diff --git a/site/index.html b/site/index.html
index f629f42..f4ad372 100644
--- a/site/index.html
+++ b/site/index.html
@@ -124,21 +124,17 @@ h1 { color: #fff; font-size: 1.5em; text-align: center; }
 .zero-state h2 { color: #fff; font-size: 2em; }
 .zero-state p { color: #888; font-size: 1.1em; max-width: 400px; line-height: 1.5; }
 
-/* ===== DISCONNECTED OVERLAY ===== */
-.disconnected-overlay {
-  position: fixed; inset: 0; background: rgba(0,0,0,0.7);
-  display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center;
-  z-index: 1000; backdrop-filter: blur(3px);
+/* ===== DISCONNECTED BANNER ===== */
+.disconnected-banner {
+  position: fixed; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; z-index: 1000;
+  background: rgba(40, 20, 20, 0.92); border-bottom: 1px solid #e74c3c;
+  padding: 8px 20px; text-align: center; font-size: 0.85em; color: #ccc;
+  display: none; backdrop-filter: blur(2px);
+  animation: stale-fade-in 0.3s ease-out;
 }
-.disconnected-overlay .message {
-  background: #16213e; border: 2px solid #e74c3c; border-radius: 12px;
-  padding: 40px; text-align: center; max-width: 400px;
-}
-.disconnected-overlay .icon { font-size: 3em; margin-bottom: 15px; }
-.disconnected-overlay h3 { color: #e74c3c; margin-bottom: 10px; }
-.disconnected-overlay p { color: #888; font-size: 0.9em; }
-.disconnected-overlay .retry { color: #555; font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 15px; }
-body.greyed-out .container { filter: grayscale(80%) brightness(0.5); pointer-events: none; }
+.disconnected-banner .icon { margin-right: 6px; }
+.disconnected-banner .retry-text { color: #e74c3c; font-weight: 500; }
+body.greyed-out .container { filter: grayscale(60%) brightness(0.6); }
 
 /* ===== STALE STATE ===== */
 .stale-banner {
@@ -226,14 +222,10 @@ body.game-over .container { padding-top: 100px; }
   </div>
 </div>
 
-<!-- Disconnected overlay -->
-<div class="disconnected-overlay" id="disconnect-overlay" style="display:none">
-  <div class="message">
-    <div class="icon">📡</div>
-    <h3>Connection Lost</h3>
-    <p>Unable to reach the game server. The bridge may be down or the network is unreachable.</p>
-    <div class="retry" id="disconnect-retry">Retrying in <span id="retry-countdown">--</span>s...</div>
-  </div>
+<!-- Disconnected banner -->
+<div class="disconnected-banner" id="disconnect-banner">
+  <span class="icon">📡</span>
+  Connection lost — <span class="retry-text">retrying every 2s...</span>
 </div>
 
 <!-- Stale data banner -->
@@ -283,8 +275,6 @@ let lastUpdate = '';
 let currentView = 'loading'; // loading, zero, playing, gameover, disconnected
 let debugMode = null; // null = live, or a forced state name
 let consecutiveFailures = 0;
-let retryCountdown = 0;
-let retryTimer = null;
 let gameOverShown = false; // only trigger confetti once per game
 let confettiRunning = false;
 let lastStateTimestamp = null; // ISO string from state.lastUpdated
@@ -294,7 +284,7 @@ function showView(view) {
   currentView = view;
   document.getElementById('zero-state').style.display = view === 'zero' ? 'flex' : 'none';
   document.getElementById('game-container').style.display = (view === 'playing' || view === 'gameover') ? 'flex' : 'none';
-  document.getElementById('disconnect-overlay').style.display = view === 'disconnected' ? 'flex' : 'none';
+  document.getElementById('disconnect-banner').style.display = view === 'disconnected' ? 'block' : 'none';
   document.getElementById('game-over-banner').style.display = view === 'gameover' ? 'block' : 'none';
   document.body.classList.toggle('greyed-out', view === 'disconnected');
   document.body.classList.toggle('game-over', view === 'gameover');
@@ -608,28 +598,14 @@ function hideStale() {
 
 // ===== CONNECTION MONITORING =====
 function showDisconnected() {
-  if (currentView === 'disconnected') return;
-  // Show the overlay on top of whatever was showing
-  document.getElementById('disconnect-overlay').style.display = 'flex';
+  document.getElementById('disconnect-banner').style.display = 'block';
   document.body.classList.add('greyed-out');
-  startRetryCountdown();
 }
 
 function hideDisconnected() {
-  document.getElementById('disconnect-overlay').style.display = 'none';
+  document.getElementById('disconnect-banner').style.display = 'none';
   document.body.classList.remove('greyed-out');
   consecutiveFailures = 0;
-  if (retryTimer) { clearInterval(retryTimer); retryTimer = null; }
-}
-
-function startRetryCountdown() {
-  retryCountdown = 5;
-  document.getElementById('retry-countdown').textContent = retryCountdown;
-  if (retryTimer) clearInterval(retryTimer);
-  retryTimer = setInterval(() => {
-    retryCountdown--;
-    document.getElementById('retry-countdown').textContent = Math.max(0, retryCountdown);
-  }, 1000);
 }
 
 // ===== MAIN UPDATE LOOP =====