diff --git a/internal/check-packets-all.mjs b/internal/check-packets-all.mjs
index 3e62486ba..9b0c668b2 100644
--- a/internal/check-packets-all.mjs
+++ b/internal/check-packets-all.mjs
@@ -58,9 +58,34 @@ for (const f of files) {
   }
 }
 
+// ★ SAY HOW MANY ZONES THIS ACTUALLY COVERED. "every generated packet renders" is true and reads
+// like "every packet is fine" — but only the zones someone generated are ever here. MEASURED
+// 2026-09-24: 11 packets, ALL of them the SAME zone (laos) in 11 locales, against 28 poster zones
+// in out/posters. So the suite proved one zone's layout 11 times and had never rendered the other
+// 27, any of which could carry a different data shape (fewer groups, a missing photo, an
+// unresolvable map). A silent cap reads as full coverage; naming it is the difference between
+// "verified" and "verified what happened to be lying around".
+// NOT a failure — generating 28 zones x 11 locales means a network fetch per zone and ~100MB of
+// artefacts, which is a deliberate trade, not an oversight. The gate's job here is to stop the
+// PASS line from overclaiming.
+const zoneOf = (f) => f.replace(/\.html$/, '').replace(/\.[a-z]{2}$/, '')
+const zones = [...new Set(files.map(zoneOf))].sort()
+let totalZones = null
+try {
+  const postersDir = resolve(REPO, 'library/scripts/posters/out/posters')
+  if (existsSync(postersDir)) totalZones = readdirSync(postersDir).filter((f) => f.endsWith('.html')).length
+} catch { /* the denominator is a nicety; its absence must not fail the gate */ }
+
 console.log(`\nPACKETS-ALL: ${files.length} packet(s) checked, ${files.length - failed.length} passed`)
+console.log(`  zones covered : ${zones.length}${totalZones ? ` of ${totalZones}` : ''} — ${zones.join(', ')}`)
+if (totalZones && zones.length < totalZones) {
+  console.log(`  ⚠ ${totalZones - zones.length} zone(s) have NO packet here and were not rendered by`)
+  console.log('    anything. Generate another with: bun run packet:ci (one zone, committed fixture,')
+  console.log('    no network), or ONLY=<zone> node library/scripts/posters/packet.mjs.')
+}
 if (failed.length) {
   console.error(`PACKETS-ALL: FAIL — ${failed.length} packet(s): ${failed.join(', ')}`)
   process.exit(1)
 }
-console.log('PACKETS-ALL: PASS — every generated packet renders, in every locale present.')
+console.log(`PACKETS-ALL: PASS — every generated packet renders, across ${zones.length} zone(s) `
+  + 'and every locale present. This does NOT cover zones no one generated.')