diff --git a/engine/Age.Cli/Program.cs b/engine/Age.Cli/Program.cs
index 403034b..9680be1 100644
--- a/engine/Age.Cli/Program.cs
+++ b/engine/Age.Cli/Program.cs
@@ -77,7 +77,12 @@ if (args[0] == "play")
     var userScenes = args.Skip(1).Where(a => a.ToUpperInvariant().EndsWith(".BIN")).ToList();
     if (userScenes.Count == 0) { Console.WriteLine("usage: play [--boot] <SCENE.BIN...> [0xADDR=VAL ...]"); return 1; }
     var scenes = (boot ? bootScripts.Concat(userScenes) : userScenes).ToList();
-    var session = new GameSession();
+    // --state <file>: start from a saved snapshot (e.g. a pre-booted state) instead of booting fresh.
+    string? StateArg(string flag) { int i = Array.IndexOf(args, flag); return i >= 0 && i + 1 < args.Length ? args[i + 1] : null; }
+    var loadState = StateArg("--state");
+    var saveState = StateArg("--save-state");
+    var session = loadState != null ? GameSession.FromJson(File.ReadAllText(loadState)) : new GameSession();
+    if (loadState != null) Console.WriteLine($"[state] loaded {session.Globals.Count} globals from {loadState}");
     foreach (var s in args.Skip(1).Where(a => a.Contains('=')))
     {
         var kv = s.Split('=');
@@ -94,6 +99,7 @@ if (args[0] == "play")
         Console.WriteLine($"  {name,-14} {r.Emitted.Count,4} lines, {r.Steps,7} steps (halt: {r.Halt})");
     }
     Console.WriteLine($"total: {totalLines} lines across {scenes.Count} scene(s); {session.Globals.Count} globals carried");
+    if (saveState != null) { File.WriteAllText(saveState, session.ToJson()); Console.WriteLine($"[state] saved -> {saveState}"); }
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/engine/Age.Engine.Tests/GameSessionTests.cs b/engine/Age.Engine.Tests/GameSessionTests.cs
index 418a1e2..a0eed2a 100644
--- a/engine/Age.Engine.Tests/GameSessionTests.cs
+++ b/engine/Age.Engine.Tests/GameSessionTests.cs
@@ -90,6 +90,30 @@ public class GameSessionTests
         Assert.True(session.Globals.Count > 1000, $"SKINIT should populate the skill table (got {session.Globals.Count})");
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void SnapshotRoundTripsState()
+    {
+        var s = new GameSession();
+        s.Seed(0x10, 42); s.Seed(0x20, -7); s.SeedString(0x30, "リリィ");
+        var t = GameSession.FromJson(s.ToJson());
+        Assert.Equal(42, t.Globals[0x10]);
+        Assert.Equal(-7, t.Globals[0x20]);
+        Assert.Equal("リリィ", t.GlobalStrings[0x30]);
+        Assert.Equal(s.Globals.Count, t.Globals.Count);
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void BootedStateSurvivesSnapshot()
+    {
+        var s = new GameSession();
+        s.RunScene(Sys4Loader.Load(Paths.Scripts()["SKINIT.BIN"], Table), Table, new CaptureHost());
+        var t = GameSession.FromJson(s.ToJson());   // snapshot the expensive booted state, rebuild
+        Assert.Equal("飛行", t.GlobalStrings[0x23a3]);
+        Assert.Equal(30, t.Globals[0xa6e5b]);
+        Assert.Equal(s.Globals.Count, t.Globals.Count);
+        Assert.Equal(s.GlobalStrings.Count, t.GlobalStrings.Count);
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void SeedingFormFlagChangesBehavior()
     {
diff --git a/engine/Age.Engine/Vm/GameSession.cs b/engine/Age.Engine/Vm/GameSession.cs
index 81f1760..0698e79 100644
--- a/engine/Age.Engine/Vm/GameSession.cs
+++ b/engine/Age.Engine/Vm/GameSession.cs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+using System.Text.Json;
 using Age.Engine.Hosting;
 using Age.Engine.Model;
 
@@ -37,6 +38,29 @@ public sealed class GameSession
 
         return new SceneResult(vm.Emitted.ToList(), vm.HaltReason, vm.Steps);
     }
+
+    /// <summary>Serialize the persistent state to JSON (globals + string globals, keyed by decimal address).
+    /// Lets an expensive booted state be snapshotted and reused; foundation for save-file work.</summary>
+    public string ToJson()
+    {
+        var snap = new StateSnapshot(
+            Globals.ToDictionary(kv => kv.Key.ToString(), kv => kv.Value),
+            GlobalStrings.ToDictionary(kv => kv.Key.ToString(), kv => kv.Value));
+        return JsonSerializer.Serialize(snap,
+            new JsonSerializerOptions { Encoder = System.Text.Encodings.Web.JavaScriptEncoder.UnsafeRelaxedJsonEscaping });
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Rebuild a session from a <see cref="ToJson"/> snapshot.</summary>
+    public static GameSession FromJson(string json)
+    {
+        var s = new GameSession();
+        var snap = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<StateSnapshot>(json) ?? new StateSnapshot(new(), new());
+        foreach (var kv in snap.Globals) s.Globals[int.Parse(kv.Key)] = kv.Value;
+        foreach (var kv in snap.Strings) s.GlobalStrings[int.Parse(kv.Key)] = kv.Value;
+        return s;
+    }
+
+    private sealed record StateSnapshot(Dictionary<string, long> Globals, Dictionary<string, string> Strings);
 }
 
 /// <summary>The observable result of running one scene into a <see cref="GameSession"/>.</summary>