diff --git a/board.sx b/board.sx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04cde55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/board.sx
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+// m3te core model — pure, headless match-3 board (Phase 1).
+//
+// Everything here is deterministic and rendering-free: a fixed seed always
+// produces the same board. Later phases build on these primitives —
+// P1.2 (match detection), P1.3 (swap legality), P2 (clear/cascade/refill) —
+// so the layout favours plain index access (`at` / `idx`) over anything
+// rendering-specific.
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+
+// ── Gem ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Six distinct gem types. The enum's ordinal (0..5) IS the gem index, so it
+// casts cleanly to/from the integers the RNG and the textual dump work in.
+GEM_COUNT :: 6;
+
+Gem :: enum {
+    red;
+    orange;
+    yellow;
+    green;
+    blue;
+    purple;
+}
+
+// One stable character per gem type, indexed by ordinal — the alphabet the
+// board dump (and its golden) is written in.
+GEM_CHARS :: "ROYGBP";
+
+gem_char :: (g: Gem) -> u8 {
+    GEM_CHARS[cast(s64) g]
+}
+
+// ── Deterministic RNG ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// A 32-bit linear congruential generator (Numerical Recipes constants),
+// carried in an s64 and masked back to 32 bits after every step so the
+// stream is identical regardless of host integer width. The state*MUL+ADD
+// product stays well under s64 range, so no intermediate overflow. Any seed
+// (including 0) yields a valid stream — an LCG has no forbidden state.
+RNG_MASK32 :: 0xFFFFFFFF;
+RNG_MUL    :: 1664525;
+RNG_ADD    :: 1013904223;
+
+Rng :: struct {
+    state: s64;
+
+    // Advance and return the next 32-bit value.
+    next_u32 :: (self: *Rng) -> s64 {
+        self.state = (self.state * RNG_MUL + RNG_ADD) & RNG_MASK32;
+        self.state
+    }
+
+    // Uniform-ish value in [0, n). Uses the high bits, whose period is far
+    // longer than the low bits of an LCG.
+    next_range :: (self: *Rng, n: s64) -> s64 {
+        (self.next_u32() >> 16) % n
+    }
+}
+
+rng_seeded :: (seed: s64) -> Rng {
+    Rng.{ state = seed & RNG_MASK32 }
+}
+
+// ── Board ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+BOARD_COLS :: 8;
+BOARD_ROWS :: 8;
+BOARD_CELLS :: BOARD_COLS * BOARD_ROWS;
+
+Board :: struct {
+    // Row-major: cell (col, row) lives at row*BOARD_COLS + col.
+    cells: [BOARD_CELLS]Gem;
+
+    idx :: (col: s64, row: s64) -> s64 {
+        row * BOARD_COLS + col
+    }
+
+    at :: (self: *Board, col: s64, row: s64) -> Gem {
+        self.cells[Board.idx(col, row)]
+    }
+
+    set :: (self: *Board, col: s64, row: s64, g: Gem) {
+        self.cells[Board.idx(col, row)] = g;
+    }
+
+    // Fill every cell from `seed` so that NO horizontal or vertical run of
+    // three same-type gems exists. Cells are placed in row-major order; when
+    // placing one, any gem type that would complete a 3-in-a-row with the two
+    // already-placed cells to its left or above is excluded, and the gem is
+    // drawn from the remaining allowed types. At most two types are ever
+    // excluded, so a choice always remains.
+    init :: (self: *Board, seed: s64) {
+        rng := rng_seeded(seed);
+        for 0..BOARD_ROWS: (row) {
+            for 0..BOARD_COLS: (col) {
+                self.set(col, row, pick_gem(self, @rng, col, row));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// Choose a gem for (col, row) that can't extend an existing run leftward or
+// upward. Pure given the board's already-placed prefix and the RNG state.
+pick_gem :: (board: *Board, rng: *Rng, col: s64, row: s64) -> Gem {
+    forbidden : [GEM_COUNT]bool = ---;
+    for 0..GEM_COUNT: (t) { forbidden[t] = false; }
+
+    // Two same gems immediately to the left → a third of that type matches.
+    if col >= 2 {
+        left := board.at(col - 1, row);
+        if left == board.at(col - 2, row) {
+            forbidden[cast(s64) left] = true;
+        }
+    }
+    // Two same gems immediately above → a third of that type matches.
+    if row >= 2 {
+        up := board.at(col, row - 1);
+        if up == board.at(col, row - 2) {
+            forbidden[cast(s64) up] = true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    allowed := 0;
+    for 0..GEM_COUNT: (t) { if !forbidden[t] { allowed += 1; } }
+
+    // Pick the k-th still-allowed type; single RNG draw, always terminates.
+    k := rng.next_range(allowed);
+    for 0..GEM_COUNT: (t) {
+        if !forbidden[t] {
+            if k == 0 { return cast(Gem) t; }
+            k -= 1;
+        }
+    }
+    .red // unreachable: `allowed` >= GEM_COUNT-2 >= 4, so k is always consumed
+}
+
+// Deterministic textual dump: one row per line, top (row 0) to bottom, a
+// single gem character per cell. Suitable for snapshotting.
+board_dump :: (self: *Board) -> string {
+    line_w := BOARD_COLS + 1;            // 8 gem chars + newline
+    buf := cstring(BOARD_ROWS * line_w);
+    for 0..BOARD_ROWS: (row) {
+        base := row * line_w;
+        for 0..BOARD_COLS: (col) {
+            buf[base + col] = gem_char(self.at(col, row));
+        }
+        buf[base + BOARD_COLS] = 10;     // '\n'
+    }
+    buf
+}
diff --git a/tests/board_init.sx b/tests/board_init.sx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e67349d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/board_init.sx
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+// Board-state golden: seed the board deterministically, dump it, and assert
+// the no-pre-existing-match invariant (zero horizontal/vertical 3-in-a-rows).
+// The dump is locked as a snapshot so the seeded board state can't drift.
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+#import "board.sx";
+t :: #import "test.sx";
+
+SEED :: 1337;
+
+// Count every horizontal or vertical window of three consecutive same-type
+// gems. A correctly initialized board has zero. This walks the finished board
+// independently of the placement logic, so it's a real check, not a tautology.
+count_three_runs :: (b: *Board) -> s32 {
+    runs : s32 = 0;
+    for 0..BOARD_ROWS: (row) {
+        for 0..(BOARD_COLS - 2): (col) {
+            g := b.at(col, row);
+            if g == b.at(col + 1, row) and g == b.at(col + 2, row) { runs += 1; }
+        }
+    }
+    for 0..(BOARD_ROWS - 2): (row) {
+        for 0..BOARD_COLS: (col) {
+            g := b.at(col, row);
+            if g == b.at(col, row + 1) and g == b.at(col, row + 2) { runs += 1; }
+        }
+    }
+    runs
+}
+
+main :: () -> s32 {
+    board : Board = ---;
+    board.init(SEED);
+
+    out(board_dump(@board));
+
+    t.expect(count_three_runs(@board) == 0, "seeded board has no 3-in-a-row runs");
+    print("ok: board_init no-match invariant holds\n");
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/tests/expected/board_init.exit b/tests/expected/board_init.exit
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..573541a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/expected/board_init.exit
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0
diff --git a/tests/expected/board_init.stdout b/tests/expected/board_init.stdout
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1249b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/expected/board_init.stdout
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+RRPPOGRG
+PGPOPRRO
+YYBBYRYB
+GBYYRGGP
+OGBRRORY
+BYRRPRBG
+YOYYROBB
+OROBPPRB
+ok: board_init no-match invariant holds