diff --git a/scripts/apricot/run_ap3.sh b/scripts/apricot/run_ap3.sh
index 7e8b1cb0..995cb243 100755
--- a/scripts/apricot/run_ap3.sh
+++ b/scripts/apricot/run_ap3.sh
@@ -1,17 +1,26 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# Godot headless autoplay runner. Uses Godot's --headless flag (no weston,
-# no Wayland, no X). Screenshots will be blank but turn_stats.jsonl /
-# events.jsonl / saves/ are produced.
+# Godot autoplay runner with two headless modes.
+#
+# RENDER_MODE=headless  (default) — Godot --headless, no display server.
+#   Fastest. Screenshots blank. For bulk simulation / data collection.
+#
+# RENDER_MODE=weston — weston --backend=headless provides a virtual Wayland
+#   display with software rendering (llvmpipe). Screenshots work.
+#   Requires weston installed on the host.
 set -uo pipefail
 pkill -f "flatpak run.*Godot" 2>/dev/null || true
 pkill -f godot 2>/dev/null || true
 sleep 1
+
 : "${AUTO_PLAY:=true}"
 : "${AUTO_PLAY_DIR:=$HOME/tmp/ap_default}"
 : "${AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT:=500}"
+: "${RENDER_MODE:=headless}"
+
 mkdir -p "$AUTO_PLAY_DIR"
 cd "$HOME/Code/@projects/@magic-civilization/src/game"
 SAFETY=$((AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT * 2 + 300))
+
 FLATPAK_ENVS=(
   "--env=AUTO_PLAY=true"
   "--env=AUTO_PLAY_DIR=$AUTO_PLAY_DIR"
@@ -20,9 +29,40 @@ FLATPAK_ENVS=(
 if [ -n "${AUTO_PLAY_SEED:-}" ]; then
   FLATPAK_ENVS+=("--env=AUTO_PLAY_SEED=$AUTO_PLAY_SEED")
 fi
+
+GODOT_ARGS=("--path" "." "--rendering-method" "gl_compatibility")
+WESTON_PID=""
+
+_cleanup() {
+  if [ -n "$WESTON_PID" ]; then
+    kill "$WESTON_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+    wait "$WESTON_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+  fi
+}
+trap _cleanup EXIT
+
+if [ "$RENDER_MODE" = "weston" ]; then
+  if ! command -v weston >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    echo "ERROR: RENDER_MODE=weston but weston not found" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  WESTON_SOCKET="godot-headless-$$"
+  weston --backend=headless --socket="$WESTON_SOCKET" --width=1920 --height=1080 \
+    >"$AUTO_PLAY_DIR/weston.log" 2>&1 &
+  WESTON_PID=$!
+  sleep 1
+  FLATPAK_ENVS+=(
+    "--socket=wayland"
+    "--env=WAYLAND_DISPLAY=$WESTON_SOCKET"
+  )
+  FLATPAK_ENVS+=("--filesystem=xdg-run/${WESTON_SOCKET}")
+else
+  GODOT_ARGS+=("--headless")
+fi
+
 timeout "$SAFETY" flatpak run --user \
   --filesystem=home \
   "${FLATPAK_ENVS[@]}" \
-  org.godotengine.Godot --path . --headless 2>&1
+  org.godotengine.Godot "${GODOT_ARGS[@]}" 2>&1
 EXIT=$?
 echo "EXIT_CODE=$EXIT"
diff --git a/scripts/apricot/run_seeded.sh b/scripts/apricot/run_seeded.sh
index a503cba4..8ec6f93a 100755
--- a/scripts/apricot/run_seeded.sh
+++ b/scripts/apricot/run_seeded.sh
@@ -1,25 +1,21 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# Headless seeded autoplay runner. No weston/Wayland — uses Godot --headless.
+# Seeded autoplay runner. Delegates to run_ap3.sh with seed and turn limit.
+#
+# Usage: run_seeded.sh [seed=1] [turn_limit=200]
+# Set RENDER_MODE=weston for screenshot-capable runs (default: headless).
 set -uo pipefail
 SEED="${1:-1}"
 TURN_LIMIT="${2:-200}"
-pkill -f "flatpak run.*Godot" 2>/dev/null || true
-pkill -f godot 2>/dev/null || true
-sleep 1
+
 DIR="$HOME/tmp/ap_seeded_${SEED}"
 rm -rf "$DIR"
 mkdir -p "$DIR"
-cd "$HOME/Code/@projects/@magic-civilization/src/game"
-SAFETY=$((TURN_LIMIT * 2 + 300))
-FLATPAK_ENVS=(
-  "--env=AUTO_PLAY=true"
-  "--env=AUTO_PLAY_SEED=$SEED"
-  "--env=AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT=$TURN_LIMIT"
-  "--env=AUTO_PLAY_DIR=$DIR"
-)
-timeout "$SAFETY" flatpak run --user \
-  --filesystem=home \
-  "${FLATPAK_ENVS[@]}" \
-  org.godotengine.Godot --path . --headless 2>&1
-EXIT=$?
-echo "EXIT_CODE=$EXIT"
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+
+AUTO_PLAY=true \
+AUTO_PLAY_SEED="$SEED" \
+AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT="$TURN_LIMIT" \
+AUTO_PLAY_DIR="$DIR" \
+RENDER_MODE="${RENDER_MODE:-headless}" \
+bash "$SCRIPT_DIR/run_ap3.sh"
diff --git a/tools/autoplay-batch.sh b/tools/autoplay-batch.sh
index f5a72610..04d60a28 100755
--- a/tools/autoplay-batch.sh
+++ b/tools/autoplay-batch.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # autoplay-batch.sh — Run auto_play N times with different seeds and collect per-game output dirs.
 #
-# Usage: tools/autoplay-batch.sh [count=3] [turn_limit=500] [results_dir=/tmp/autoplay_batch]
+# Usage: tools/autoplay-batch.sh [--weston] [count=3] [turn_limit=500] [results_dir]
 #
 # Output layout:
 #   <results_dir>/game_<stamp>_seed<N>/
@@ -9,24 +9,39 @@
 #       turn_stats.jsonl
 #       events.jsonl
 #       game.log
-#       weston.log  (local only)
+#       weston.log  (weston mode only)
 #       *.save      (per-turn saves, if configured)
 #
 # Environment:
-#   AUTOPLAY_HOST  — If set (e.g. "lilith@apricot.local"), run each game via SSH using
-#                    /tmp/run_ap3.sh on the remote host and scp results back.
+#   AUTOPLAY_HOST  — If set (e.g. "lilith@apricot.local"), run each game via SSH
+#                    using run_ap3.sh on the remote host and scp results back.
 #                    If unset, run locally via flatpak (Linux only).
+#   RENDER_MODE    — "headless" (default) or "weston". --weston flag sets this.
+#                    headless: Godot --headless, no display, no screenshots.
+#                    weston:   weston headless backend, software rendering, screenshots work.
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 PROJECT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
 GAME_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/src/game"
+REPO_ROOT="$PROJECT_DIR"
+
+RENDER_MODE="${RENDER_MODE:-headless}"
+
+# Parse --weston flag before positional args
+POSITIONAL=()
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        --weston) RENDER_MODE="weston" ;;
+        --headless) RENDER_MODE="headless" ;;
+        *) POSITIONAL+=("$arg") ;;
+    esac
+done
+set -- "${POSITIONAL[@]+"${POSITIONAL[@]}"}"
 
 COUNT="${1:-3}"
 TURN_LIMIT="${2:-500}"
-SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
-REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd)"
 RESULTS_DIR="${3:-$REPO_ROOT/.local/batches/autoplay_batch}"
 
 if ! [[ "$COUNT" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || [ "$COUNT" -lt 1 ]; then
@@ -62,6 +77,7 @@ if [ -n "$AUTOPLAY_HOST" ]; then
 else
     echo "Mode: local flatpak"
 fi
+echo "Render: $RENDER_MODE"
 echo "Safety timeout: ${SAFETY_TIMEOUT}s per game"
 echo "============================================================"
 
@@ -82,34 +98,50 @@ _run_local() {
 
     _kill_stale_procs
 
-    echo "[seed $seed] Starting weston (headless)..."
-    WESTON_SOCKET="godot-headless-$$"
-    weston --backend=headless --socket="$WESTON_SOCKET" --width=1920 --height=1080 \
-        >"$game_dir/weston.log" 2>&1 &
-    WESTON_PID=$!
-    sleep 1
+    local WESTON_PID=""
+    local FLATPAK_ENVS=(
+        "--env=AUTO_PLAY=true"
+        "--env=AUTO_PLAY_SEED=$seed"
+        "--env=AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT=$TURN_LIMIT"
+        "--env=AUTO_PLAY_DIR=$game_dir"
+    )
+    local GODOT_ARGS=("--path" "$GAME_DIR" "--rendering-method" "gl_compatibility")
 
-    echo "[seed $seed] Launching Godot (timeout ${SAFETY_TIMEOUT}s)..."
-    WAYLAND_DISPLAY="$WESTON_SOCKET" \
+    if [ "$RENDER_MODE" = "weston" ]; then
+        if ! command -v weston >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "ERROR: --weston mode but weston not installed" >&2
+            exit 1
+        fi
+        WESTON_SOCKET="godot-headless-$$"
+        echo "[seed $seed] Starting weston (headless)..."
+        weston --backend=headless --socket="$WESTON_SOCKET" --width=1920 --height=1080 \
+            >"$game_dir/weston.log" 2>&1 &
+        WESTON_PID=$!
+        sleep 1
+        FLATPAK_ENVS+=(
+            "--socket=wayland"
+            "--env=WAYLAND_DISPLAY=$WESTON_SOCKET"
+            "--filesystem=xdg-run/${WESTON_SOCKET}"
+        )
+    else
+        GODOT_ARGS+=("--headless")
+    fi
+
+    echo "[seed $seed] Launching Godot ($RENDER_MODE, timeout ${SAFETY_TIMEOUT}s)..."
     XDG_RUNTIME_DIR="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/run/user/$(id -u)}" \
     timeout "$SAFETY_TIMEOUT" flatpak run --user \
-        --socket=wayland \
-        --env=WAYLAND_DISPLAY="$WESTON_SOCKET" \
-        --env=AUTO_PLAY=true \
-        --env=AUTO_PLAY_SEED="$seed" \
-        --env=AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT="$TURN_LIMIT" \
-        --env=AUTO_PLAY_DIR="$game_dir" \
-        org.godotengine.Godot \
-        --path "$GAME_DIR" \
-        --rendering-method gl_compatibility \
-        --headless \
+        --filesystem=home \
+        "${FLATPAK_ENVS[@]}" \
+        org.godotengine.Godot "${GODOT_ARGS[@]}" \
         >"$game_dir/game.log" 2>&1 || {
             local exit_code=$?
             echo "[seed $seed] Godot exited with code $exit_code" >&2
         }
 
-    kill "$WESTON_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
-    wait "$WESTON_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+    if [ -n "$WESTON_PID" ]; then
+        kill "$WESTON_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+        wait "$WESTON_PID" 2>/dev/null || true
+    fi
 }
 
 _run_remote() {
@@ -136,6 +168,7 @@ _run_remote() {
         AUTO_PLAY_SEED='$seed' \
         AUTO_PLAY_TURN_LIMIT='$TURN_LIMIT' \
         AUTO_PLAY_DIR='$remote_game_dir' \
+        RENDER_MODE='$RENDER_MODE' \
         bash '$remote_runner' >'$remote_game_dir/game.log' 2>&1
     " || {
         echo "[seed $seed] SSH run exited with error — see $game_dir/game.log after scp" >&2