diff --git a/web/src/components/Table.tsx b/web/src/components/Table.tsx
index 5e1e524..0988a11 100644
--- a/web/src/components/Table.tsx
+++ b/web/src/components/Table.tsx
@@ -14,22 +14,12 @@ import { EventLog, battleLogLines } from './EventLog'
 export function Table({ session, onLeave }: { session: Session; onLeave: () => void }) {
   const { view, error, connected, send } = useGame(session)
 
-  if (!view) {
-    return (
-      <div className="centered muted">
-        {connected ? 'Loading game…' : 'Connecting…'}
-      </div>
-    )
-  }
-
-  const you = view.players[view.youSeat]
-  const opponents = view.players.filter((p) => p.seat !== view.youSeat)
-
   // Battle replay step lives here (not inside BattlePhase) so the event log,
   // a sibling, can render the battle narration up to the same step. Deriving
   // the effective step from the current battle round resets it to 0 whenever a
-  // new battle arrives, without a separate effect.
-  const battleRound = view.battle?.round ?? -1
+  // new battle arrives, without a separate effect. These hooks must run on
+  // every render (before any early return) to satisfy the rules of hooks.
+  const battleRound = view?.battle?.round ?? -1
   const [stepState, setStepState] = useState<{ round: number; step: number }>({
     round: -1,
     step: 0,
@@ -44,12 +34,23 @@ export function Table({ session, onLeave }: { session: Session; onLeave: () => v
 
   const battleLines = useMemo(
     () =>
-      view.phase === 'battle' && view.battle?.events
+      view?.phase === 'battle' && view.battle?.events
         ? battleLogLines(view.battle.events, step)
         : undefined,
-    [view.phase, view.battle, step],
+    [view, step],
   )
 
+  if (!view) {
+    return (
+      <div className="centered muted">
+        {connected ? 'Loading game…' : 'Connecting…'}
+      </div>
+    )
+  }
+
+  const you = view.players[view.youSeat]
+  const opponents = view.players.filter((p) => p.seat !== view.youSeat)
+
   return (
     <div className="table">
       <header className="topbar">