diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cb11311..dc2d125 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## v0.9.5 — 2026-09-29 09:13
+- Fixed the production freeze reported after the v0.9.3 (#21) deploy ("entire UI system is now fucked"). Root cause was NOT the #21 layout change (verified healthy across all 7 tabs and multiple viewports — no clipping, middle pane scrolls internally, side panes fixed): it was world name generation. `makeName` draws from a finite pool of 16×8=128 system names with an unbounded rejection loop, so once a save grew past ~128 systems (turns of play / e2e jump loops), any jump into an undiscovered system spun forever on Node's single thread — sql.js runs synchronously, so the whole process blocked and EVERY API route hung, leaving all panels stuck at LOADING.
+- `makeName` (lib/game/world.ts) now falls back to numbered variants (`Kepler Drift 2`) once the pool is exhausted, so it always terminates; `makeCrewName` (lib/game/crew.ts) gets the same guard — the roster has no cap and its 16×22=352 pool would eventually exhaust too.
+- Tests: unit — both name generators terminate with unique numbered names after full pool exhaustion (80 tests green, was 78); e2e unchanged — no spec depends on the old behavior and a fresh CI stack never approaches 128 systems.
+
 ## v0.9.4 — 2026-09-29 08:29
 - Top bar (#23): the `◄ SHIP` label in the mission control header is replaced with the app version number (e.g. `v0.9.4`). The header reads it from `package.json` via the same `@/package.json` import that `/api/version` and the OpenAPI spec use, so there is a single source of truth — no second hardcoded copy.
 - e2e: no spec changes needed — no spec asserted on the old `◄ SHIP` label (the landing-page test only checks the SpaceWanderer heading). All 15 specs compile unchanged.
diff --git a/lib/game/crew.test.ts b/lib/game/crew.test.ts
index 4547296..ee8c98a 100644
--- a/lib/game/crew.test.ts
+++ b/lib/game/crew.test.ts
@@ -71,4 +71,17 @@ describe('makeCrewName', () => {
     for (let i = 0; i < 40; i++) makeCrewName(rng, taken)
     expect(taken.size).toBe(40)
   })
+
+  it('terminates with numbered variants once all 352 base names are taken', () => {
+    const rng = startingCrewRng('7')
+    const taken = new Set<string>()
+    for (let i = 0; i < 352; i++) makeCrewName(rng, taken) // exhaust the whole pool
+    expect(taken.size).toBe(352)
+
+    const a = makeCrewName(rng, taken) // must return instead of spinning forever
+    const b = makeCrewName(rng, taken)
+    expect(a).not.toBe(b)
+    expect(taken.has(a)).toBe(true)
+    expect(taken.has(b)).toBe(true)
+  })
 })
diff --git a/lib/game/crew.ts b/lib/game/crew.ts
index d3a1c0f..20da79a 100644
--- a/lib/game/crew.ts
+++ b/lib/game/crew.ts
@@ -49,13 +49,23 @@ function pick<T>(rng: () => number, arr: T[]): T {
 }
 
 // A name unique against `taken` (the current roster), claimed into the set on success.
-// 16×22 = 352 combinations — a roster realistically never approaches that size.
+// The pool is finite (16×22=352) and the roster has no cap, so — like makeName — fall back to
+// numbered variants once every base is taken instead of spinning forever.
 export function makeCrewName(rng: () => number, taken: Set<string>): string {
   for (;;) {
-    const name = `${title(pick(rng, FIRST_NAMES))} ${pick(rng, LAST_NAMES)}`
-    if (!taken.has(name)) {
-      taken.add(name)
-      return name
+    const base = `${title(pick(rng, FIRST_NAMES))} ${pick(rng, LAST_NAMES)}`
+    if (!taken.has(base)) {
+      taken.add(base)
+      return base
+    }
+    if (taken.size >= FIRST_NAMES.length * LAST_NAMES.length) {
+      for (let n = 2; ; n++) {
+        const name = `${base} ${n}`
+        if (!taken.has(name)) {
+          taken.add(name)
+          return name
+        }
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/lib/game/world.test.ts b/lib/game/world.test.ts
index 0c37d78..826c225 100644
--- a/lib/game/world.test.ts
+++ b/lib/game/world.test.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,19 @@ describe('generateRing (expansion)', () => {
     for (let i = 0; i < 40; i++) makeName(rng, taken)
     expect(taken.size).toBe(40)
   })
+
+  it('terminates with numbered variants once all 128 base names are taken', () => {
+    const rng = mulberry32(9)
+    const taken = new Set<string>()
+    for (let i = 0; i < 128; i++) makeName(rng, taken) // exhaust the whole pool
+    expect(taken.size).toBe(128)
+
+    const a = makeName(rng, taken) // must return instead of spinning forever
+    const b = makeName(rng, taken)
+    expect(a).not.toBe(b)
+    expect(taken.has(a)).toBe(true)
+    expect(taken.has(b)).toBe(true)
+  })
 })
 
 describe('generatePlanets', () => {
diff --git a/lib/game/world.ts b/lib/game/world.ts
index 0807953..42c37d1 100644
--- a/lib/game/world.ts
+++ b/lib/game/world.ts
@@ -36,13 +36,25 @@ function title(word: string): string {
   return word.charAt(0) + word.slice(1).toLowerCase()
 }
 
-// Picks a name not in `taken` and adds it, so callers can't accidentally reuse one.
+// Picks a name not in `taken` and adds it, so callers can't accidentally reuse one. The base
+// pool is finite (16×8=128), so once every base is taken the loop would spin forever — which
+// froze the whole server on a save that had grown past 128 systems (synchronous sql.js runs on
+// Node's single thread). Numbered variants keep names unique and terminate.
 export function makeName(rng: () => number, taken: Set<string>): string {
   for (;;) {
-    const name = `${title(FIRST[Math.floor(rng() * FIRST.length)])} ${title(SECOND[Math.floor(rng() * SECOND.length)])}`
-    if (!taken.has(name)) {
-      taken.add(name)
-      return name
+    const base = `${title(FIRST[Math.floor(rng() * FIRST.length)])} ${title(SECOND[Math.floor(rng() * SECOND.length)])}`
+    if (!taken.has(base)) {
+      taken.add(base)
+      return base
+    }
+    if (taken.size >= FIRST.length * SECOND.length) {
+      for (let n = 2; ; n++) {
+        const name = `${base} ${n}`
+        if (!taken.has(name)) {
+          taken.add(name)
+          return name
+        }
+      }
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 7abc0ef..278651e 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "space-wanderer",
-  "version": "0.9.4",
+  "version": "0.9.5",
   "private": true,
   "scripts": {
     "dev": "next dev -p 3000",