diff --git a/Models/ScoreboardRecorder.cs b/Models/ScoreboardRecorder.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aa24b56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Models/ScoreboardRecorder.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+namespace ytLive.Models;
+
+/// <summary>Owns the session's <see cref="ScoreboardState"/> and the one lifecycle rule that
+/// matters: a new session starts from zero.
+///
+/// <para>Kept separate from the view-model so the rule is testable without a window, and so the
+/// scoreboard layer has exactly one place that decides when counting begins.</para></summary>
+public sealed class ScoreboardRecorder
+{
+    public ScoreboardState State { get; private set; } = new();
+
+    /// <summary>Called when a session starts (go-live, test, or a local recording). Every start
+    /// clears the tallies — "session" is the only scope the numbers promise.</summary>
+    public void StartSession()
+    {
+        State = new ScoreboardState();
+        IsRunning = true;
+        RaiseChanged();
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Folds a chat event in. Outside a session nothing is counted: a stale tally left over
+    /// from the last stream would be the "today" lie this design exists to avoid.</summary>
+    public void Record(ChatMessage message)
+    {
+        if (!IsRunning) return;
+        var before = Fingerprint(State);
+        State.Apply(message);
+        if (Fingerprint(State) != before) RaiseChanged();
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>True while the tallies are live.</summary>
+    public bool IsRunning { get; private set; }
+
+    /// <summary>Marks the session finished. The tallies stay visible (the End screen may show
+    /// them) but stop moving.</summary>
+    public void EndSession()
+    {
+        IsRunning = false;
+        RaiseChanged();
+    }
+
+    public event System.Action? Changed;
+
+    private void RaiseChanged() => Changed?.Invoke();
+
+    /// <summary>Cheap change detector: only re-render the strip when a displayed value moved.</summary>
+    private static string Fingerprint(ScoreboardState state) =>
+        $"{state.NewMembers}|{state.MilestoneCount}|{state.LastMemberName}|{state.LastGifterName}|" +
+        $"{state.LastGiftCount}|{state.LastSuperChatAuthor}|{state.LastSuperChatDisplay}|" +
+        $"{state.SessionTotal.Currency}|{state.SessionTotal.Total:0.######}";
+}
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRecorderTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRecorderTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ccc16d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardRecorderTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+using Xunit;
+using ytLive.Models;
+
+namespace ytLive.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>The session is the only scope the scoreboard promises, so the rules are: a start clears
+/// everything, events outside a session are ignored, and an ended session keeps its numbers but
+/// stops moving.</summary>
+public class ScoreboardRecorderTests
+{
+    private static ChatMessage Member(string name) => new() { Kind = ChatEventKind.NewMember, AuthorName = name };
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void Starting_a_session_clears_the_tallies_and_only_a_live_session_counts()
+    {
+        var recorder = new ScoreboardRecorder();
+        var changes = 0;
+        recorder.Changed += () => changes++;
+
+        // Outside a session: nothing is counted (no stale carry-over from the last stream).
+        recorder.Record(Member("Ignored"));
+        Assert.Equal(0, recorder.State.NewMembers);
+
+        recorder.StartSession();
+        Assert.True(recorder.IsRunning);
+        recorder.Record(Member("First"));
+        recorder.Record(Member("Second"));
+        Assert.Equal(2, recorder.State.NewMembers);
+        Assert.True(changes >= 2, "each visible change must raise Changed so the strip re-renders");
+
+        // End freezes: numbers stay, movement stops.
+        recorder.EndSession();
+        Assert.False(recorder.IsRunning);
+        recorder.Record(Member("AfterEnd"));
+        Assert.Equal(2, recorder.State.NewMembers);
+
+        // The next session starts from zero.
+        recorder.StartSession();
+        Assert.Equal(0, recorder.State.NewMembers);
+        Assert.Null(recorder.State.LastMemberName);
+    }
+}