diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 7b0b6c1..fa36e90 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -1,13 +1,39 @@
+## Features
+
+- [ ] Add a note taking area to store game state between sessions
+- [ ] Add an online indicator that displays if a player is connected
+- [ ] PvP challenges should linger in the UI after completion so that players can see the result
+- [ ] Add hat/gun icons next to player names on the player list to indicate if they're the captain and/or have a gat
+- [ ] Replace red/green borders of successful/failed cards with checks and crosses in the upper corner of the card.
+
 ## Polish
 
-- [x] The character sheet modal popup is narrower than it needs to be on wide screens. I think it could safely be like 90% as wide as the non-modal UI.
-- [x] Popping out the event log should leave a close button where the "Event Log" open button is, so that you don't have to move your mouse to quickly toggle it. The existing close button can remain.
-- [x] Use the same vertical UI for the player list in all phases
-- [x] In the admin panel, if a pi-rat doesn't have a name yet, it should show something like 'not chosen yet' rather than the player name
-- [x] In the admin panel, the "Open" and "Copy" buttons should be the same size
-- [x] Store the player name in local storage and pre-populate it when joining a new game (but don't force it, let the player edit it if they'd prefer a different name)
-- [x] If a player tries to rejoin a game that has ended or that they've been kicked from, they should get an error message and it should be removed from the list of re-joinable games
-- [x] Games should have join codes in addition to join links. Join codes should be a sequence of 5 alphanumeric characters (upper case letters only, no ambiguous letters like 0/O/1/I). Add a panel to the home page for joining a game via code, and display the join code on the admin page
+- [x] Do a pass on condensing overly verbose UI elements. For example, "Current Difficulty" could be replaced by "Difficulty" and "The Obstacle List" could be replaced by "Obstacles"
+- [ ] Event log button should be the same size and position when expanded and collapsed in all screens
+- [x] Align the "Current Difficulty" and "Successes" boxes
+- [ ] Don't have dev mode toggling appear in the event log
+- [ ] Remove display of current deck size
+- [ ] Voting status in the between-scenes phase should be visual, not text-based
+- [ ] Players should be able to see who they voted for
+- [ ] The "ready" button between scenes is redundant. Allow players to vote, and allow them to change their vote, but once all players have voted, display the result and move on
+
+## Rules
+
+- [ ] Check against rules on correct quantity of of obstacles and obstacle refresh rules
+- [ ] Check against the rules on pi-rat hand size and conditions for drawing more cards
+- [ ] Assisting other pi-rats should only be available if there are multiple obstacles in the current challenge
+- [ ] Checking off personal objectives (gat/name/death) should be handled by group vote rather than adjudication by the deep
+- [ ] Double check if PvP obstacles should allow card re-draw
+
+## Unknown - need to clarify what these mean
+
+- [ ] Temporary names
+- [ ] Consistent player list order
+- [ ] Crew objectives reveal area should be connected to button
+
+## Fixes
+
+- [ ] Make sure that gat descriptions are a) required and b) displayed on the UI
 
 ## Words Words Words
 
diff --git a/frontend/src/assets/css/scene-play.css b/frontend/src/assets/css/scene-play.css
index 5c94966..91edd03 100644
--- a/frontend/src/assets/css/scene-play.css
+++ b/frontend/src/assets/css/scene-play.css
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@
     padding: 1.25rem;
     background: var(--well);
     display: grid;
-    grid-template-columns: 0.8fr 2fr 1fr 1fr;
+    grid-template-columns: 0.8fr 2fr 2fr;
     gap: 1rem;
     position: relative;
     overflow: hidden;
@@ -335,11 +335,17 @@
     color: var(--text-muted);
 }
 
-.obstacle-value-display {
+.obstacle-stats {
+    display: grid;
+    grid-template-columns: repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));
     align-self: start;
+    gap: 0.5rem;
+}
+
+.obstacle-value-display {
     display: flex;
     flex-direction: column;
-    justify-content: center;
+    justify-content: flex-start;
     align-items: center;
     background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 5%, transparent);
     border: 1px dashed var(--edge-accent);
@@ -348,10 +354,9 @@
 }
 
 .obstacle-successes-display {
-    align-self: start;
     display: flex;
     flex-direction: column;
-    justify-content: center;
+    justify-content: flex-start;
     align-items: center;
     background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--success) 5%, transparent);
     border: 1px dashed color-mix(in srgb, var(--success) 30%, transparent);
@@ -361,7 +366,7 @@
 
 .obstacle-successes-display .val-number {
     color: var(--success);
-    font-size: 1.5rem;
+    font-size: 1.8rem;
 }
 
 .val-label {
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ScenePhase.svelte b/frontend/src/components/ScenePhase.svelte
index c99f491..dd28c1e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ScenePhase.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ScenePhase.svelte
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
                                   e.currentTarget.classList.remove("dragging");
                               }} />
                     {:else}
-                        <p class="empty-text text-center">Your hand is empty! (You draw cards when playing cards that match the suit color of the obstacle.)</p>
+                        <p class="empty-text text-center">Empty hand. Match an obstacle’s color to draw cards.</p>
                     {/each}
                 </div>
             </div>
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
 
         <div class="card glass-panel obstacle-list-card">
             <div class="card-header">
-                <h3>🌊 The Obstacle List</h3>
+                <h3>🌊 Obstacles</h3>
                 <span class="deck-counter">🎴 Deck: {state.game.deck_cards ? JSON.parse(state.game.deck_cards).length : 0} cards left</span>
             </div>
             <ObstacleBoard {state} />
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/UpkeepPhase.svelte b/frontend/src/components/UpkeepPhase.svelte
index 78f0c91..76fc8d9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/UpkeepPhase.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/components/UpkeepPhase.svelte
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@
 </script>
 
 <div class="between-scenes-view text-center">
-    <h2>Between Scenes (Scene #{state.game.current_scene_number} Concluded)</h2>
+    <h2>Between Scenes · Scene {state.game.current_scene_number}</h2>
     <p class="description">Upkeep and tallying. Nominate a crewmate to Rank Up, redraw hand cards for resting Deep players, and ready up for the next scene.</p>
     
     {#if state.player.is_dead && !state.player.is_ghost && !state.player.needs_reroll}
@@ -201,7 +201,7 @@
         <div class="between-grid" class:single={state.game.phase !== 'deep_upkeep'}>
         <!-- Ranks and Voting Card -->
         <div class="card glass-panel voting-card">
-            <h3>1. Pirate Ranking (Voting)</h3>
+            <h3>Rank Up</h3>
             <p class="section-desc">Every player (including the Deep) nominates one crewmate who best exemplified pirate qualities in the previous scene. Previous Deep players are ineligible to receive votes.</p>
 
             {#if state.game.phase === 'deep_upkeep'}
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@
         <!-- Resting Deep Player Card — only the actual hand refresh, during deep_upkeep -->
         {#if state.game.phase === 'deep_upkeep'}
         <div class="card glass-panel deep-rest-card">
-            <h3>2. Resting Deep Upkeep</h3>
+            <h3>Refresh Hand</h3>
 
             {#if state.player.role === "deep"}
                 <div class="deep-rest-panel glass-panel">
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
                         <p class="info-text text-center" style="margin-top: 1rem;">Waiting for the rest of the crew to finish upkeep...</p>
                     {:else}
                         <p class="info-text" style="margin-top: 1rem;">
-                            <strong>Your Hand Size Limit: {maxHandSize} cards.</strong><br/>
+                            <strong>Hand Limit: {maxHandSize} cards.</strong><br/>
                             Drag cards to the "Discard Pile" zone to discard them, or click them to move them.
                         </p>
 
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@
                         {/if}
 
                         <button class="btn btn-primary mt-4 w-full" on:click={confirmRefresh} disabled={confirming || isOverLimit}>
-                            Confirm Hand Refresh
+                            Refresh Hand
                         </button>
                     {/if}
                 </div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/scene/CharacterSheet.svelte b/frontend/src/components/scene/CharacterSheet.svelte
index de5d3ff..0ee3799 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/scene/CharacterSheet.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/components/scene/CharacterSheet.svelte
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@
             {/if}
 
             <div class="sheet-group">
-                <h4>Description:</h4>
+                <h4>Description</h4>
                 <p><strong>Look:</strong> {target.avatar_look}</p>
                 <p><strong>Smell:</strong> {target.avatar_smell}</p>
                 <p><strong>First Words:</strong> "{target.first_words}"</p>
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@
 
             {#if target.other_like || target.other_hate}
                 <div class="sheet-group margin-top">
-                    <h4>What the Crew Thinks:</h4>
+                    <h4>Crew Impressions</h4>
                     {#if target.other_like}
                         <p><strong>👍 Likes:</strong> "{target.other_like}" <span class="text-muted">— {getPlayerName(target.other_like_from_player_id)}</span></p>
                     {/if}
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@
             <!-- Secret techniques are visible only on your own sheet -->
             {#if isSelf}
                 <div class="sheet-group margin-top">
-                    <h4>Assigned Secret Techniques (J/Q/K):</h4>
+                    <h4>Secret Techniques</h4>
                     <ul class="techniques-list-sheet">
                         <li><strong>Jack (J):</strong> "{target.tech_jack}"</li>
                         <li><strong>Queen (Q):</strong> "{target.tech_queen}"</li>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/scene/ObstacleItem.svelte b/frontend/src/components/scene/ObstacleItem.svelte
index 45d881d..4665e34 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/scene/ObstacleItem.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/components/scene/ObstacleItem.svelte
@@ -86,9 +86,10 @@
         <p class="desc">{obs.description}</p>
     </div>
 
+    <div class="obstacle-stats">
     <!-- Value Display -->
     <div class="obstacle-value-display text-center" use:tooltip={VALUE_HINT}>
-        <span class="val-label">Current Difficulty</span>
+        <span class="val-label">Difficulty</span>
         <span class="val-number">
             {#if is_face_active}
                 {challengedRank !== null ? `${challengedRank} (Rat's Rank)` : "Challenged Rat's Rank"}
@@ -104,6 +105,8 @@
         <span class="val-number">{success_count} / {state.players.length}</span>
     </div>
 
+    </div>
+
     {#if is_completed && state.player.role === 'deep'}
         <div class="clear-obstacle-row text-center">
             <button class="btn btn-success btn-full" on:click={clearObstacle}>Clear Obstacle</button>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/changelog.js b/frontend/src/lib/changelog.js
index a9c66b7..2779edc 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/changelog.js
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/changelog.js
@@ -6,10 +6,11 @@
 //   - Add a CHANGELOG entry only when a commit changes something players can
 //     see. Skip refactors, tests, and tooling. Keep wording player-facing.
 
-export const VERSION = 26;
+export const VERSION = 27;
 
 // Newest first. Each entry: { version, date: 'YYYY-MM-DD', changes: [string, ...] }.
 export const CHANGELOG = [
+    { version: 27, date: '2026-09-04', changes: ['Shorter labels make the table easier to scan.', 'Difficulty and Successes now line up side by side, including on small screens.'] },
     {
         version: 25,
         date: '2026-07-10',