diff --git a/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml b/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
index 021b574..65d5a4c 100644
--- a/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
+++ b/Controls/LeftPanel.xaml
@@ -460,6 +460,12 @@
                                 <TextBlock Text="Sign in to YouTube to use the scoreboard."
                                            Foreground="{StaticResource Brush.OnSurfaceVariant}" FontSize="11" Margin="0,0,0,4"
                                            Visibility="{Binding IsConnected, Converter={StaticResource InverseBoolToVis}}"/>
+                                <!-- DEBUG builds only: prove the strip in the preview before a real
+                                     stream. Absent from Release, not merely hidden by a flag. -->
+                                <CheckBox Style="{StaticResource YtCheckBox}" Margin="0,0,0,4"
+                                          Content="Simulate (dev)" IsChecked="{Binding ScoreboardSimulate, Mode=TwoWay}"
+                                          ToolTip="Push sample events so the strip appears in the preview."
+                                          Visibility="{Binding IsDevelopmentBuild, Converter={StaticResource BoolToVis}}"/>
                                 <CheckBox Style="{StaticResource YtCheckBox}" Margin="0,0,0,4"
                                           Content="Show the scoreboard" IsChecked="{Binding ScoreboardEnabled, Mode=TwoWay}"
                                           ToolTip="Off hides the strip in every scene AND stops the channel polling."/>
diff --git a/Models/ScoreboardSample.cs b/Models/ScoreboardSample.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2f45b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Models/ScoreboardSample.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+namespace ytLive.Models;
+
+/// <summary>Development-only sample data for the scoreboard.
+///
+/// <para>Creator (2026-10-30): the strip must be provable in the PREVIEW before a real stream —
+/// "simulate the ticker so we can see it and ensure it's getting composited". Synthetic events go
+/// through the same <see cref="ScoreboardRecorder"/> a live stream uses, so what the preview shows
+/// is exactly what real events would produce; nothing here fakes the renderer.</para>
+///
+/// <para>Kept in the model (not the view-model) so the sample is testable without a window.</para></summary>
+public static class ScoreboardSample
+{
+    public static void Inject(ScoreboardRecorder recorder)
+    {
+        if (!recorder.IsRunning) recorder.StartSession();
+
+        recorder.Record(new ChatMessage { Kind = ChatEventKind.NewMember, AuthorName = "newviewer" });
+        recorder.Record(new ChatMessage
+        {
+            Kind = ChatEventKind.MemberGift, AuthorName = "giftgiver", GiftNewMembersCount = 3,
+        });
+        recorder.Record(new ChatMessage { Kind = ChatEventKind.MemberMilestone, AuthorName = "longtimer" });
+        recorder.Record(new ChatMessage
+        {
+            Kind = ChatEventKind.SuperChat, AuthorName = "tipper",
+            SuperChatAmount = 12.34, SuperChatCurrency = "USD", SuperChatDisplayString = "$12.34",
+        });
+    }
+}
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs
index 30d0aba..3bedacb 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs
@@ -45,6 +45,33 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
         }
     }
 
+#if DEBUG
+    private const bool DevelopmentBuild = true;
+#else
+    private const bool DevelopmentBuild = false;
+#endif
+
+    /// <summary>True in a DEBUG build. Used only to expose development-only controls, never to
+    /// change behaviour — the shipped binary differs by their absence, not by a code path.</summary>
+    public bool IsDevelopmentBuild => DevelopmentBuild;
+
+    private bool _scoreboardSimulate;
+
+    /// <summary>DEBUG-only: push a representative set of events so the strip is visible in the
+    /// preview before any real stream. Off clears back to an empty session.</summary>
+    public bool ScoreboardSimulate
+    {
+        get => _scoreboardSimulate;
+        set
+        {
+            if (!SetProperty(ref _scoreboardSimulate, value)) return;
+            if (value) ScoreboardSample.Inject(_scoreboard);
+            else _scoreboard.StartSession();          // empty session: "nothing yet"
+            RefreshScoreboardPreviews();
+            OnPropertyChanged(nameof(ScoreboardFrame));
+        }
+    }
+
     /// <summary>What the cadence policy asks: the master switch AND at least one scene showing it.</summary>
     internal bool ScoreboardPollsEnabled =>
         _scoreboardEnabled && Scenes.Any(scene =>
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardSimulationTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardSimulationTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a521a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/ScoreboardSimulationTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+using Xunit;
+using ytLive.Models;
+using ytLive.ViewModels;
+
+namespace ytLive.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>DEBUG-only affordance (creator 2026-10-30): push sample events so the strip is provable
+/// in the PREVIEW before a real stream. The sample must travel the real recorder, so what it paints
+/// is what live events paint — a fake renderer would prove nothing.</summary>
+public class ScoreboardSimulationTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void The_dev_sample_feeds_the_real_recorder_and_the_toggle_is_debug_only()
+    {
+        // The sample goes through the recorder a stream uses, and lands all four tallies.
+        var recorder = new ScoreboardRecorder();
+        ScoreboardSample.Inject(recorder);
+
+        Assert.True(recorder.IsRunning);
+        var state = recorder.State;
+        Assert.Equal(4, state.NewMembers);          // 1 paid + a gift of 3
+        Assert.Equal(3, state.LastGiftCount);
+        Assert.Equal("giftgiver", state.LastGifterName);
+        Assert.Equal(1, state.MilestoneCount);
+        Assert.Equal(12.34, state.SessionTotal.Total, 2);
+        Assert.Equal("$12.34", state.LastSuperChatDisplay);
+
+        // A toggle OFF clears back to an empty session (so the empty state is visible too).
+        recorder.StartSession();
+        Assert.Equal(0, recorder.State.NewMembers);
+
+        // The control exists and is gated on the build, not on a runtime flag.
+        var panel = SourceAssert.Text("Controls", "LeftPanel.xaml");
+        Assert.Contains("ScoreboardSimulate", panel);
+        Assert.Contains("IsDevelopmentBuild", panel);
+
+        var type = typeof(MainViewModel);
+        Assert.NotNull(type.GetProperty("ScoreboardSimulate"));
+        Assert.NotNull(type.GetProperty("IsDevelopmentBuild"));
+        // DEBUG-gated at compile time, so a Release build has no dev control at all.
+        var vmSource = SourceAssert.Text("ViewModels", "MainViewModel.Scoreboard.cs");
+        Assert.Contains("#if DEBUG", vmSource);
+        Assert.Contains("private const bool DevelopmentBuild = true;", vmSource);
+        Assert.Contains("private const bool DevelopmentBuild = false;", vmSource);
+    }
+}