+      }
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/i18n/en.ts b/ui/src/lib/i18n/en.ts
index 6c0c6bf..f28b730 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/i18n/en.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/i18n/en.ts
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export const en = {
   'onboarding.gameRack': 'Pick a tile and place it on the board', // rack
 
   'game.bag': '{n} in the bag',
+  'game.bagCount': 'In the bag: {n}',
   'game.bagEmpty': 'Bag is empty',
   'game.hints': 'Hints {n}',
   'game.yourTurn': 'Your turn',
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/i18n/ru.ts b/ui/src/lib/i18n/ru.ts
index 44e24fe..8505381 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/i18n/ru.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/i18n/ru.ts
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export const ru: Record<MessageKey, string> = {
   'onboarding.gameRack': 'Выбирайте фишку и ставьте на доску', // rack
 
   'game.bag': '{n} в мешке',
+  'game.bagCount': 'В мешке: {n}',
   'game.bagEmpty': 'Мешок пуст',
   'game.hints': 'Подсказки {n}',
   'game.yourTurn': 'Ваш ход',