diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/gameController.test.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/gameController.test.ts
index cfbe065..d8115bd 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/gameController.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/gameController.test.ts
@@ -110,6 +110,15 @@ describe("POST /api/v1/game/start", () => {
     expect(res.status).toBe(400);
     expect(body.success).toBe(false);
   });
+
+  it("returns 404 when no terms are found for the given filters", async () => {
+    mockGetGameTerms.mockResolvedValue([]);
+
+    const res = await request(app).post("/api/v1/game/start").send(validBody);
+    const body = res.body as ErrorResponse;
+    expect(res.status).toBe(404);
+    expect(body.success).toBe(false);
+  });
 });
 
 describe("POST /api/v1/game/answer", () => {
diff --git a/apps/api/src/services/gameService.test.ts b/apps/api/src/services/gameService.test.ts
index 65d21d7..d5b56de 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/services/gameService.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/services/gameService.test.ts
@@ -85,20 +85,22 @@ describe("createGameSession", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("distractors are never the correct answer", async () => {
+  it("correct answer appears exactly once even if getDistractors returns a duplicate", async () => {
+    mockGetDistractors.mockResolvedValueOnce([
+      "cane",
+      "wrong2",
+      "wrong3",
+      "wrong4",
+      "wrong5",
+      "wrong6",
+    ]);
+
     const session = await createGameSession(validRequest, store, "user-1");
+    const question = session.questions[0]!;
+    const optionTexts = question.options.map((o) => o.text);
 
-    for (let i = 0; i < session.questions.length; i++) {
-      const question = session.questions[i]!;
-      const correctText = fakeTerms[i]!.targetText;
-      const distractorTexts = question.options
-        .map((o) => o.text)
-        .filter((t) => t !== correctText);
-
-      for (const text of distractorTexts) {
-        expect(text).not.toBe(correctText);
-      }
-    }
+    expect(optionTexts.filter((t) => t === "cane")).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(question.options).toHaveLength(4);
   });
 
   it("sets the prompt from the source text", async () => {
@@ -141,6 +143,14 @@ describe("createGameSession", () => {
       createGameSession(validRequest, store, "user-1"),
     ).rejects.toThrow("connection refused");
   });
+
+  it("propagates getDistractors failure", async () => {
+    mockGetDistractors.mockRejectedValue(new Error("db timeout"));
+
+    await expect(
+      createGameSession(validRequest, store, "user-1"),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("db timeout");
+  });
 });
 
 describe("evaluateAnswer", () => {
@@ -273,4 +283,12 @@ describe("evaluateAnswer", () => {
       ),
     ).rejects.toThrow("Game session not found");
   });
+
+  it("throws NotFoundError when getGameTerms returns no terms", async () => {
+    mockGetGameTerms.mockResolvedValue([]);
+
+    await expect(
+      createGameSession(validRequest, store, "user-1"),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("No terms found");
+  });
 });
diff --git a/apps/api/src/services/gameService.ts b/apps/api/src/services/gameService.ts
index b892986..a64b4e7 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/services/gameService.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/services/gameService.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ export const createGameSession = async (
     request.rounds,
   );
 
+  if (terms.length === 0) {
+    throw new NotFoundError("No terms found for the given filters");
+  }
+
   const answerKey = new Map<string, number>();
 
   const questions: GameQuestion[] = await Promise.all(
@@ -35,10 +39,13 @@ export const createGameSession = async (
         request.target_language,
         request.pos,
         request.difficulty,
-        3,
+        6,
       );
 
-      const optionTexts = [term.targetText, ...distractorTexts];
+      const uniqueDistractors = distractorTexts.filter(
+        (t) => t !== term.targetText,
+      );
+      const optionTexts = [term.targetText, ...uniqueDistractors.slice(0, 3)];
       const shuffledTexts = shuffleArray(optionTexts);
       const correctOptionId = shuffledTexts.indexOf(term.targetText);
 
diff --git a/documentation/tickets/t00007.md b/documentation/tickets/t00007.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5469049
--- /dev/null
+++ b/documentation/tickets/t00007.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# feat: guard against empty terms in createGameSession
+
+## Problem
+
+If `getGameTerms` returned an empty array — no vocabulary data matched the requested language, difficulty, and part of speech combination — `createGameSession` would create a session with zero questions and return it. The frontend would receive an empty `questions` array, attempt to render the first question, find nothing, and crash with no useful error message shown to the user.
+
+## Options considered
+
+### Option A — `NotFoundError` (404) ✅
+
+Throw when `terms.length === 0` before any session is created. The combination of filters yielded no data — that's a "not found" situation.
+
+Chosen because: the request is technically valid (all filter values are recognised), but the combination has no matching data. 404 is the correct semantic response.
+
+### Option B — `ValidationError` (400)
+
+Treat empty results as a bad request.
+
+Rejected because: the client sent valid input. The problem is missing data, not invalid input. 400 would be misleading.
+
+## Solution
+
+Added a guard in `createGameSession` immediately after `getGameTerms`:
+
+```ts
+if (terms.length === 0) {
+  throw new NotFoundError("No terms found for the given filters");
+}
+```
+
+The error propagates through the controller's `try/catch` to the error handler, which returns a clean 404 response. No session is created.
+
+## Files changed
+
+- `apps/api/src/services/gameService.ts` — empty terms guard added
+- `apps/api/src/services/gameService.test.ts` — pinning test added
+- `apps/api/src/controllers/gameController.test.ts` — pinning test added at HTTP layer
+
+## Commit
+
+`feat: guard against empty terms in createGameSession`
diff --git a/documentation/tickets/t00008.md b/documentation/tickets/t00008.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b171abc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/documentation/tickets/t00008.md
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+# fix: deduplicate distractors, replace tautological test
+
+## Problem
+
+Two issues in `createGameSession` and its test suite:
+
+1. If `getDistractors` returned the correct answer as one of the distractors, `createGameSession` would include it in the options array without filtering it out. `indexOf` would then find the first occurrence, which might not be the one intended as the correct answer — producing a question where the correct answer appears twice and the stored `correctOptionId` is wrong.
+
+2. The test `"distractors are never the correct answer"` was tautological — it filtered the correct answer out of the options array, then asserted the remaining items were not the correct answer. It was testing that `Array.filter()` works. It could never fail.
+
+## Options considered
+
+### Option A — Filter duplicates after fetching, request extra distractors as buffer ✅
+
+Filter out any distractor that matches the correct answer after fetching. Request 6 distractors instead of 3 to ensure enough remain after deduplication. Take the first 3 valid ones with `slice(0, 3)`.
+
+Chosen because: deduplication at the service layer is the right place — `getDistractors` shouldn't need to know what the correct answer is. Requesting extra provides a buffer against collisions.
+
+### Option B — Fix `getDistractors` to never return the correct answer
+
+Add a NOT filter in the database query.
+
+Not chosen for this ticket — the database query is in `@lila/db` and is a separate concern. The service layer should be defensive regardless of what the model layer returns.
+
+## Solution
+
+- Filter distractors against the correct answer before building options:
+
+  ```ts
+  const uniqueDistractors = distractorTexts.filter((t) => t !== term.targetText);
+  const optionTexts = [term.targetText, ...uniqueDistractors.slice(0, 3)];
+  ```
+
+- Request 6 distractors instead of 3 to account for potential duplicates
+- Replaced tautological test with a test that actually exercises the duplicate case:
+
+  ```ts
+  it("correct answer appears exactly once even if getDistractors returns a duplicate", ...)
+  ```
+
+- Added distractor failure propagation test:
+
+  ```ts
+  it("propagates getDistractors failure", ...)
+  ```
+
+## Files changed
+
+- `apps/api/src/services/gameService.ts` — deduplication logic, distractor count increased to 6
+- `apps/api/src/services/gameService.test.ts` — tautological test replaced, failure test added
+
+## Commit
+
+`fix: deduplicate distractors, replace tautological test, add distractor failure test`