diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index efad1c6..9a46a6f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [1.2.1] - 2026-07-20
+
+### Fixed
+
+- The player view's explored cells now include what the party sees by its own light from its current cell — the lit room it stands in and open passages out to the light source's radius (a torch's 30 feet, the *light* spell's 15) — rather than only the cells it has physically entered. A front end drawing `PlayerView.explored` renders the torchlit room at once instead of leaving it dark until the party steps onto each square. The reveal is sight, not exploration: it never enters the persisted explored set (so movement cost and map memory are unchanged), it stops at walls and shut or undiscovered doors, and it never reaches the referee view.
+
 ## [1.2.0] - 2026-07-17
 
 ### Added
@@ -38,7 +44,8 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
 - The documentation site: quickstart, guides, front-end walk-throughs, and a full reference for every command, event, rejection code, message code, RNG stream, and content id.
 - The typed surface: complete type hints under `py.typed`, checked in CI.
 
-[Unreleased]: https://github.com/mmacy/osrlib-python/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD
+[Unreleased]: https://github.com/mmacy/osrlib-python/compare/v1.2.1...HEAD
+[1.2.1]: https://github.com/mmacy/osrlib-python/compare/v1.2.0...v1.2.1
 [1.2.0]: https://github.com/mmacy/osrlib-python/compare/v1.1.0...v1.2.0
 [1.1.0]: https://github.com/mmacy/osrlib-python/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0
 [1.0.0]: https://github.com/mmacy/osrlib-python/releases/tag/v1.0.0
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 4cf8dda..2dd39e3 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "osrlib"
-version = "1.2.0"
+version = "1.2.1"
 description = "B/X (1981 Basic/Expert) tabletop RPG rules engine for turn-based dungeon crawlers"
 readme = "README.md"
 # The wheel ships Open Game Content (osrlib/data/*.json and its LICENSE-OGL.md
diff --git a/src/osrlib/crawl/views.py b/src/osrlib/crawl/views.py
index 2614ee8..d1dabcc 100644
--- a/src/osrlib/crawl/views.py
+++ b/src/osrlib/crawl/views.py
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 from osrlib.core.effects import Condition, has_condition
 from osrlib.core.items import MagicItemCategory, MagicItemInstance, magic_item_template
-from osrlib.crawl.dungeon import Direction, EdgeKind, PartyLocation, Position, cell_ref, edge_ref
+from osrlib.crawl.dungeon import Direction, EdgeKind, PartyLocation, Position, cell_ref, edge_ref, step
 from osrlib.crawl.exploration import EXHAUSTED_KIND, FATIGUE_KIND
 
 __all__ = [
@@ -331,7 +331,108 @@ def _visible_cell_refs(session) -> set[str]:
     return refs
 
 
+# The dungeon grid is authored at the classic ten-foot square, so a torch's
+# thirty-foot radius reaches three cells of open floor.
+_CELL_FEET = 10
+_DEFAULT_LIGHT_FEET = 30
+
+
+def _light_radius_feet(params) -> int:
+    """The radius of one light-family effect, in feet.
+
+    Equipment and magic-item light sources store the radius under
+    `light_radius_feet`; the *light* spell family stores it under `radius_feet`.
+    Read whichever the source carries, falling back to the torch default.
+    """
+    raw = params.get("light_radius_feet", params.get("radius_feet"))
+    return int(raw) if raw is not None else _DEFAULT_LIGHT_FEET
+
+
+def _sight_passes(session, level, location, cell: Position, direction: Direction) -> bool:
+    """Whether torchlight (and sight) crosses one cell edge.
+
+    Open floor and an open, non-secret door let light through; walls, blocked
+    edges, and shut or undiscovered-secret doors stop it — the same passability
+    the mover and the edge projection already agree on.
+    """
+    edge = level.edge(cell, direction)
+    if edge.kind is EdgeKind.OPEN:
+        return True
+    if edge.kind is EdgeKind.DOOR:
+        ref = edge_ref(location.dungeon_id, location.level_number, cell, direction)
+        state = session.dungeon_state.doors.get(ref)
+        if edge.door.kind == "secret" and (state is None or not state.discovered):
+            return False
+        return bool(state.open) if state is not None else edge.door.starts_open
+    return False
+
+
+def _light_reveal(session) -> tuple[str | None, set[Position]]:
+    """Cells the party sees *right now* by its own light, keyed to their level.
+
+    This is sight, not exploration: the party glimpses the lit room it stands in
+    and a few cells down open passages, but these cells never enter the persisted
+    explored set. So seeing a room never cheapens the movement of later walking
+    it, and stepping away lets the unwalked cells fall dark again. Torchlight
+    fills the keyed room whole and spills through open doorways out to the light's
+    radius; walls, and shut or undiscovered doors, stop it. Empty unless the party
+    stands in a dungeon with a light burning.
+
+    Returns:
+        The `"{dungeon}:{level}"` explored-map key for the party's level and the
+        set of seen cells, or `(None, set())` when nothing is lit.
+    """
+    location = session.dungeon_state.location
+    if location.kind != "dungeon":
+        return None, set()
+    lit, _ = session.party_light()
+    if not lit:
+        return None, set()
+    try:
+        level = session.adventure.dungeon(location.dungeon_id).level(location.level_number)
+    except ValueError:
+        return None, set()
+
+    from osrlib.crawl.session import LIGHT_EFFECT_KINDS
+
+    living_ids = {member.id for member in session.party.living_members()}
+    radius_cells = max(
+        (
+            _light_radius_feet(effect.definition.params) // _CELL_FEET
+            for effect in session.ledger.effects
+            if effect.target_ref in living_ids and effect.definition.kind in LIGHT_EFFECT_KINDS
+        ),
+        default=_DEFAULT_LIGHT_FEET // _CELL_FEET,
+    )
+    origin = tuple(location.position)
+    # The keyed room the party stands in is lit to its far corners — you are
+    # standing inside it — so its open-connected cells reveal even past the
+    # torch's reach; elsewhere, light spills through open passages only within
+    # that straight-line (Chebyshev) reach. Both honour real passability: the
+    # flood only crosses an edge sight passes, so walls and shut or undiscovered
+    # doors stop it, and an alcove sealed off inside a keyed room stays dark.
+    area = level.area_at(origin)
+    in_room = {tuple(cell) for cell in area.cells} if area is not None else frozenset()
+    seen: set[Position] = {origin}
+    frontier = [origin]
+    while frontier:
+        cell = frontier.pop()
+        for direction in Direction:
+            neighbour = step(cell, direction)
+            if neighbour in seen or not level.in_bounds(neighbour):
+                continue
+            within_reach = max(abs(neighbour[0] - origin[0]), abs(neighbour[1] - origin[1])) <= radius_cells
+            if not (within_reach or neighbour in in_room):
+                continue
+            if not _sight_passes(session, level, location, cell, direction):
+                continue
+            seen.add(neighbour)
+            frontier.append(neighbour)
+    return f"{location.dungeon_id}:{location.level_number}", seen
+
+
 def _explored_levels(session):
+    reveal_key, reveal_cells = _light_reveal(session)
     for key, cells in session.dungeon_state.explored.items():
         dungeon_id, level_text = key.rsplit(":", 1)
         level_number = int(level_text)
@@ -339,11 +440,15 @@ def _explored_levels(session):
             level = session.adventure.dungeon(dungeon_id).level(level_number)
         except ValueError:
             continue
-        # Visible equals explored plus the current cell (the named simplification
-        # of the spec's visible flag, registered); the current cell is explored
-        # on arrival, so the explored set is the visible set.
+        # Visible equals explored plus what the party's own light reveals from the
+        # current cell (the spec's visible flag): the lit room and a few cells of
+        # open passage, drawn now without waiting on a footstep into each square.
+        visible = list(cells)
+        if key == reveal_key:
+            known = set(cells)
+            visible.extend(cell for cell in reveal_cells if cell not in known)
         edges: dict[str, EdgeView] = {}
-        for cell in cells:
+        for cell in visible:
             for direction in Direction:
                 key_text = _canonical_edge(cell, direction)
                 if key_text in edges:
@@ -362,7 +467,7 @@ def _explored_levels(session):
                     )
                 else:
                     edges[key_text] = EdgeView(kind=edge.kind.value)
-        yield ExploredLevelView(dungeon_id=dungeon_id, level_number=level_number, cells=tuple(cells), edges=edges)
+        yield ExploredLevelView(dungeon_id=dungeon_id, level_number=level_number, cells=tuple(visible), edges=edges)
 
 
 def _canonical_edge(cell: Position, direction: Direction) -> str:
diff --git a/tests/test_exploration.py b/tests/test_exploration.py
index 8bdfa47..b6df33d 100644
--- a/tests/test_exploration.py
+++ b/tests/test_exploration.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 from crawl_fixtures import build_adventure, build_party
 from osrlib.core.clock import ROUNDS_PER_TURN, TimeUnit
 from osrlib.core.effects import Condition, has_condition
+from osrlib.core.events import Visibility
 from osrlib.core.rng import RngStream
 from osrlib.core.ruleset import Ruleset
 from osrlib.crawl import exploration
@@ -835,3 +836,121 @@ def test_passed_save_anchors_the_area_to_the_cell_and_mutes_casts_there(self):
             assert muted.rejections[0].code == "magic.cast.silenced_area"
             return
         raise AssertionError("no seed passed the silence save in forty tries")
+
+
+class TestLightReveal:
+    """A lit party sees the room and passages its torch reaches before it steps
+    onto those cells; the reveal is sight, never persisted as exploration, so it
+    can never cheapen the movement of later walking that ground."""
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _cells(session) -> set:
+        view = session.view(Visibility.PLAYER)
+        level = next(entry for entry in view.explored if entry.level_number == 1)
+        return set(level.cells)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _edges(session) -> dict:
+        view = session.view(Visibility.PLAYER)
+        return next(entry for entry in view.explored if entry.level_number == 1).edges
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _ignite(session) -> None:
+        for _ in range(20):  # tinder is 2-in-6 per round; retry until the torch takes
+            lit = session.execute(LightSource(character_id="character-0001", item_id="torch"))
+            if any(event.code == "exploration.light.lit" for event in lit.events):
+                return
+        raise AssertionError("torch never lit in twenty tinder attempts")
+
+    def test_torchlight_reveals_the_open_cells_ahead_without_moving(self):
+        session = quiet_session()
+        entered(session)  # the party stands at the entrance (0, 0), torch burning
+        cells = self._cells(session)
+        # The corridor east and the pit-room opening south are seen from here.
+        assert {(0, 0), (1, 0), (2, 0), (1, 1)} <= cells
+        # Seeing a cell is not walking it: the explored set stays a footprint.
+        assert not session.dungeon_state.is_explored("delve", 1, (1, 0))
+        assert not session.dungeon_state.is_explored("delve", 1, (2, 0))
+
+    def test_unlit_party_sees_only_where_it_has_walked(self):
+        session = quiet_session()
+        session.execute(EnterDungeon(dungeon_id="delve"))  # inside, but no torch lit
+        assert session.party_light()[0] is False
+        assert self._cells(session) == {(0, 0)}
+
+    def test_torchlight_stops_at_a_closed_door(self):
+        session = quiet_session()
+        entered(session)
+        # room_a lies behind the stuck (closed) door on (2, 0)'s south edge.
+        room_a = {(2, 1), (3, 1), (2, 2), (3, 2)}
+        assert room_a.isdisjoint(self._cells(session))
+
+    def test_torchlight_reveals_the_whole_room_it_stands_in(self):
+        session = quiet_session()
+        session.execute(EnterDungeon(dungeon_id="delve"))
+        place(session, (2, 1))  # stand inside room_a
+        self._ignite(session)
+        assert session.party_light()[0] is True
+        assert {(2, 1), (3, 1), (2, 2), (3, 2)} <= self._cells(session)
+
+    def test_undiscovered_secret_door_stays_a_wall_under_light(self):
+        # A lit party beside an undiscovered secret door must see neither the
+        # cell behind it nor the door itself — it renders as solid rock.
+        session = quiet_session()
+        session.execute(EnterDungeon(dungeon_id="delve"))
+        place(session, (3, 1))  # room_a, west of the secret door on (3, 1)'s east edge
+        self._ignite(session)
+        assert session.party_light()[0] is True
+        assert (4, 1) not in self._cells(session)
+        assert self._edges(session)["4,1:west"].kind == "wall"
+
+    def test_light_spell_radius_reveals_less_than_a_torch(self):
+        # The *light* spell keeps its radius under `radius_feet` (not the
+        # equipment key `light_radius_feet`); its 15 feet reach one cell, where a
+        # 30-foot torch would reach three. Regression for the param-name mismatch.
+        from osrlib.core.effects import EffectDefinition
+
+        session = quiet_session()
+        session.execute(EnterDungeon(dungeon_id="delve"))  # entrance (0, 0), no torch lit
+        session.ledger.attach(
+            EffectDefinition(kind="light", params={"effect_kind": "light", "radius_feet": 15}),
+            "character-0001",
+            clock=session.clock,
+            allocator=session.allocator,
+            registry=session.registry(),
+        )
+        assert session.party_light()[0] is True
+        cells = self._cells(session)
+        assert (1, 0) in cells  # one cell east — within a 15-foot reach
+        assert (2, 0) not in cells  # two cells east — a torch would show it, this light must not
+
+    def test_seeing_a_cell_by_light_does_not_change_movement_cost(self):
+        # Sight is not exploration: a cell lit but never walked still costs the
+        # full unexplored-cell movement when the party finally steps onto it.
+        session = quiet_session()
+        entered(session)  # at (0, 0); (1, 0) is revealed by torchlight, unwalked
+        assert (1, 0) in self._cells(session)
+        assert not session.dungeon_state.is_explored("delve", 1, (1, 0))
+        session.execute(MoveParty(direction=Direction.EAST))  # step onto (1, 0)
+        assert session.odometer_thirds == 30  # the new-cell cost, not the 10 of familiar ground
+
+    def test_reveal_does_not_bleed_into_another_level(self):
+        session = quiet_session()
+        entered(session)
+        place(session, (4, 1))  # the stairs cell
+        session.execute(UseStairs())  # descend to level 2; the torch still burns
+        view = session.view(Visibility.PLAYER)
+        level1 = next(entry for entry in view.explored if entry.level_number == 1)
+        walked = {tuple(cell) for cell in session.dungeon_state.explored["delve:1"]}
+        # Off the party's current level, the projection is the walked footprint
+        # only — the light reveal never augments another level.
+        assert set(level1.cells) == walked
+
+    def test_light_reveal_stays_out_of_the_referee_view(self):
+        session = quiet_session()
+        entered(session)  # (1, 0) is revealed to the player, never walked
+        assert (1, 0) in self._cells(session)
+        referee = session.view(Visibility.REFEREE)
+        walked = {tuple(cell) for cell in referee.state["dungeon_state"]["explored"]["delve:1"]}
+        assert (1, 0) not in walked  # sight is the player's alone; the referee sees only footprints
+        assert (0, 0) in walked
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 7c87f1d..af6ee22 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "osrlib"
-version = "1.2.0"
+version = "1.2.1"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "pydantic" },