diff --git a/src/tictactoe/Board.tsx b/src/tictactoe/Board.tsx
index 246d0af..6f26b4e 100644
--- a/src/tictactoe/Board.tsx
+++ b/src/tictactoe/Board.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-import React from "react";
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { motion, AnimatePresence } from "framer-motion";
 import { useNakama } from "./providers/NakamaProvider";
+import getHaiku from "./utils/haikus";
 
 interface BoardProps {
   board: string[][];
@@ -47,6 +48,21 @@ export default function Board({
     status = isMyTurn ? "Your turn" : "Opponent's turn";
   }
 
+  const [haiku, setHaiku] = useState(getHaiku());
+  const [haikuIndex, setHaikuIndex] = useState(0);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const totalTime = 3 * 2400 + 6000 + 2400;
+
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      const next = getHaiku();
+      setHaiku(next);
+      setHaikuIndex((i) => i + 1);
+    }, totalTime);
+
+    return () => clearTimeout(timer);
+  }, [haikuIndex]);
+
   return (
     <>
       {matchId && (
@@ -154,6 +170,58 @@ export default function Board({
             )}
           </motion.div>
 
+          {!winner && (
+            <div
+              style={{
+                minHeight: "90px",
+                display: "flex",
+                flexDirection: "column",
+                justifyContent: "center",
+                alignItems: "center",
+                marginTop: "14px",
+                position: "relative",
+              }}
+            >
+              <AnimatePresence mode="wait">
+                <motion.div
+                  key={haikuIndex}
+                  initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
+                  animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
+                  exit={{ opacity: 0 }}
+                  transition={{
+                    duration: 2.4,
+                    ease: "easeInOut",
+                  }}
+                  style={{
+                    textAlign: "center",
+                    lineHeight: "1.35",
+                  }}
+                >
+                  {haiku.map((line, i) => (
+                    <motion.div
+                      key={i}
+                      initial={{ opacity: 0, y: 10 }}
+                      animate={{ opacity: 1, y: 0 }}
+                      transition={{
+                        delay: i * 2.4, // line-by-line stagger timing
+                        duration: 10.0,
+                        ease: "easeOut",
+                      }}
+                      style={{
+                        fontSize: "18px",
+                        color: "#f1c40f",
+                        fontWeight: 700,
+                        whiteSpace: "nowrap",
+                      }}
+                    >
+                      {line}
+                    </motion.div>
+                  ))}
+                </motion.div>
+              </AnimatePresence>
+            </div>
+          )}
+
           {/* Winner pulse animation */}
           {winner && (
             <motion.div
diff --git a/src/tictactoe/utils/haikus.ts b/src/tictactoe/utils/haikus.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d8b49e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tictactoe/utils/haikus.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+export const HAIKUS: string[][] = [
+  // HAIKU STORY SET 1 — The Only Winning Move Is No Move
+  [
+    "Silence fills the board.",
+    "Two minds waiting, both flawless.",
+    "No move is the win.",
+  ],
+  [
+    "Perfect strategies",
+    "Cancel out in quiet draws.",
+    "Stillness holds the key.",
+  ],
+  [
+    "Victory fades out,",
+    "When both players see the truth:",
+    "Equilibrium.",
+  ],
+
+  // // HAIKU STORY SET 2 — AI & Game Theory
+  // [
+  //   "Grids bend under thought.",
+  //   "Algorithms watch patterns.",
+  //   "The future decides.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Zeroes read the board.",
+  //   "Minimax breathes in the dark.",
+  //   "Loss is calculated.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Two perfect AIs",
+  //   "Stare across a tiny world.",
+  //   "Neither one can win.",
+  // ],
+  //
+  // // HAIKU STORY SET 3 — Players Becoming Machines
+  // [
+  //   "Hands learn old rhythms.",
+  //   "Humans imitate the code.",
+  //   "We evolve to think.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Soft neon whispers,",
+  //   "The grid calls for your next move.",
+  //   "Time waits for no one.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Your choices echo.",
+  //   "Small decisions shape the board.",
+  //   "You shape the story.",
+  // ],
+  //
+  // // HAIKU STORY SET 4 — Solving the Game
+  // [
+  //   "Every path explored,",
+  //   "Every outcome known too well.",
+  //   "Beauty in the bones.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Corners dream of acts,",
+  //   "Center knows its destiny.",
+  //   "Balance is the law.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Three lines cross in fate.",
+  //   "Nine spaces hold nine futures.",
+  //   "All end in a draw.",
+  // ],
+  //
+  // // HAIKU STORY SET 5 — Existential Tic-Tac-Toe
+  // [
+  //   "The board is a mirror.",
+  //   "It reflects your quiet mind.",
+  //   "Win by understanding.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "Nothing left to prove.",
+  //   "The shape of thought is perfect.",
+  //   "The game simply is.",
+  // ],
+  // [
+  //   "A small universe,",
+  //   "Filled with silent decisions.",
+  //   "Meaning in the moves.",
+  // ],
+];
+
+export default function getHaiku() {
+  const idx = Math.floor(Math.random() * HAIKUS.length);
+  return HAIKUS[idx];
+}