diff --git a/src/game/engine/tests/unit/test_culture_web.gd b/src/game/engine/tests/unit/test_culture_web.gd
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/src/game/engine/tests/unit/test_culture_web.gd
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+extends GutTest
+## Verifies the `CultureWeb` GDScript wrapper drives `GdCultureWeb` correctly:
+## load → graph queries → per-player gating → research-completion signal.
+
+const CultureWebScript: GDScript = preload(
+	"res://engine/src/modules/empire/culture_web.gd"
+)
+const PlayerScript: GDScript = preload("res://engine/src/entities/player.gd")
+
+const SAMPLE_TRADITIONS: Array = [
+	{
+		"id": "ancestor_song",
+		"name": "Ancestor Song",
+		"pillar": "ancestor_worship",
+		"era": 1, "tier": 1, "cost": 10,
+		"requires": [],
+		"unlocks": {"buildings": ["shrine"], "units": [], "improvements": []},
+		"flavor": "We sing them so they remember us.",
+	},
+	{
+		"id": "rite_of_remembering",
+		"name": "Rite of Remembering",
+		"pillar": "ancestor_worship",
+		"era": 2, "tier": 2, "cost": 25,
+		"requires": ["ancestor_song"],
+		"unlocks": {
+			"buildings": [], "units": [], "improvements": [],
+			"mechanics": [
+				{"key": "happiness_per_shrine", "label": "Happiness Per Shrine +1", "value": 1}
+			]
+		},
+		"flavor": "The dead are louder when we listen.",
+	},
+]
+
+
+func before_each() -> void:
+	# Each test rebuilds CultureWeb from the in-test fixture; bypass DataLoader
+	# by stubbing the bridge directly through the wrapper's lazy build path.
+	pass
+
+
+func _make_web() -> CultureWebScript:
+	var web: CultureWebScript = CultureWebScript.new()
+	# The wrapper normally calls DataLoader.get_all_culture(); for the test we
+	# instantiate the bridge ourselves and load the fixture JSON.
+	if not ClassDB.class_exists("GdCultureWeb"):
+		fail_test("GdCultureWeb GDExtension class not registered")
+		return null
+	var bridge: RefCounted = ClassDB.instantiate("GdCultureWeb") as RefCounted
+	var ok: bool = bool(bridge.call("load_from_json", JSON.stringify(SAMPLE_TRADITIONS)))
+	assert_true(ok, "GdCultureWeb.load_from_json should succeed")
+	# Inject the bridge into the wrapper's KnowledgeWeb for direct testing.
+	# The wrapper exposes `_web` which is a KnowledgeWeb; we set its `_bridge`
+	# field via duck-typed `set` so the rest of the API works as in production.
+	var inner: RefCounted = web._web as RefCounted
+	inner.set("_bridge", bridge)
+	inner.set("_node_count", SAMPLE_TRADITIONS.size())
+	return web
+
+
+func test_tradition_count_and_pillars() -> void:
+	var web: CultureWebScript = _make_web()
+	assert_eq(web.get_tradition_count(), 2)
+	var pillars: Array[String] = web.get_pillars()
+	assert_eq(pillars.size(), 1)
+	assert_eq(pillars[0], "ancestor_worship")
+
+
+func test_prerequisite_gating() -> void:
+	var web: CultureWebScript = _make_web()
+	# Set up a player with no culture researched yet.
+	GameState.players = [PlayerScript.new(0, "Tester", "dwarf")]
+	GameState.current_player_index = 0
+
+	assert_true(web.can_research("ancestor_song", 0))
+	assert_false(web.can_research("rite_of_remembering", 0),
+		"rite_of_remembering needs ancestor_song first")
+
+	# Grant the prereq and re-check.
+	(GameState.players[0] as PlayerScript).add_tradition("ancestor_song")
+	assert_false(web.can_research("ancestor_song", 0),
+		"already-researched tradition should not be researchable again")
+	assert_true(web.can_research("rite_of_remembering", 0))
+
+
+func test_start_research_emits_signal() -> void:
+	var web: CultureWebScript = _make_web()
+	GameState.players = [PlayerScript.new(0, "Tester", "dwarf")]
+	GameState.current_player_index = 0
+
+	watch_signals(EventBus)
+	var ok: bool = web.start_research("ancestor_song", 0)
+	assert_true(ok)
+	assert_signal_emitted_with_parameters(
+		EventBus, "culture_research_started", ["ancestor_song", 0]
+	)
+	var p: PlayerScript = GameState.players[0] as PlayerScript
+	assert_eq(p.researching_tradition, "ancestor_song")
+	assert_eq(p.culture_research_progress, 0)
+
+
+func test_unlocks_typed_buckets_round_trip() -> void:
+	var web: CultureWebScript = _make_web()
+	var data: Dictionary = web.get_tradition_data("rite_of_remembering")
+	assert_false(data.is_empty(), "tradition data should round-trip")
+	var unlocks: Dictionary = data.get("unlocks", {})
+	var mechanics: Array = unlocks.get("mechanics", []) as Array
+	assert_eq(mechanics.size(), 1)
+	var m: Dictionary = mechanics[0] as Dictionary
+	assert_eq(String(m.get("key", "")), "happiness_per_shrine")
+	assert_eq(int(m.get("value", 0)), 1)