diff --git a/ui/src/game/Game.svelte b/ui/src/game/Game.svelte
index 47be9db..56ab932 100644
--- a/ui/src/game/Game.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/game/Game.svelte
@@ -419,6 +419,11 @@
   // opponent_moved and game_over self-heal via the next event's move-count gap check, but
   // opponent_joined has no follow-up event, so the open-game wait needs its own recovery. Two
   // fallbacks, mirroring the matchmaking poll PR #51 moved in here from the lobby:
+  //
+  // All three recover from the live stream, which a local (offline) game does not use at all — its
+  // events come from the source itself (see onMount). Reacting to the stream there would refetch
+  // the state for no reason, so (A) and (C) are gated on the game being a network one; (B) needs no
+  // gate, as a local game is never 'open' and so never waits for an opponent.
 
   // (A) On a stream reconnect (alive false -> true) refetch once to catch up on anything missed
   // while it was down. The common case is a mobile suspend that drops the stream, the opponent
@@ -426,7 +431,7 @@
   let wasStreamAlive = app.streamAlive;
   $effect(() => {
     const alive = app.streamAlive;
-    if (alive && !wasStreamAlive) void load();
+    if (alive && !wasStreamAlive && !isLocalGameId(id)) void load();
     wasStreamAlive = alive;
   });
 
@@ -446,7 +451,7 @@
     const r = app.resync;
     if (r !== lastResync) {
       lastResync = r;
-      void load();
+      if (!isLocalGameId(id)) void load();
     }
   });
 
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/gamesource.ts b/ui/src/lib/gamesource.ts
index ed87fc6..b95fc57 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/gamesource.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/gamesource.ts
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ function load(): Promise<LocalSource> {
  * local-only create() and the robot-reply event subscription events().
  */
 export const localSource = {
-  // Offline scoring is self-contained, so the local source ignores includeAlphabet, the evaluate
-  // abort signal, and the draft (drafts are not persisted offline); the proxy accepts the full
-  // gateway signatures but forwards only what the local source uses.
+  // Offline scoring is self-contained, so the local source ignores includeAlphabet and the evaluate
+  // abort signal; the proxy accepts the full gateway signatures but forwards only what the local
+  // source uses.
   gameState: (id, _includeAlphabet) => load().then((s) => s.gameState(id)),
   gameHistory: (id) => load().then((s) => s.gameHistory(id)),
   submitPlay: (id, tiles, variant) => load().then((s) => s.submitPlay(id, tiles, variant)),
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ export const localSource = {
   hint: (id) => load().then((s) => s.hint(id)),
   evaluate: (id, tiles, variant, _signal) => load().then((s) => s.evaluate(id, tiles, variant)),
   checkWord: (id, word, variant) => load().then((s) => s.checkWord(id, word, variant)),
-  draftGet: (_id) => load().then((s) => s.draftGet()),
-  draftSave: (_id, _json) => load().then((s) => s.draftSave()),
+  draftGet: (id) => load().then((s) => s.draftGet(id)),
+  draftSave: (id, json) => load().then((s) => s.draftSave(id, json)),
   create: (opts) => load().then((s) => s.create(opts)),
   list: () => load().then((s) => s.list()),
   delete: (id) => load().then((s) => s.delete(id)),
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/localgame/serialize.ts b/ui/src/lib/localgame/serialize.ts
index d635c66..f8b923e 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/localgame/serialize.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/localgame/serialize.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,13 @@ export interface LocalGameRecord {
    *  read through a sanitiser (cap at now + window) so a device clock set back cannot freeze it —
    *  see lib/hints. */
   hintUnlockAtMs: number;
+  /** The seated player's in-progress composition (rack order + pending board tiles) as the draft
+   *  JSON the game screen serialises, or absent when there is none. A local game keeps it here —
+   *  there is no server to hold it — so a reload of the game state restores the arrangement instead
+   *  of dropping the tiles back into the rack. It belongs to the turn: the source clears it wherever
+   *  the turn advances (a committed move, a resignation, a host skip), so a hotseat seat never
+   *  inherits the previous player's arrangement. */
+  draft?: string;
 }
 
 /** The record fields the caller owns (the engine supplies the rest). */
@@ -64,6 +71,7 @@ export interface RecordMeta {
   createdAtUnix: number;
   updatedAtUnix: number;
   hintUnlockAtMs: number;
+  draft?: string;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -88,6 +96,7 @@ export function serializeGame(game: LocalGame, meta: RecordMeta): LocalGameRecor
     createdAtUnix: meta.createdAtUnix,
     updatedAtUnix: meta.updatedAtUnix,
     hintUnlockAtMs: meta.hintUnlockAtMs,
+    draft: meta.draft,
   };
 }
 
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.test.ts b/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.test.ts
index ddf58c8..96c0e8b 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.test.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.test.ts
@@ -97,6 +97,22 @@ describe('LocalSource', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('persists the draft, so reloading the state keeps the composition', async () => {
+    // The game screen refetches the state on several triggers (a stream reconnect, a resume). With
+    // no stored draft every one of those wiped the player's arrangement back into the rack.
+    const src = await newSource('local:gDraft', 42n);
+    expect(await src.draftGet('local:gDraft')).toBe('');
+    await src.draftSave('local:gDraft', '{"rackOrder":[3,1,0,2,4,5,6],"tiles":[]}');
+    expect(await src.draftGet('local:gDraft')).toBe('{"rackOrder":[3,1,0,2,4,5,6],"tiles":[]}');
+  });
+
+  it('drops the draft when the turn advances, so a hotseat seat never inherits it', async () => {
+    const src = await newSource('local:gDraft2', 42n);
+    await src.draftSave('local:gDraft2', '{"rackOrder":[3,1,0,2,4,5,6],"tiles":[]}');
+    await src.pass('local:gDraft2');
+    expect(await src.draftGet('local:gDraft2')).toBe('');
+  });
+
   it('drives a whole local game to completion', async () => {
     const src = await newSource('local:g5', 2024n);
     src.events('local:g5', () => {});
diff --git a/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.ts b/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.ts
index bf6f04a..1ee39fd 100644
--- a/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.ts
+++ b/ui/src/lib/localgame/source.ts
@@ -195,6 +195,7 @@ export class LocalSource implements GameLoopSource {
     const seat = entry.game.currentPlayer;
     const move = entry.game.resign();
     entry.unlockedSeat = null;
+    entry.record.draft = undefined; // the turn is over; the abandoned composition goes with it
     await this.persist(entry);
     return this.moveResult(entry, move, seat);
   }
@@ -251,6 +252,7 @@ export class LocalSource implements GameLoopSource {
     if (action === 'skip') entry.game.pass();
     else entry.game.resignSeat(targetSeat ?? entry.game.currentPlayer);
     entry.unlockedSeat = null;
+    entry.record.draft = undefined; // the host advanced the turn; the seat's composition is stale
     await this.persist(entry);
     return this.stateView(entry);
   }
@@ -282,13 +284,18 @@ export class LocalSource implements GameLoopSource {
     return { word, legal: game.dictionaryHas(idx) };
   }
 
-  // Drafts (the in-progress composition) are not persisted for local games — the arrangement is
-  // rebuilt from the rack on reopen. The screen tolerates an empty draft.
-  async draftGet(): Promise<string> {
-    return '';
+  // Drafts (the in-progress composition: rack order + pending board tiles) live in the game's own
+  // record — a local game has no server to hold them. Persisting them keeps every reload of the
+  // state (the game screen refetches on several triggers) from dropping the arrangement back into
+  // the rack, and carries it across leaving and reopening the app.
+  async draftGet(gameId: string): Promise<string> {
+    const entry = await this.load(gameId);
+    return entry.record.draft ?? '';
   }
-  async draftSave(): Promise<void> {
-    /* no-op offline */
+  async draftSave(gameId: string, json: string): Promise<void> {
+    const entry = await this.load(gameId);
+    entry.record.draft = json || undefined;
+    await this.persist(entry);
   }
 
   /** events subscribes to a local game's push events (the robot's reply, game over). Returns an
@@ -325,6 +332,7 @@ export class LocalSource implements GameLoopSource {
     const seat = entry.game.currentPlayer;
     const move = act(entry.game);
     entry.unlockedSeat = null; // the turn has advanced; a hotseat seat re-locks (no effect for vs_ai)
+    entry.record.draft = undefined; // the composition was committed (or swapped away) with the turn
     const robotMoves = this.runRobots(entry);
     await this.persist(entry);
     const result = this.moveResult(entry, move, seat);
@@ -378,6 +386,7 @@ export class LocalSource implements GameLoopSource {
       createdAtUnix: entry.record.createdAtUnix,
       updatedAtUnix: nowUnix(),
       hintUnlockAtMs: entry.record.hintUnlockAtMs,
+      draft: entry.record.draft,
     });
     await saveLocalGame(entry.record);
   }