diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index d46962b6..6ecd7f9a 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4884,9 +4884,9 @@ checksum = "b6bc1c9ce2b5135ac7f93c72918fc37feb872bdc6a5533a8b85eb4b86bfdae52"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing"
-version = "0.1.40"
+version = "0.1.41"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c3523ab5a71916ccf420eebdf5521fcef02141234bbc0b8a49f2fdc4544364ef"
+checksum = "784e0ac535deb450455cbfa28a6f0df145ea1bb7ae51b821cf5e7927fdcfbdd0"
 dependencies = [
  "log",
  "pin-project-lite",
@@ -4896,9 +4896,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-attributes"
-version = "0.1.27"
+version = "0.1.28"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "34704c8d6ebcbc939824180af020566b01a7c01f80641264eba0999f6c2b6be7"
+checksum = "395ae124c09f9e6918a2310af6038fba074bcf474ac352496d5910dd59a2226d"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -4907,9 +4907,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tracing-core"
-version = "0.1.32"
+version = "0.1.33"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c06d3da6113f116aaee68e4d601191614c9053067f9ab7f6edbcb161237daa54"
+checksum = "e672c95779cf947c5311f83787af4fa8fffd12fb27e4993211a84bdfd9610f9c"
 dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
 ]
@@ -4985,6 +4985,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "strum_macros",
  "thiserror 1.0.56",
  "time",
+ "tracing",
  "xxhash-rust",
 ]
 
diff --git a/truncate_client/src/lib.rs b/truncate_client/src/lib.rs
index facc29a5..e90449eb 100644
--- a/truncate_client/src/lib.rs
+++ b/truncate_client/src/lib.rs
@@ -126,6 +126,18 @@ impl WebHandle {
     }
 }
 
+#[cfg(target_arch = "wasm32")]
+#[wasm_bindgen]
+pub fn backchannel_setup() {
+    use web_sys::console;
+
+    // Make sure panics are logged using `console.error`.
+    console_error_panic_hook::set_once();
+
+    // Redirect tracing to console.log and friends:
+    tracing_wasm::set_as_global_default();
+}
+
 // Functions used in the web worker
 // Used to evaluate games as the NPC using a separate thread,
 // preventing the UI from hanging during computation.
diff --git a/truncate_client/src/regions/native_menu.rs b/truncate_client/src/regions/native_menu.rs
index f4939c7e..ad9d8e76 100644
--- a/truncate_client/src/regions/native_menu.rs
+++ b/truncate_client/src/regions/native_menu.rs
@@ -98,11 +98,7 @@ pub fn render_native_menu_if_required(
             }
             ui.text_edit_singleline(room_code);
             if ui.button("Join Game").clicked() {
-                send_to_server(PlayerMessage::JoinGame(
-                    room_code.clone(),
-                    outer.name.clone(),
-                    token.clone(),
-                ));
+                outer.launched_code = Some(room_code.clone());
                 return Some(GameStatus::PendingJoin(room_code.clone()));
             }
             if let Some(existing_token) = token {
diff --git a/truncate_core/Cargo.toml b/truncate_core/Cargo.toml
index 0ee3ca2a..ef3d42a7 100644
--- a/truncate_core/Cargo.toml
+++ b/truncate_core/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ chksum-hash-sha2 = { version = "0.0.0", default-features = false, features = [
     "256",
 ] }
 noise = "0.8"
+tracing = "0.1.41"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 insta = { version = "1.29.0", features = ["yaml"] }
diff --git a/truncate_core/src/game.rs b/truncate_core/src/game.rs
index 441872a5..26f992fc 100644
--- a/truncate_core/src/game.rs
+++ b/truncate_core/src/game.rs
@@ -567,18 +567,15 @@ impl Game {
                 }
 
                 let neighbors = self.board.neighbouring_squares(position);
+                if !neighbors.iter().any(|&(_, square)| match square {
+                    Square::Occupied { player: p, .. } => p == player,
+                    Square::Artifact { player: p, .. } => p == player,
+                    _ => false,
+                }) {
+                    if neighbors.iter().any(|&(_, square)| matches!(square, Square::Artifact { player: p, .. } if p != player)) {
+                        return Err(GamePlayError::OpponentStartPlace);
+                    }
 
-                if self.turn_count == 0 && neighbors.iter().any(|&(_, square)| matches!(square, Square::Artifact { player: p, .. } if p != player)) {
-                    return Err(GamePlayError::OpponentStartPlace);
-                }
-
-                if !neighbors.iter().any(
-                    |&(_, square)| match square {
-                        Square::Occupied { player: p, .. } => p == player,
-                        Square::Artifact { player: p, .. } => p == player,
-                        _ => false,
-                    },
-                ) {
                     return Err(GamePlayError::NonAdjacentPlace);
                 }
 
diff --git a/truncate_core/src/moves/mod.rs b/truncate_core/src/moves/mod.rs
index 1418937c..64f71e3c 100644
--- a/truncate_core/src/moves/mod.rs
+++ b/truncate_core/src/moves/mod.rs
@@ -1014,7 +1014,7 @@ mod tests {
             players,
             player_turn_count: vec![0, 0],
             judge: short_dict(),
-            turn_count: 1, // any non zero value will do to avoid hitting OpponentStartPlace error
+            turn_count: 0,
             ..Game::new_legacy(3, 1, None, GameRules::generation(0))
         };
         game.start();
diff --git a/truncate_core/src/npc/mod.rs b/truncate_core/src/npc/mod.rs
index fce64f6e..c22ad796 100644
--- a/truncate_core/src/npc/mod.rs
+++ b/truncate_core/src/npc/mod.rs
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ impl Game {
         let evaluation_player = game
             .next_player
             .expect("Minimax only works in non-periodic playmodes");
-
         let mut internal_arborist = if npc_params.pruning {
             Arborist::pruning()
         } else {
@@ -140,15 +139,15 @@ impl Game {
         };
 
         if log {
-            println!(
+            tracing::debug!(
                 "Bot checked {} boards, going to a depth of {looked}",
                 arborist.assessed()
             );
-            println!("Bot has the hand: {}", game.players[evaluation_player].hand);
+            tracing::debug!("Bot has the hand: {}", game.players[evaluation_player].hand);
 
-            println!("Chosen tree has the score {best_score:#?}");
+            tracing::debug!("Chosen tree has the score {best_score:#?}");
             if let Some(board) = &best_score.board {
-                println!("Bot is aiming for the board {board}");
+                tracing::debug!("Bot is aiming for the board {board}");
             }
         }
 
@@ -717,10 +716,8 @@ mod tests {
         initial_board: &'a str,
         depth: usize,
         dict: &WordDict,
-        turn_count: u32,
     ) -> (&'a str, String) {
         let mut game = test_game(initial_board, hand);
-        game.turn_count = turn_count;
 
         let (best_move, pruned_checks, total_checks) = best_test_move(&game, &dict, depth);
 
@@ -989,7 +986,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 3,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1031,7 +1027,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 3,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1073,7 +1068,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 3,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1115,7 +1109,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 3,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1157,7 +1150,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 3,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1202,7 +1194,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 3,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1250,7 +1241,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 4,
                 &dict,
-                0,
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
@@ -1304,7 +1294,6 @@ mod tests {
                 "###,
                 2,
                 &dict,
-                3, // any non zero turn count value will do
             );
 
             insta::with_settings!({
diff --git a/web_client/src/static/worker.js b/web_client/src/static/worker.js
index cad7fe45..ddb90a08 100644
--- a/web_client/src/static/worker.js
+++ b/web_client/src/static/worker.js
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ self.onmessage = function (e) {
             console.log("[WORKER] Successfully loaded Truncate");
 
             loadedWasm = true;
+            wasm_bindgen.backchannel_setup();
+            
         }
 
         function on_wasm_error(error) {