diff --git a/e2e/test_played_dropdown_e2e.py b/e2e/test_played_dropdown_e2e.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c9d5c6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/test_played_dropdown_e2e.py
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+"""Browser regression tests for the "Played N times" dropdown on the game
+view page (issue #70).
+
+When the played-row control was migrated from Alpine to a custom element
+(commit 1258c52), the hover highlight, the row-filling click target and a
+consistent pointer cursor were lost: the interactive ``<a>``/``<button>``
+shrank to its text and the ``<li>`` rows stopped carrying ``hover:bg-*``.
+The visible result was: no hover highlight, a "hiccuping" hover between the
+two items, a missing hand cursor on part of a row, and "+1" failing to fire
+when the user clicked the row's padding rather than the text itself.
+
+These tests assert the user-perceived behaviour at every horizontal point of
+a menu row, regardless of which element ends up carrying the styling.
+"""
+
+import pytest
+from django.urls import reverse
+from playwright.sync_api import Page, expect
+
+from games.models import Game
+
+# Sample points spanning the row, including the former dead zones at the edges.
+ROW_FRACTIONS = [0.02, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, 0.98]
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def authenticated_page(live_server, page: Page, django_user_model) -> Page:
+    django_user_model.objects.create_user(username="tester", password="secret123")
+    page.goto(f"{live_server.url}{reverse('login')}")
+    page.fill('input[name="username"]', "tester")
+    page.fill('input[name="password"]', "secret123")
+    page.click('button:has-text("Login")')
+    page.wait_for_url(f"{live_server.url}/tracker**")
+    return page
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def game(db) -> Game:
+    return Game.objects.create(name="Test Game", sort_name="test game")
+
+
+def open_played_menu(page: Page, live_server, game: Game) -> None:
+    page.goto(f"{live_server.url}{reverse('games:view_game', args=[game.id])}")
+    page.locator("play-event-row [data-toggle]").click()
+    expect(page.locator("play-event-row [data-menu]")).to_be_visible()
+
+
+def add_play_row(page: Page):
+    """The '<li>' wrapping the 'Played times +1' control."""
+    return page.locator("play-event-row [data-menu] li").filter(has_text="+1")
+
+
+def test_played_menu_row_highlights_on_hover(authenticated_page, live_server, game):
+    """Hovering the '+1' row paints a (non-transparent) background.
+
+    Reads the background of whichever element sits under the row's centre, so
+    it does not care whether the highlight lives on the <li> or the control.
+    """
+    page = authenticated_page
+    open_played_menu(page, live_server, game)
+    row = add_play_row(page)
+
+    def center_bg() -> str:
+        return row.evaluate(
+            """el => {
+                const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+                const node = document.elementFromPoint(
+                    r.left + r.width / 2, r.top + r.height / 2);
+                return getComputedStyle(node).backgroundColor;
+            }"""
+        )
+
+    idle = center_bg()
+    row.hover()
+    page.wait_for_timeout(150)
+    hovered = center_bg()
+
+    transparent = ("rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)", "transparent")
+    assert hovered not in transparent and hovered != idle, (
+        f"row background did not change on hover (idle={idle!r}, hovered={hovered!r})"
+    )
+
+
+def test_played_menu_row_has_pointer_cursor_across_full_row(
+    authenticated_page, live_server, game
+):
+    """Every horizontal point of the '+1' row shows a hand cursor.
+
+    The former dead zones (row padding resolving to a handler-less <li> with
+    cursor:auto) are what made the cursor flicker and disappear.
+    """
+    page = authenticated_page
+    open_played_menu(page, live_server, game)
+    row = add_play_row(page)
+
+    cursors = row.evaluate(
+        """(el, fracs) => {
+            const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+            const y = r.top + r.height / 2;
+            return fracs.map(f => {
+                const node = document.elementFromPoint(r.left + r.width * f, y);
+                return getComputedStyle(node).cursor;
+            });
+        }""",
+        ROW_FRACTIONS,
+    )
+    not_pointer = [f for f, c in zip(ROW_FRACTIONS, cursors) if c != "pointer"]
+    assert not_pointer == [], (
+        f"row fractions without a pointer cursor: {not_pointer} (cursors={cursors})"
+    )
+
+
+def test_played_plus_one_target_fills_the_row(authenticated_page, live_server, game):
+    """The '+1' click target spans the whole row.
+
+    Regression: the click handler moved onto an inner <button> that no longer
+    fills the row (16px dead zone left, 30px right), so clicks on the row's
+    padding land on the <li>, which has no handler, and are silently swallowed.
+    """
+    page = authenticated_page
+    open_played_menu(page, live_server, game)
+    row = add_play_row(page)
+
+    misses = row.evaluate(
+        """(el, fracs) => {
+            const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+            const y = r.top + r.height / 2;
+            return fracs.filter(f => {
+                const node = document.elementFromPoint(r.left + r.width * f, y);
+                return !(node && (node.hasAttribute('data-add-play')
+                                  || node.closest('[data-add-play]')));
+            });
+        }""",
+        ROW_FRACTIONS,
+    )
+    assert misses == [], f"row fractions with no '+1' click target: {misses}"
+
+
+def test_played_plus_one_fires_when_clicking_row_edge(
+    authenticated_page, live_server, game
+):
+    """Clicking the row's right edge (its padding) still records a play."""
+    page = authenticated_page
+    count = page.locator("play-event-row [data-count]")
+
+    open_played_menu(page, live_server, game)
+    expect(count).to_have_text("0")
+
+    row = add_play_row(page)
+    box = row.bounding_box()
+    # Click well inside the right padding — a dead zone before the fix.
+    page.mouse.click(box["x"] + box["width"] - 4, box["y"] + box["height"] / 2)
+
+    expect(count).to_have_text("1")
+    assert game.playevents.count() == 1
+
+
+def test_played_plus_one_refreshes_play_events_table(
+    authenticated_page, live_server, game
+):
+    """Recording a play via '+1' updates the Play Events section in place.
+
+    Regression: the play-event-row dispatched no event after creating the
+    play, so the Play Events table and its count badge stayed stale until a
+    full reload. It now dispatches 'play-added' and #playevents-container
+    re-fetches itself (mirroring the history section's status-changed refresh).
+    """
+    page = authenticated_page
+    section = page.locator("#playevents-container")
+
+    open_played_menu(page, live_server, game)
+    expect(section).to_contain_text("No play events yet.")
+
+    page.locator("play-event-row [data-add-play]").click()
+
+    # The section swaps itself in via htmx — no manual reload.
+    expect(section).not_to_contain_text("No play events yet.")
+    expect(section.locator("table tbody tr")).to_have_count(1)
diff --git a/games/views/game.py b/games/views/game.py
index 51ec3b8..da25e91 100644
--- a/games/views/game.py
+++ b/games/views/game.py
@@ -375,6 +375,15 @@ _PLAYED_MENU = (
     "bg-gray-800/20 backdrop-blur-lg rounded-md rounded-tl-none border "
     "border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700"
 )
+# Each menu item is the interactive element itself: it fills the whole row
+# (block w-full + own padding), carries the hover highlight and pointer cursor,
+# so there is no handler-less padding to swallow hover/clicks (issue #70).
+# Mirrors _SELECTOR_OPTION_CLASS in common/components/domain.py.
+_PLAYED_MENU_ITEM = (
+    "block w-full text-left px-4 py-2 rounded-sm cursor-pointer no-underline "
+    "hover:bg-gray-700 hover:text-white dark:hover:bg-gray-700 "
+    "dark:hover:text-white border-0"
+)
 
 
 def _played_row(game: Game, request: HttpRequest) -> Node:
@@ -393,15 +402,20 @@ def _played_row(game: Game, request: HttpRequest) -> Node:
     ]
     menu = Div(data_menu="", hidden=True, class_=_PLAYED_MENU)[
         Ul()[
-            Li(class_="px-4 py-2")[
-                A(href=reverse("games:add_playevent_for_game", args=[game.id]))[
-                    "Add playthrough..."
-                ]
+            Li()[
+                A(
+                    href=reverse("games:add_playevent_for_game", args=[game.id]),
+                    class_=_PLAYED_MENU_ITEM,
+                )["Add playthrough..."]
             ],
-            Li(class_="px-4 py-2 cursor-pointer")[
+            Li()[
                 Element(
                     "button",
-                    [("type", "button"), ("data-add-play", "")],
+                    [
+                        ("type", "button"),
+                        ("data-add-play", ""),
+                        ("class", _PLAYED_MENU_ITEM),
+                    ],
                     children=["Played times +1"],
                 )
             ],
@@ -820,13 +834,26 @@ def _playevents_section(game: Game) -> SafeText:
     playevents = game.playevents.all()
     data = create_playevent_tabledata(playevents, exclude_columns=["Game"])
     table = SimpleTable(columns=data["columns"], rows=data["rows"])
-    return _game_section(
+    section = _game_section(
         "Play Events",
         playevents.count(),
         table,
         "No play events yet.",
         view_all_url=filter_url(PlayEventFilter.where(game=[game.id])),
     )
+    # Re-fetch this section (table + count badge) when the played-row "+1"
+    # control records a play, so it updates without a full reload. Mirrors the
+    # history section's status-changed refresh.
+    return Div(
+        [
+            ("id", "playevents-container"),
+            ("hx-get", ""),
+            ("hx-trigger", "play-added from:body"),
+            ("hx-select", "#playevents-container"),
+            ("hx-swap", "outerHTML"),
+        ],
+        [section],
+    )
 
 
 def _history_section(game: Game) -> SafeText:
diff --git a/ts/elements/play-event-row.ts b/ts/elements/play-event-row.ts
index 2087927..3325992 100644
--- a/ts/elements/play-event-row.ts
+++ b/ts/elements/play-event-row.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ class PlayEventRowElement extends HTMLElement {
           headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", "X-CSRFToken": props.csrf },
           body: JSON.stringify({ game_id: props.gameId }),
         })
+        .then(() => {
+          // Refresh the Play Events section (table + count badge) without a
+          // full reload; #playevents-container listens for this on body.
+          document.body.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent("play-added"));
+        })
         .catch(() => {
           if (count) count.textContent = String(Number(count.textContent) - 1);
           console.error("Failed to record play");