diff --git a/ui/e2e/edgeswipe.spec.ts b/ui/e2e/edgeswipe.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb61ac6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/e2e/edgeswipe.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+import { expect, test, type Page } from './fixtures';
+
+// The edge-swipe back gesture (Screen.svelte): a rightward drag begun in the left band
+// returns to the parent. It ignores mouse pointers and the Playwright desktop projects have
+// no touch input, so these specs dispatch PointerEvents with pointerType:'touch'. A phone
+// viewport so the band (a fraction of the width) lands on the full-width board / rack.
+test.use({ viewport: { width: 390, height: 844 } });
+
+async function openAnnGame(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  await page.goto('/');
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /guest/i }).click();
+  await page.getByRole('button', { name: /Ann/ }).click();
+  await expect(page.locator('[data-cell]').first()).toBeVisible();
+  await page.waitForTimeout(400); // let the open slide settle
+}
+
+/** touchDrag dispatches a single-finger touch drag from (x0,y0) to (x1,y1) over the window. */
+async function touchDrag(page: Page, x0: number, y0: number, x1: number, y1: number): Promise<void> {
+  await page.evaluate(
+    ({ x0, y0, x1, y1 }) => {
+      const fire = (type: string, x: number, y: number) =>
+        window.dispatchEvent(
+          new PointerEvent(type, { pointerType: 'touch', clientX: x, clientY: y, bubbles: true, cancelable: true }),
+        );
+      fire('pointerdown', x0, y0);
+      for (let i = 1; i <= 8; i++) fire('pointermove', x0 + ((x1 - x0) * i) / 8, y0 + ((y1 - y0) * i) / 8);
+      fire('pointerup', x1, y1);
+    },
+    { x0, y0, x1, y1 },
+  );
+}
+
+test('a rightward swipe in the left band returns to the lobby', async ({ page }) => {
+  await openAnnGame(page);
+  const board = (await page.locator('.viewport').boundingBox())!;
+
+  await touchDrag(page, 12, board.y + board.height * 0.5, 220, board.y + board.height * 0.5);
+
+  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/#\/$/);
+  await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: /Ann/ })).toBeVisible();
+});
+
+test('a swipe starting on the rack does not navigate (hit-test guard)', async ({ page }) => {
+  await openAnnGame(page);
+  const rack = (await page.locator('[data-rack]').boundingBox())!;
+
+  // Start on the leftmost rack tile (inside the band) — the rack owns its drag, so no back.
+  await touchDrag(page, rack.x + 12, rack.y + rack.height * 0.5, rack.x + 200, rack.y + rack.height * 0.5);
+
+  await page.waitForTimeout(300);
+  expect(page.url()).toContain('/game/');
+});
diff --git a/ui/src/components/Screen.svelte b/ui/src/components/Screen.svelte
index 25af3ce..ea3b74e 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/Screen.svelte
+++ b/ui/src/components/Screen.svelte
@@ -33,13 +33,19 @@
   // true to bring it back.
   const SHOW_AD_BANNER = false;
 
-  // Edge-swipe back: a left-edge rightward drag returns to `back`, the standard
-  // mobile gesture. Listened at the window in the CAPTURE phase so the board's own pointer
-  // handlers (which capture/stop the event) can never swallow it; armed only from the very
-  // left edge (<=24px), touch/pen only, so it never competes with the board's gestures.
+  // Edge-swipe back: a rightward drag begun in the left band returns to `back`, the standard
+  // mobile gesture (instant on release — the route slide plays the animation). Listened at the
+  // window in the CAPTURE phase so the board's own pointer handlers (which capture/stop the
+  // event) can never swallow it; touch/pen only. The band is a fraction of the viewport width
+  // (EDGE_FRACTION — widen/narrow there). A hit-test keeps the wider band clear of the gestures
+  // it would otherwise hijack: the rack (tile lift/reorder), a draggable pending tile, a
+  // zoomed-in board (it pans), and text inputs.
+  const EDGE_FRACTION = 0.2;
+  const SWIPE_SKIP = '[data-rack], .cell.pending, .viewport.zoomed, input, textarea, select';
   $effect(() => {
     function onDown(e: PointerEvent) {
-      if (!back || e.pointerType === 'mouse' || e.clientX > 24) return;
+      if (!back || e.pointerType === 'mouse' || e.clientX > window.innerWidth * EDGE_FRACTION) return;
+      if (document.elementFromPoint(e.clientX, e.clientY)?.closest(SWIPE_SKIP)) return;
       const x0 = e.clientX;
       const y0 = e.clientY;
       const onUp = (ev: PointerEvent) => {