diff --git a/SVSim.BattleNode/Bridge/BattleNodeOptions.cs b/SVSim.BattleNode/Bridge/BattleNodeOptions.cs
index dbf448f..40306ca 100644
--- a/SVSim.BattleNode/Bridge/BattleNodeOptions.cs
+++ b/SVSim.BattleNode/Bridge/BattleNodeOptions.cs
@@ -15,4 +15,15 @@ public sealed class BattleNodeOptions
     /// in tests via the factory.
     /// </summary>
     public TimeSpan WaitingRoomTimeout { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(60);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Dev convenience: when true, matchmaking endpoints that would otherwise park
+    /// a solo poller (returning 3002 RETRY until a partner arrives) instead return
+    /// a Scripted match immediately — equivalent to passing <c>?scripted=1</c> on
+    /// every request. Turn off to test real PvP with two clients. Default false.
+    /// <para>Trade-off: while on, two viewers polling simultaneously each get
+    /// their own Scripted match instead of pairing with each other. Toggling off
+    /// is the only way to get PvP behavior.</para>
+    /// </summary>
+    public bool SoloDefaultsToScripted { get; set; } = false;
 }
diff --git a/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleController.cs b/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleController.cs
index 8bf8357..3dab706 100644
--- a/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleController.cs
+++ b/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleController.cs
@@ -14,17 +14,20 @@ public class ArenaTwoPickBattleController : SVSimController
     private readonly IMatchingBridge _matching;
     private readonly IMatchContextBuilder _matchContextBuilder;
     private readonly IMatchingPairUpService _pairUp;
+    private readonly BattleNodeOptions _battleNodeOptions;
 
     public ArenaTwoPickBattleController(
         IArenaTwoPickService svc,
         IMatchingBridge matching,
         IMatchContextBuilder matchContextBuilder,
-        IMatchingPairUpService pairUp)
+        IMatchingPairUpService pairUp,
+        BattleNodeOptions battleNodeOptions)
     {
         _svc = svc;
         _matching = matching;
         _matchContextBuilder = matchContextBuilder;
         _pairUp = pairUp;
+        _battleNodeOptions = battleNodeOptions;
     }
 
     [HttpPost("do_matching")]
@@ -36,8 +39,12 @@ public class ArenaTwoPickBattleController : SVSimController
         if (!TryGetViewerId(out var vid)) return Unauthorized();
         // Accept "1" or "true" (case-insensitive) as opt-in for the legacy Scripted path.
         // ASP.NET's default bool binder rejects "1", so do a permissive parse here.
-        var useScripted = scripted is not null
-            && (scripted == "1" || string.Equals(scripted, "true", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase));
+        // The server-side BattleNodeOptions.SoloDefaultsToScripted flag is the other
+        // route — it bypasses pair-up for every solo poll, useful when the live client
+        // (which can't append query params) needs a Scripted match.
+        var useScripted = (scripted is not null
+                && (scripted == "1" || string.Equals(scripted, "true", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)))
+            || _battleNodeOptions.SoloDefaultsToScripted;
         try
         {
             var ctx = await _matchContextBuilder.BuildForTwoPickAsync(vid);
diff --git a/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Program.cs b/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Program.cs
index ffb8078..12492fd 100644
--- a/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Program.cs
+++ b/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/Program.cs
@@ -124,6 +124,9 @@ public class Program
             // Matches the prod do_matching wire format: host:port/socket.io/, no scheme prefix.
             // BestHTTP's SocketManager parses this as the Socket.IO v2 endpoint URL.
             opt.NodeServerUrl = "localhost:5148/socket.io/";
+            // Any field in BattleNodeOptions can be overridden via the "BattleNode" section
+            // in appsettings*.json — see appsettings.Development.json for SoloDefaultsToScripted.
+            builder.Configuration.GetSection("BattleNode").Bind(opt);
         });
         // In-process FCFS pair-up for TK2 PvP /do_matching. Singleton: per-mode state is
         // process-wide. Proper queue API is a separate spec; this is enough to actually
diff --git a/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/appsettings.Development.json b/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/appsettings.Development.json
index 0c208ae..b61e819 100644
--- a/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/appsettings.Development.json
+++ b/SVSim.EmulatedEntrypoint/appsettings.Development.json
@@ -4,5 +4,8 @@
       "Default": "Information",
       "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
     }
+  },
+  "BattleNode": {
+    "SoloDefaultsToScripted": false
   }
 }
diff --git a/SVSim.UnitTests/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleControllerTests.cs b/SVSim.UnitTests/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleControllerTests.cs
index 461ba9f..a2967c4 100644
--- a/SVSim.UnitTests/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleControllerTests.cs
+++ b/SVSim.UnitTests/Controllers/ArenaTwoPickBattleControllerTests.cs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Http.Json;
 using System.Text.Json;
 using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
+using SVSim.BattleNode.Bridge;
 using SVSim.Database;
 using SVSim.Database.Models;
 using SVSim.UnitTests.Infrastructure;
@@ -136,6 +137,36 @@ public class ArenaTwoPickBattleControllerTests
             "Owner and joiner must see the same node_server_url.");
     }
 
+    [Test]
+    public async Task DoMatching_SoloDefaultsToScripted_flag_makes_solo_poll_return_3004_without_query_param()
+    {
+        using var factory = new SVSimTestFactory();
+        // BattleNodeOptions is a singleton in DI; flipping it before the request takes
+        // effect immediately for this factory. Real deployments toggle it via the
+        // "BattleNode:SoloDefaultsToScripted" key in appsettings*.json.
+        factory.Services.GetRequiredService<BattleNodeOptions>().SoloDefaultsToScripted = true;
+
+        var vid = await factory.SeedViewerAsync();
+        await SeedCompleteTwoPickRunAsync(factory, vid);
+        using var client = factory.CreateAuthenticatedClient(vid);
+
+        var req = new {
+            deck_no = 1L, need_init = 1, log = 1, excluded_field_id_list = new long[] { }, use_stage_select = 1, is_default_skin = 0,
+            viewer_id = "0", steam_id = 0, steam_session_ticket = "",
+        };
+        // No ?scripted=1 — the flag alone should drive the Scripted branch.
+        var resp = await client.PostAsync("/arena_two_pick_battle/do_matching", JsonContent.Create(req));
+
+        Assert.That(resp.StatusCode, Is.EqualTo(HttpStatusCode.OK));
+        using var doc = JsonDocument.Parse(await resp.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());
+        var root = doc.RootElement;
+
+        Assert.That(root.GetProperty("matching_state").GetInt32(), Is.EqualTo(3004),
+            "SoloDefaultsToScripted=true should bypass pair-up and return a Scripted 3004 SUCCEEDED.");
+        Assert.That(root.GetProperty("battle_id").GetString(), Is.Not.Null.And.Not.Empty);
+        Assert.That(root.GetProperty("node_server_url").GetString(), Does.Contain("/socket.io/"));
+    }
+
     [Test]
     public async Task DoMatching_NoActiveRun_Returns400WithErrorCode()
     {