diff --git a/src/domain/landing-actions.ts b/src/domain/landing-actions.ts
index 07c97f4..a0aa6f7 100644
--- a/src/domain/landing-actions.ts
+++ b/src/domain/landing-actions.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,13 @@
  * Someone who already has boards gets their boards; everyone else
  * gets the demo, when there is one.
  */
+/**
+ * How many of the visitor's boards the landing needs to know about to
+ * choose: two tells "one" from "several". A decision threshold, not a
+ * tunable limit.
+ */
+export const LANDING_BOARDS_NEEDED = 2;
+
 export type LandingSecondary =
   | { kind: "demo" }
   | { kind: "myBoard"; slug: string }
diff --git a/src/server/landing-viewer.ts b/src/server/landing-viewer.ts
index b50ac20..a438d91 100644
--- a/src/server/landing-viewer.ts
+++ b/src/server/landing-viewer.ts
@@ -3,13 +3,15 @@ import { cookies } from "next/headers";
 import { getConfig } from "../config";
 import { getPolicy } from "../policy/server";
 import { getBoardRepository } from "./board-repository";
-import { listMyBoards } from "./my-boards";
+import { LANDING_BOARDS_NEEDED } from "../domain/landing-actions";
+import { liveBoardSlugs } from "./my-boards";
 import { getUserRepository } from "./user-repository";
 import { resolveUserSession, USER_COOKIE_NAME } from "./user-session";
 
 /**
- * The signed-in visitor's own board slugs for the landing (PIN-264),
- * newest activity first, as My boards lists them. Null when sign-in
+ * The signed-in visitor's own live board slugs for the landing
+ * (PIN-264), at most LANDING_BOARDS_NEEDED: only the claim checks,
+ * never the My boards library reads. Null when sign-in
  * is off, there is no session cookie (no read at all for anonymous
  * visitors), the session is not valid, or anything fails: the
  * landing then shows its usual demo button. The slugs only go back
@@ -25,8 +27,7 @@ export async function viewerBoardSlugs(): Promise<string[] | null> {
     const users = getUserRepository();
     const user = await resolveUserSession(cookieValue, { users, sessionSecret: cfg.sessionSecret, policy: getPolicy() });
     if (!user) return null;
-    const cards = await listMyBoards(user, { boards: getBoardRepository(), users, plusMode: cfg.plusMode });
-    return cards.map((card) => card.slug);
+    return await liveBoardSlugs(user, { boards: getBoardRepository(), users }, LANDING_BOARDS_NEEDED);
   } catch {
     return null;
   }
diff --git a/src/server/my-boards.test.ts b/src/server/my-boards.test.ts
index 5f858a7..7dd1b51 100644
--- a/src/server/my-boards.test.ts
+++ b/src/server/my-boards.test.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import { InMemoryBoardRepository } from "../domain/board-repository";
 import type { UserProfile } from "../domain/user";
 import { InMemoryUserRepository } from "../domain/user-repository";
 import { resolvePolicy } from "../policy/policy";
-import { listMyBoards, removeMyBoard } from "./my-boards";
+import { listMyBoards, liveBoardSlugs, removeMyBoard } from "./my-boards";
 import { findClaimedParticipant, linkParticipantToUser } from "./user-session";
 
 const USER: UserProfile = { uid: "synthetic-alice", createdAt: 1, updatedAt: 1 };
@@ -265,3 +265,44 @@ describe("removeMyBoard (PIN-166)", () => {
     expect(await users.getUserBoard(USER.uid, OTHER_SLUG)).not.toBeNull();
   });
 });
+
+describe("liveBoardSlugs (PIN-264)", () => {
+  async function setup() {
+    const boards = new InMemoryBoardRepository();
+    const users = new InMemoryUserRepository();
+    await users.putUser(USER);
+    for (const [slug, pid, owner] of [["b1", "p1", USER.uid], ["stale", "ps", "synthetic-bob"], ["b2", "p2", USER.uid], ["b3", "p3", USER.uid]] as const) {
+      await boards.createBoard(board(slug, 1));
+      await boards.putParticipant(participant(pid, slug, owner));
+    }
+    for (const [boardId, participantId, at] of [["b1", "p1", 10], ["gone", "pg", 15], ["stale", "ps", 20], ["b2", "p2", 30], ["b3", "p3", 40]] as const) {
+      await users.putUserBoard(USER.uid, { boardId, participantId, claimedAt: at, updatedAt: at });
+    }
+    return { boards, users };
+  }
+
+  it("keeps the same claim checks as My boards and stops at the limit", async () => {
+    const deps = await setup();
+    const all = await liveBoardSlugs(USER, deps, 10);
+    expect([...all].sort()).toEqual(["b1", "b2", "b3"]);
+    expect(await liveBoardSlugs(USER, deps, 2)).toHaveLength(2);
+    expect(await liveBoardSlugs(USER, deps, 0)).toEqual([]);
+    // Same set as the full library, never a gone or re-claimed board.
+    const cards = await listMyBoards(USER, deps);
+    expect([...all].sort()).toEqual(cards.map((c) => c.slug).sort());
+  });
+
+  it("never reads a board's elements, pins, scenes or events", async () => {
+    const deps = await setup();
+    const touched: string[] = [];
+    for (const name of ["listElementsByOwner", "listPins", "listScenes", "listEvents"] as const) {
+      const original = deps.boards[name].bind(deps.boards) as (...args: unknown[]) => unknown;
+      (deps.boards as unknown as Record<string, unknown>)[name] = (...args: unknown[]) => {
+        touched.push(name);
+        return original(...args);
+      };
+    }
+    await liveBoardSlugs(USER, deps, 2);
+    expect(touched).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/server/my-boards.ts b/src/server/my-boards.ts
index 9a8e739..b0ded37 100644
--- a/src/server/my-boards.ts
+++ b/src/server/my-boards.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,32 @@ export interface MyBoardsDeps {
   plusMode?: PlusMode;
 }
 
+/**
+ * The user's live board slugs, at most `limit` (PIN-264, Bugbot on
+ * #242): the same claim checks as listMyBoards (the board exists and
+ * the participant still carries this user's claim) without the
+ * per-board elements, pins, scenes and events reads. It stops as soon
+ * as it has `limit`. The landing only needs to tell none, one (and
+ * its slug) and several apart.
+ */
+export async function liveBoardSlugs(
+  user: UserProfile,
+  deps: Pick<MyBoardsDeps, "boards" | "users">,
+  limit: number,
+): Promise<string[]> {
+  const slugs: string[] = [];
+  if (limit <= 0) return slugs;
+  for (const entry of await deps.users.listUserBoards(user.uid)) {
+    const board = await deps.boards.getBoard(entry.boardId);
+    if (!board) continue;
+    const participant = await deps.boards.getParticipant(entry.boardId, entry.participantId);
+    if (!participant || participant.userId !== user.uid) continue;
+    slugs.push(board.slug);
+    if (slugs.length >= limit) break;
+  }
+  return slugs;
+}
+
 export async function listMyBoards(
   user: UserProfile,
   deps: MyBoardsDeps,