diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2c4149a2..8b157d01 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ npm run build        # writes dist/ and regenerates index.html; the folder is wh
 The browser suite and the three example games need a machine with a GPU:
 
 ```bash
-node tools/seed-e2e.mjs && node tools/e2e.mjs      # the editor, 1304 checks (GM_STEPS=20 for one step)
+node tools/seed-e2e.mjs && node tools/e2e.mjs      # the editor, 1307 checks (GM_STEPS=20 for one step)
                                                    #   every tool signs in first – see the Accounts page
 node tools/seed-jumprun.mjs && node tools/smoke-jumprun.mjs
 node tools/seed-tetris.mjs && node tools/smoke-tetris.mjs
diff --git a/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts b/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts
index 692e5926..d0c75fc2 100644
--- a/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts
+++ b/src/core/commands/assetCommands.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,14 @@ import { isSoundFile } from '../model/sound';
 import { removeSubtrees } from '../model/hierarchy';
 import type { PropertyBag, PropertyValue } from '../model/Properties';
 import { findAssetOf, objectHolders, type Project } from '../model/Project';
-import { type Scope, scopeOf, setScope } from '../model/Scope';
+import {
+  type Scope,
+  scopeOf,
+  setScope,
+  setSharedScope,
+  type SharedScope,
+  sharedScopeOf,
+} from '../model/Scope';
 import type { SceneObject } from '../model/SceneObject';
 import { isTextureFile } from '../model/texture';
 import { coerceValue, defaultsFor } from '../properties/PropertySchema';
@@ -254,7 +261,16 @@ export class RenameAssetCommand implements Command {
   }
 }
 
-/** A `global` machine keeps one current state for the whole run instead of one per behavior instance. */
+const SCOPE_LABELS: Record<Scope, string> = {
+  local: 'local',
+  global: 'global',
+  scene: 'per scene',
+};
+
+/**
+ * A `global` machine keeps one current state for the whole run instead of one per behavior
+ * instance; a `scene` machine shares one too, but starts over with every scene (#164).
+ */
 export class SetMachineScopeCommand implements Command {
   readonly label: string;
   private previous: Scope = 'local';
@@ -263,7 +279,7 @@ export class SetMachineScopeCommand implements Command {
     private readonly assetId: string,
     private readonly scope: Scope,
   ) {
-    this.label = `Make state machine ${scope}`;
+    this.label = `Make state machine ${SCOPE_LABELS[scope]}`;
   }
 
   execute(project: Project): void {
@@ -311,6 +327,44 @@ function setPersistent(asset: VariablesAsset, on: boolean): void {
   else delete asset.persistent;
 }
 
+/**
+ * How long one set of shared values lives: `global` for the whole run, `scene` built again from the
+ * declarations with every scene that is loaded (#164). Going to `scene` takes the persistent switch
+ * off, because the two say opposite things about the same values and the scope is what was just asked for.
+ */
+export class SetVariablesScopeCommand implements Command {
+  readonly label: string;
+  private previous: SharedScope = 'global';
+  private wasPersistent = false;
+
+  constructor(
+    private readonly assetId: string,
+    private readonly scope: SharedScope,
+  ) {
+    this.label = scope === 'scene' ? 'Make variables per scene' : 'Make variables global';
+  }
+
+  execute(project: Project): void {
+    const asset = this.target(project);
+    this.previous = sharedScopeOf(asset);
+    this.wasPersistent = asset.persistent === true;
+    setSharedScope(asset, this.scope);
+    if (this.scope === 'scene') setPersistent(asset, false);
+  }
+
+  undo(project: Project): void {
+    const asset = this.target(project);
+    setSharedScope(asset, this.previous);
+    setPersistent(asset, this.wasPersistent);
+  }
+
+  private target(project: Project): VariablesAsset {
+    const asset = findAssetOf(project, this.assetId, 'variables');
+    if (!asset) throw new CommandError(`Variables ${this.assetId} not found`);
+    return asset;
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Which state a machine starts in, as a state node's id – `''` takes the mark off again, and the
  * machine is back to starting in no state. Only one state can be the start because there is only
diff --git a/src/core/graph/savedValues.ts b/src/core/graph/savedValues.ts
index 290b5b4d..7032a9d4 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/savedValues.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/savedValues.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import type { VariablesAsset } from '../model/Asset';
 import type { PropertyBag, PropertyValue } from '../model/Properties';
 import type { Project } from '../model/Project';
+import { sharedScopeOf } from '../model/Scope';
 import { coerceValue } from '../properties/PropertySchema';
 
 /** What a save area holds: the values of each persistent Variables asset, keyed by asset id. */
@@ -15,8 +16,13 @@ export interface SaveArea {
   write(saved: SavedValues): void;
 }
 
+/**
+ * A `scene` asset is never persistent, whatever the flag says (#164): its values are thrown away
+ * with every scene, so there is nothing about them worth keeping between runs. Answered here rather
+ * than left to the commands, so no path can produce a saved value the scope would drop anyway.
+ */
 export function isPersistent(asset: VariablesAsset): boolean {
-  return asset.persistent === true;
+  return asset.persistent === true && sharedScopeOf(asset) !== 'scene';
 }
 
 function persistentAssets(project: Project): VariablesAsset[] {
diff --git a/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts b/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts
index cbff5db5..8d56b674 100644
--- a/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts
+++ b/src/core/graph/sharedState.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { PropertyBag } from '../model/Properties';
 import type { Project } from '../model/Project';
-import { isGlobal } from '../model/Scope';
+import { isPerScene, isShared, sharedScopeOf } from '../model/Scope';
 import type { NodeContext, SharedState } from './NodeContext';
 import { startStateOf } from './stateMachine';
 
@@ -27,11 +27,40 @@ export function declaredVariables(project: Project): Record<string, PropertyBag>
 export function buildSharedState(project: Project): SharedState {
   const shared: SharedState = { variables: declaredVariables(project), states: {} };
   for (const asset of project.assets)
-    if (asset.type === 'statemachine' && isGlobal(asset))
+    if (asset.type === 'statemachine' && isShared(asset))
       shared.states[asset.id] = startStateOf(asset.graph, asset.start);
   return shared;
 }
 
+/**
+ * The state the next scene of the same run starts from: what is `global` travels as it stands,
+ * what is `scene` is built again from the declarations. Fresh bags rather than the carried ones,
+ * so the world before it cannot still be writing into what this one reads.
+ */
+export function carriedForward(project: Project, carried: Readonly<SharedState>): SharedState {
+  const fresh = buildSharedState(project);
+  const restarted = restartedAssets(project);
+  const next: SharedState = { variables: {}, states: {} };
+  for (const [id, bag] of Object.entries(fresh.variables))
+    next.variables[id] = restarted.has(id) ? bag : (carried.variables[id] ?? bag);
+  for (const [id, state] of Object.entries(fresh.states))
+    next.states[id] = restarted.has(id) ? state : (carried.states[id] ?? state);
+  return next;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The assets a scene swap starts over rather than hands on, by id: the `scene` Variables assets and
+ * the `scene` machines. Also what tells the new world which machines to announce an entry for.
+ */
+export function restartedAssets(project: Project): Set<string> {
+  const ids = new Set<string>();
+  for (const asset of project.assets) {
+    if (asset.type === 'variables' && sharedScopeOf(asset) === 'scene') ids.add(asset.id);
+    if (asset.type === 'statemachine' && isPerScene(asset)) ids.add(asset.id);
+  }
+  return ids;
+}
+
 /**
  * The start state of every machine that has a usable one, keyed by asset id. A machine without one
  * is absent, which is what keeps "no start" and "starts in a deleted state" the same thing.
@@ -80,7 +109,7 @@ export function variableBag(ctx: NodeContext, source: string): PropertyBag {
   return ctx.shared.variables[source] ?? {};
 }
 
-/** Where a machine's current state is kept: shared when the machine is `global`, else per instance. */
+/** Where a machine's current state is kept: shared unless the machine is `local`, else per instance. */
 export function stateBag(ctx: NodeContext, machineId: string): Record<string, string> {
   return machineId in ctx.shared.states ? ctx.shared.states : ctx.states;
 }
diff --git a/src/core/model/Asset.ts b/src/core/model/Asset.ts
index 2b12070a..5db54237 100644
--- a/src/core/model/Asset.ts
+++ b/src/core/model/Asset.ts
@@ -43,11 +43,16 @@ export interface BehaviorAsset extends AssetBase {
  *
  * A `persistent` asset keeps its values past the end of the run (#166): the next run starts from
  * what the last one left, not from `props`. Absent is not persistent.
+ *
+ * `scope` says how long one set of values lives: absent is `global`, the whole run, and `scene`
+ * builds them again from the declarations with every scene that is loaded (#164). A `scene` asset
+ * is never persistent – what a scene swap throws away has nothing to keep between runs.
  */
 export interface VariablesAsset extends AssetBase {
   type: 'variables';
   variables: PropertyDef[];
   persistent?: boolean;
+  scope?: Scope;
 }
 
 /** Placed as a child of the object it belongs to; its position is the offset from that body. */
@@ -159,7 +164,8 @@ export interface AnimationAsset extends AssetBase {
 /**
  * The graph holds one `State` node per state and an edge per transition; a behavior reads the
  * machine's current state through `State branch` and moves it through `Set state` or `State transition`.
- * A `global` machine has one current state for the whole run instead of one per behavior instance.
+ * A `global` machine has one current state for the whole run instead of one per behavior instance;
+ * a `scene` machine shares one too, but starts over with every scene that is loaded (#164).
  *
  * `start` is the id of the state every instance begins in, empty when the machine has no start –
  * then it is in no state until `Set state` runs. It lives on the asset rather than on the node
diff --git a/src/core/model/Scope.ts b/src/core/model/Scope.ts
index 0c7cc35c..3d6a3435 100644
--- a/src/core/model/Scope.ts
+++ b/src/core/model/Scope.ts
@@ -1,29 +1,60 @@
 /**
- * Whether a state machine keeps its current state per behavior instance or shares one for the whole
- * run. Everything was `local` before scopes existed, so a missing field means `local` and old
- * projects load unchanged. Variables are shared by living on a Variables asset instead (#91).
+ * How long a shared value lives. `local` is one per behavior instance, `global` one for the whole
+ * run, `scene` one per scene: rebuilt from the declarations whenever a scene is loaded, so what a
+ * level counts is gone with the level while a score is not (#164).
+ *
+ * Everything was `local` before scopes existed, so a missing field means `local` and old projects
+ * load unchanged. Variables are shared by living on a Variables asset instead (#91) – that asset is
+ * shared by its nature, so a missing field means `global` there (see `sharedScopeOf`).
  */
-export type Scope = 'local' | 'global';
+export type Scope = 'local' | 'global' | 'scene';
+
+/** The scopes of something that is shared either way: a Variables asset has no `local`. */
+export type SharedScope = 'global' | 'scene';
 
 export interface Scoped {
   scope?: Scope;
 }
 
 export function scopeOf(owner: Scoped): Scope {
-  return owner.scope === 'global' ? 'global' : 'local';
+  if (owner.scope === 'global') return 'global';
+  return owner.scope === 'scene' ? 'scene' : 'local';
 }
 
-export function isGlobal(owner: Scoped): boolean {
-  return owner.scope === 'global';
+/** Whether the value is shared at all: both `global` and `scene` are one value for many instances. */
+export function isShared(owner: Scoped): boolean {
+  return owner.scope === 'global' || owner.scope === 'scene';
 }
 
-/** Reads a scope out of loaded data, where anything but the one known word means `local`. */
+/** Whether a scene swap rebuilds the value instead of handing it over. */
+export function isPerScene(owner: Scoped): boolean {
+  return owner.scope === 'scene';
+}
+
+/** Reads a scope out of loaded data, where anything but the two known words means `local`. */
 export function readScope(raw: unknown): Scope {
-  return raw === 'global' ? 'global' : 'local';
+  if (raw === 'global') return 'global';
+  return raw === 'scene' ? 'scene' : 'local';
 }
 
-/** Keeps `local` out of the document: the field is present only when it says `global`. */
+/** Keeps `local` out of the document: the field is present only when it says more than that. */
 export function setScope(owner: Scoped, scope: Scope): void {
-  if (scope === 'global') owner.scope = 'global';
+  if (scope === 'local') delete owner.scope;
+  else owner.scope = scope;
+}
+
+/** The scope of something shared by nature, where a missing field is `global` rather than `local`. */
+export function sharedScopeOf(owner: Scoped): SharedScope {
+  return owner.scope === 'scene' ? 'scene' : 'global';
+}
+
+/** Reads the scope of something shared by nature out of loaded data. */
+export function readSharedScope(raw: unknown): SharedScope {
+  return raw === 'scene' ? 'scene' : 'global';
+}
+
+/** Keeps the default out of the document the other way round: only `scene` is written. */
+export function setSharedScope(owner: Scoped, scope: SharedScope): void {
+  if (scope === 'scene') owner.scope = 'scene';
   else delete owner.scope;
 }
diff --git a/src/core/store/serialize.ts b/src/core/store/serialize.ts
index 59ab795b..0f7fc2ce 100644
--- a/src/core/store/serialize.ts
+++ b/src/core/store/serialize.ts
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ import {
   type Vec2,
 } from '../model/Properties';
 import { PROJECT_FORMAT_VERSION, type Project } from '../model/Project';
-import { readScope } from '../model/Scope';
+import { readScope, readSharedScope } from '../model/Scope';
 import type { SceneObject } from '../model/SceneObject';
 import {
   DEFAULT_FILL,
@@ -171,7 +171,9 @@ export function deserializeProject(raw: unknown, fallbackId = ''): Project {
       });
     } else if (type === 'variables') {
       const shared: VariablesAsset = { id, type, name, props, variables: variables.get(id) ?? [] };
-      if (a.persistent === true) shared.persistent = true;
+      // Scope first: a `scene` asset is never persistent, so the switch that cannot apply is dropped.
+      if (readSharedScope(a.scope) === 'scene') shared.scope = 'scene';
+      else if (a.persistent === true) shared.persistent = true;
       assets.push(shared);
     } else if (type === 'statemachine') {
       const machine: StateMachineAsset = {
@@ -181,7 +183,8 @@ export function deserializeProject(raw: unknown, fallbackId = ''): Project {
         props,
         graph: normalizeGraph(a.graph, (def) => def.type === STATE),
       };
-      if (readScope(a.scope) === 'global') machine.scope = 'global';
+      const scope = readScope(a.scope);
+      if (scope !== 'local') machine.scope = scope;
       // Kept as written even where it names no state any more: the same as a deleted start.
       if (typeof a.start === 'string' && a.start !== '') machine.start = a.start;
       assets.push(machine);
diff --git a/src/editor/inspector/assetSection.ts b/src/editor/inspector/assetSection.ts
index 6da24daf..05d3d8e0 100644
--- a/src/editor/inspector/assetSection.ts
+++ b/src/editor/inspector/assetSection.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   SetAssetPropertyCommand,
   SetMachineScopeCommand,
   SetVariablesPersistentCommand,
+  SetVariablesScopeCommand,
 } from '../../core/commands/assetCommands';
 import { isPersistent } from '../../core/graph/savedValues';
 import { nextFieldName, nextVariableName } from '../../core/commands/naming';
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@ import type { Command } from '../../core/commands/Command';
 import type { Asset, BehaviorAsset, StateMachineAsset, VariablesAsset } from '../../core/model/Asset';
 import { findAsset, type Project } from '../../core/model/Project';
 import type { PropertyBag, PropertyValue } from '../../core/model/Properties';
-import { isGlobal, readScope, scopeOf } from '../../core/model/Scope';
+import { readScope, readSharedScope, type Scope, scopeOf, sharedScopeOf } from '../../core/model/Scope';
 import { type StructFieldKind, VARIABLE_KINDS } from '../../core/properties/kinds';
 import {
   isRowShown,
@@ -52,8 +53,9 @@ export function assetSignature(project: Project, assetId: string): string {
   if (!asset) return 'missing';
   // A machine's own rows are none, so its scope has to be named here or switching it rebuilds nothing.
   const machine = asset.type === 'statemachine' ? `|${scopeOf(asset)}` : '';
-  // The same for the switch that keeps shared values between runs: its notes and button depend on it.
-  const kept = asset.type === 'variables' ? `|${isPersistent(asset)}` : '';
+  // The same for the switch that keeps shared values between runs and for the scope beside it: the
+  // notes, the button and whether the switch is shown at all depend on the two.
+  const kept = asset.type === 'variables' ? `|${isPersistent(asset)}|${sharedScopeOf(asset)}` : '';
   // Vector art shows its shapes under its rows (#129), so a shape added or renamed is a new structure.
   const shapes = asset.type === 'vectorart' ? `|${shapeListSignature(asset)}` : '';
   const values = resolveAssetProps(project, asset);
@@ -81,7 +83,10 @@ export function buildAssetSection(host: InspectorHost, assetId: string): void {
 
   buildProps(host, asset, markedAssetSchema(host.state.project, asset));
   if (asset.type === 'behavior' || asset.type === 'variables') buildVariables(host, asset);
-  if (asset.type === 'variables') buildPersistence(host, asset);
+  if (asset.type === 'variables') {
+    buildVariablesScope(host, asset);
+    buildPersistence(host, asset);
+  }
   if (asset.type === 'statemachine') buildMachineScope(host, asset);
   // The drawing itself: its shapes are picked here as a texture's frames are picked in its tab (#129).
   if (asset.type === 'vectorart') buildShapeListSection(host, asset);
@@ -214,6 +219,12 @@ const PERSISTENT: PropertyDef = { key: 'persistent', label: 'Persistent', kind:
 function buildPersistence(host: InspectorHost, asset: VariablesAsset): void {
   const set = (value: PropertyValue): void =>
     void host.state.execute(new SetVariablesPersistentCommand(asset.id, value === true));
+  // Nothing to keep between runs when every scene throws the values away – the switch is not shown.
+  if (sharedScopeOf(asset) === 'scene') {
+    addNote(host, 'One value each, built again for', 'small');
+    addNote(host, 'every scene that is loaded.', 'small');
+    return;
+  }
   const row = createFieldRow(host, PERSISTENT, isPersistent(asset), { onInput: set, onChange: set });
   host.body.add(row.row);
   // Two lines rather than one: the panel is narrow enough to cut a longer note off mid-sentence.
@@ -247,20 +258,44 @@ const MACHINE_SCOPE: PropertyDef = {
   options: [
     { value: 'local', label: 'Local' },
     { value: 'global', label: 'Global' },
+    { value: 'scene', label: 'Scene' },
   ],
 };
 
+const MACHINE_SCOPE_NOTES: Record<Scope, string[]> = {
+  local: ['Each behavior instance keeps its own current state.'],
+  global: ['Every behavior using this machine shares its', 'current state, for the whole run.'],
+  scene: ['Shared like global, but it starts over', 'whenever a scene is loaded.'],
+};
+
 /** A state machine has no properties of its own, so the inspector shows just its name and this. */
 function buildMachineScope(host: InspectorHost, asset: StateMachineAsset): void {
   const set = (value: PropertyValue): void =>
     void host.state.execute(new SetMachineScopeCommand(asset.id, readScope(value)));
   const row = createFieldRow(host, MACHINE_SCOPE, scopeOf(asset), { onInput: set, onChange: set });
   host.body.add(row.row);
-  addNote(
-    host,
-    isGlobal(asset)
-      ? 'Every behavior using this machine shares its current state.'
-      : 'Each behavior instance keeps its own current state.',
-    'small',
-  );
+  // Short lines rather than one: the panel is narrow enough to cut a longer note off mid-sentence.
+  for (const line of MACHINE_SCOPE_NOTES[scopeOf(asset)]) addNote(host, line, 'small');
+}
+
+/** The same switch for a Variables asset, which has no `local`: the asset is the shared thing. */
+const VARIABLES_SCOPE: PropertyDef = {
+  key: 'scope',
+  label: 'Scope',
+  kind: 'enum',
+  default: 'global',
+  options: [
+    { value: 'global', label: 'Global' },
+    { value: 'scene', label: 'Scene' },
+  ],
+};
+
+function buildVariablesScope(host: InspectorHost, asset: VariablesAsset): void {
+  const set = (value: PropertyValue): void =>
+    void host.state.execute(new SetVariablesScopeCommand(asset.id, readSharedScope(value)));
+  const row = createFieldRow(host, VARIABLES_SCOPE, sharedScopeOf(asset), {
+    onInput: set,
+    onChange: set,
+  });
+  host.body.add(row.row);
 }
diff --git a/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts b/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts
index 5dbb8dc6..8685cf7d 100644
--- a/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts
+++ b/src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import {
   adoptDeclarations,
   asNumber,
   buildSharedState,
+  carriedForward,
   declaredVariables,
   emptySharedState,
   type EntityHandle,
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@ import {
   isHandleEnabled,
   type NodeContext,
   type PhysicsControl,
+  restartedAssets,
   restoreSaved,
   type SaveArea,
   savedSnapshot,
@@ -171,6 +173,8 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
   private sharedState: SharedState = emptySharedState();
   /** Handed over by the previous world of the same run; consumed by the next `start`. */
   private carried: SharedState | null = null;
+  /** Which of the carried machines this scene starts over, so their entry is announced again. */
+  private restarted: ReadonlySet<string> = new Set();
   /** Moves whose events are still owed; drained by `flushStateChanges` between exec flows. */
   private pending: StateChange[] = [];
   /** The declarations as last read; an edit is what differs from these (see `syncDeclarations`). */
@@ -224,9 +228,10 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
    * the world is started.
    */
   carryOver(state: Readonly<SharedState>): void {
-    // The bags themselves travel as they are – a running value is the point – while the map around
-    // them is copied, so the old system cannot still be writing into what the new one reads.
-    this.carried = { variables: { ...state.variables }, states: { ...state.states } };
+    // The bags of what is `global` travel as they are – a running value is the point – while what is
+    // `scene` is built again from the declarations, so a level counts from zero (#164).
+    this.carried = carriedForward(this.project, state);
+    this.restarted = restartedAssets(this.project);
   }
 
   start(world: World): void {
@@ -245,9 +250,11 @@ export class BehaviorSystem implements System {
     // the move is queued here and every instance the first sync creates hears that one entry.
     // Not after a scene swap: the machine is already standing where it stands, and announcing the
     // entry again would be a move that never happened.
-    if (!carried)
-      for (const [machineId, start] of Object.entries(this.sharedState.states))
-        if (start) this.pending.push({ machineId, from: '', to: start, source: null });
+    // A `scene` machine is the exception after a swap: it really was entered again, just now.
+    for (const [machineId, start] of Object.entries(this.sharedState.states))
+      if (start && (!carried || this.restarted.has(machineId)))
+        this.pending.push({ machineId, from: '', to: start, source: null });
+    this.restarted = new Set();
     this.syncInstances(world);
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/core/scene-scope.test.ts b/tests/core/scene-scope.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..46a9e77a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/core/scene-scope.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+/**
+ * The third scope (#164). `global` belongs to the run and survives `Load scene`; `scene` belongs to
+ * the scene and is built again from the declarations with every swap. What a level counts is gone
+ * with the level, while the score beside it is not.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  CreateAssetCommand,
+  SetAssetPropertyCommand,
+  SetMachineScopeCommand,
+  SetVariablesPersistentCommand,
+  SetVariablesScopeCommand,
+} from '../../src/core/commands/assetCommands';
+import { AddNodeCommand } from '../../src/core/commands/graphCommands';
+import { PlaceAssetCommand } from '../../src/core/commands/sceneObjectCommands';
+import { isPersistent, STATE, STATE_NAME_PARAM } from '../../src/core/graph';
+import type { StateMachineAsset, VariablesAsset } from '../../src/core/model/Asset';
+import { addGameSystems } from '../../src/runtime/systems/BehaviorSystem';
+import { Input } from '../../src/runtime/systems/Input';
+import { World } from '../../src/runtime/World';
+import {
+  graphEditor,
+  makeBehavior,
+  makeSpriteScene,
+  makeVariables,
+  roundTrip,
+  type SceneFixture,
+} from '../helpers';
+
+/** The sprite scene plus a second scene to swap to. */
+function twoScenes(): SceneFixture & { otherId: string } {
+  const f = makeSpriteScene('Box');
+  const second = new CreateAssetCommand('scene', 'Level 2');
+  f.stack.execute(second);
+  return { ...f, otherId: second.asset.id };
+}
+
+/** A machine with one state, `start` set to it, in the given scope. */
+function makeMachine(f: SceneFixture, name: string, scope: 'local' | 'global' | 'scene') {
+  const created = new CreateAssetCommand('statemachine', name);
+  f.stack.execute(created);
+  const state = new AddNodeCommand(created.asset.id, STATE, 0, 0, { [STATE_NAME_PARAM]: 'Idle' });
+  f.stack.execute(state);
+  (created.asset as StateMachineAsset).start = state.node.id;
+  if (scope !== 'local') f.stack.execute(new SetMachineScopeCommand(created.asset.id, scope));
+  return { id: created.asset.id, stateId: state.node.id };
+}
+
+/** Runs the first scene, moves the shared values on, then swaps to the second scene of the same run. */
+function swap(
+  f: SceneFixture & { otherId: string },
+  move: (system: ReturnType<typeof addGameSystems>) => void,
+) {
+  const input = new Input();
+  const first = World.instantiate(f.project, f.sceneId);
+  const before = addGameSystems(first, f.project, input);
+  move(before);
+  const second = World.instantiate(f.project, f.otherId);
+  return addGameSystems(second, f.project, input, { carried: before.shared });
+}
+
+/**
+ * A behavior placed in the second scene that writes `run`/`level` when the machine of that name
+ * enters its state. What it wrote is the only evidence an entry was announced at all.
+ */
+function watching(
+  f: SceneFixture & { otherId: string },
+  forRun: { id: string; stateId: string },
+  forLevel: { id: string; stateId: string },
+) {
+  const behavior = makeBehavior(f, 'Watcher', ['run', 'level']);
+  const editor = graphEditor(f, behavior);
+  for (const [machine, key] of [
+    [forRun, 'run'],
+    [forLevel, 'level'],
+  ] as const) {
+    const entered = editor.addNode('OnStateEntered', { machine: machine.id });
+    const one = editor.addNode('Add', { a: 1, b: 0 });
+    const write = editor.variables([key], { write: true });
+    editor.wire([
+      [entered, machine.stateId, write, 'exec'],
+      [one, 'result', write, key],
+    ]);
+  }
+  f.stack.execute(new PlaceAssetCommand(f.otherId, behavior.id, { x: 0, y: 0 }));
+  return behavior;
+}
+
+describe('a Variables asset scoped to the scene', () => {
+  it('starts over on a scene swap while a global one carries on', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const run = makeVariables(f, 'Run', ['score']);
+    const level = makeVariables(f, 'Level', ['enemies']);
+    f.stack.execute(new SetVariablesScopeCommand(level.id, 'scene'));
+    f.stack.execute(new SetAssetPropertyCommand(level.id, 'enemies', 5));
+
+    const after = swap(f, (before) => {
+      before.liveVariables(run.id)!.score = 7;
+      before.liveVariables(level.id)!.enemies = 1;
+    });
+    expect(after.liveVariables(run.id)?.score).toBe(7);
+    expect(after.liveVariables(level.id)?.enemies).toBe(5);
+  });
+
+  it('is built from the declarations at the start of a run, like every other one', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const level = makeVariables(f, 'Level', ['enemies']);
+    f.stack.execute(new SetVariablesScopeCommand(level.id, 'scene'));
+    f.stack.execute(new SetAssetPropertyCommand(level.id, 'enemies', 3));
+
+    const world = World.instantiate(f.project, f.sceneId);
+    const system = addGameSystems(world, f.project, new Input());
+    expect(system.liveVariables(level.id)?.enemies).toBe(3);
+  });
+
+  it('is never persistent, and switching to it takes the switch off', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const level = makeVariables(f, 'Level', ['enemies']);
+    f.stack.execute(new SetVariablesPersistentCommand(level.id, true));
+    expect(isPersistent(level)).toBe(true);
+
+    f.stack.execute(new SetVariablesScopeCommand(level.id, 'scene'));
+    expect(level.persistent).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(isPersistent(level)).toBe(false);
+
+    f.stack.undo();
+    expect(level.scope).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(isPersistent(level)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  /** A flag left over from an older file must not outvote the scope it contradicts. */
+  it('reads as not persistent even when the document says both', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const level = makeVariables(f, 'Level', ['enemies']);
+    level.persistent = true;
+    level.scope = 'scene';
+    expect(isPersistent(level)).toBe(false);
+    expect(
+      (roundTrip(f.project).assets.find((a) => a.id === level.id) as VariablesAsset).persistent,
+    ).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  it('survives a round trip, and an unknown word reads as global', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const level = makeVariables(f, 'Level', ['enemies']);
+    f.stack.execute(new SetVariablesScopeCommand(level.id, 'scene'));
+    const loaded = () => roundTrip(f.project).assets.find((a) => a.id === level.id) as VariablesAsset;
+    expect(loaded().scope).toBe('scene');
+
+    level.scope = 'nonsense' as never;
+    expect(loaded().scope).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('a state machine scoped to the scene', () => {
+  it('starts over on a scene swap while a global one keeps its state', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const forRun = makeMachine(f, 'Run', 'global');
+    const forLevel = makeMachine(f, 'Level', 'scene');
+
+    const after = swap(f, (before) => {
+      before.shared.states[forRun.id] = 'moved';
+      before.shared.states[forLevel.id] = 'moved';
+    });
+    expect(after.shared.states[forRun.id]).toBe('moved');
+    expect(after.shared.states[forLevel.id]).toBe(forLevel.stateId);
+  });
+
+  it('is shared between instances, the way a global one is', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f, 'Level', 'scene');
+    const world = World.instantiate(f.project, f.sceneId);
+    const system = addGameSystems(world, f.project, new Input());
+    expect(system.shared.states[machine.id]).toBe(machine.stateId);
+  });
+
+  it('survives a round trip', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const machine = makeMachine(f, 'Level', 'scene');
+    const loaded = roundTrip(f.project).assets.find((a) => a.id === machine.id) as StateMachineAsset;
+    expect(loaded.scope).toBe('scene');
+  });
+
+  /**
+   * The entry of a shared machine is announced once, before any instance exists. After a swap a
+   * `global` machine stands where it stood, so announcing it again would be a move that never
+   * happened – a `scene` machine really was entered again, and has to say so.
+   */
+  it('announces its entry again in the next scene, where a global one stays quiet', () => {
+    const f = twoScenes();
+    const forRun = makeMachine(f, 'Run', 'global');
+    const forLevel = makeMachine(f, 'Level', 'scene');
+    const watcher = watching(f, forRun, forLevel);
+
+    const input = new Input();
+    const first = World.instantiate(f.project, f.sceneId);
+    const before = addGameSystems(first, f.project, input);
+    first.tick(1 / 60);
+
+    const second = World.instantiate(f.project, f.otherId);
+    addGameSystems(second, f.project, input, { carried: before.shared });
+    second.tick(1 / 60);
+
+    const heard = second.entities.find((e) => e.assetId === watcher.id)!;
+    expect(heard.props.level).toBe(1);
+    expect(heard.props.run).toBe(0);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/tools/e2e/32-scope.mjs b/tools/e2e/32-scope.mjs
index e8853924..60aea761 100644
--- a/tools/e2e/32-scope.mjs
+++ b/tools/e2e/32-scope.mjs
@@ -244,6 +244,41 @@ export async function scope(t) {
     JSON.stringify({ play: menuCleared }),
   );
 
+  // 32h. The third scope (#164): the switch beside Persistent, what it offers, and that the two
+  //      cannot both be on – `scene` throws the values away with every scene, so there is nothing
+  //      left to keep between runs and the Persistent switch is not even shown.
+  await selectAsset('sc-vars');
+  await sleep(200);
+  const scopeRow = await json(`__gm.inspectorField('Scope')`);
+  await click(scopeRow.x, scopeRow.y);
+  const scopes = await json('__gm.menuRows()');
+  await clickLast('Scene');
+  await sleep(200);
+  const scoped = await asset('sc-vars');
+  const sceneNote = await has('every scene that is loaded.');
+  check(
+    'a Variables asset offers Global and Scene, and taking Scene says what it means',
+    JSON.stringify(scopes) === JSON.stringify(['Global', 'Scene']) && scoped.scope === 'scene' && sceneNote,
+    JSON.stringify({ scopes, scope: scoped.scope, note: sceneNote }),
+  );
+  check(
+    'a scene-scoped asset is not persistent any more, and cannot be switched to it',
+    scoped.persistent === undefined && (await json(`__gm.inspectorField('Persistent')`)) === null,
+    JSON.stringify({ persistent: scoped.persistent, row: await json(`__gm.inspectorField('Persistent')`) }),
+  );
+  await shot('05-scene-scope');
+
+  const backRow = await json(`__gm.inspectorField('Scope')`);
+  await click(backRow.x, backRow.y);
+  await clickLast('Global');
+  await sleep(200);
+  const back = await asset('sc-vars');
+  check(
+    'switching back to Global takes the scope out of the document and brings the switch back',
+    back.scope === undefined && Boolean(await json(`__gm.inspectorField('Persistent')`)),
+    JSON.stringify({ scope: back.scope, persistent: back.persistent }),
+  );
+
   // 32g. Everything this step added goes again.
   await mutate(`
     const p = __gm.state.project;
diff --git a/tools/e2e/35-load-scene.mjs b/tools/e2e/35-load-scene.mjs
index d9e9df67..afbc82f9 100644
--- a/tools/e2e/35-load-scene.mjs
+++ b/tools/e2e/35-load-scene.mjs
@@ -10,17 +10,27 @@ import { MAKE_OBJECT } from './lib/scaffold.mjs';
  * *run* carries on. A Variables asset is the witness, because a fresh run would put it back to
  * what it declares. The sounds of the old scene end with it – not by a rule of their own, but
  * because the behaviors playing them are destroyed like everything else in that scene.
+ *
+ * A second Variables asset scoped to the scene is the other half of that witness (#164): the two
+ * count the same way in the same graph, and only one of them is still counting after the swap.
  */
 
 const SOURCE = { variablesAsset: 'ls-vars' };
+const PER_SCENE = { variablesAsset: 'ls-level' };
 
-/** `On start → Variables{set score = score + 1}`, plus `On key down g → Load scene`. */
+/**
+ * `On start → Variables{set score = score + 1} → the same for the per-scene count`, plus
+ * `On key down g → Load scene`.
+ */
 const graphFor = (sceneId, soundId) => ({
   nodes: [
     node('ls-start', 'OnStart', 0, 0),
     node('ls-read', 'Variables', 0, 200, SOURCE, [port('score', 'number')]),
     node('ls-add', 'Add', 260, 200, { b: 1 }),
     node('ls-write', 'Variables', 560, 0, SOURCE, [written('score', 'number')]),
+    node('ls-read2', 'Variables', 0, 640, PER_SCENE, [port('count', 'number')]),
+    node('ls-add2', 'Add', 260, 640, { b: 1 }),
+    node('ls-write2', 'Variables', 560, 640, PER_SCENE, [written('count', 'number')]),
     node('ls-play', 'PlaySound', 820, 0, { sound: soundId, volume: 1, loop: 'true' }),
     node('ls-key', 'OnKeyDown', 0, 420, { key: 'g' }),
     node('ls-load', 'LoadScene', 260, 420, { scene: sceneId }),
@@ -29,7 +39,10 @@ const graphFor = (sceneId, soundId) => ({
     edge('ls-e1', 'ls-start', 'exec', 'ls-write', 'exec'),
     edge('ls-e2', 'ls-read', 'score', 'ls-add', 'a'),
     edge('ls-e3', 'ls-add', 'result', 'ls-write', 'score'),
-    edge('ls-e4', 'ls-write', 'exec', 'ls-play', 'exec'),
+    edge('ls-e4', 'ls-write', 'exec', 'ls-write2', 'exec'),
+    edge('ls-e6', 'ls-read2', 'count', 'ls-add2', 'a'),
+    edge('ls-e7', 'ls-add2', 'result', 'ls-write2', 'count'),
+    edge('ls-e8', 'ls-write2', 'exec', 'ls-play', 'exec'),
     edge('ls-e5', 'ls-key', 'exec', 'ls-load', 'exec'),
   ],
 });
@@ -116,6 +129,13 @@ export async function loadScene(t) {
       name: 'Run',
       props: { score: 0 },
       variables: ${JSON.stringify([variable('score', 'number', 0)])},
+    }, {
+      id: 'ls-level',
+      type: 'variables',
+      name: 'Level',
+      scope: 'scene',
+      props: { count: 0 },
+      variables: ${JSON.stringify([variable('count', 'number', 0)])},
     }, {
       id: 'ls-sound',
       type: 'sound',
@@ -212,6 +232,16 @@ export async function loadScene(t) {
     world.shared?.variables?.['ls-vars']?.score === 1,
     JSON.stringify(world.shared?.variables),
   );
+  // 35e². The other scope, counted by the same graph in the same frame (#164). The loader stayed
+  //       behind with its scene, so nobody counts in the new one – and the value is the declared 0
+  //       rather than the 1 the score right beside it still carries.
+  check(
+    'what belongs to the scene starts over: the per-scene count does not carry',
+    (before.shared?.variables?.['ls-level']?.count ?? 0) === 1 &&
+      world.shared?.variables?.['ls-level']?.count === 0 &&
+      world.shared?.variables?.['ls-vars']?.score === 1,
+    JSON.stringify({ before: before.shared?.variables, after: world.shared?.variables }),
+  );
   check(
     'the sounds of the old scene end with the behaviors that were playing them',
     humming.playing >= 1 && (await stats()).playing === 0,
@@ -245,7 +275,7 @@ export async function loadScene(t) {
   await mutate(`
     const p = __gm.state.project;
     p.startSceneId = '';
-    const gone = new Set(['ls-logic', 'ls-scene', 'ls-vars', 'ls-sound']);
+    const gone = new Set(['ls-logic', 'ls-scene', 'ls-vars', 'ls-level', 'ls-sound']);
     p.assets = p.assets.filter((a) => !gone.has(a.id));
     __gm.state.select(null);`);
   check(