diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-activity.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-activity.yml
index 0072d3cf..3f26ad7e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-activity.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-activity.yml
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup Node
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          node-version: '22'
 
       - name: Install Dependencies
         run: npm ci
diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
index a6d28e4e..eb68917f 100644
--- a/.jules/bolt.md
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -32,3 +32,7 @@
 ## 2024-05-18 - Replacing O(N) array search inside nested loops with O(1) object properties
 **Learning:** During test optimizations, filtering candidate lists (like available tanks or healers) inside a heavy iterative loop using O(N) array checks (e.g. `Array.some()`) creates a severe performance bottleneck.
 **Action:** When filtering or excluding object references inside hot paths, prefer using inherent O(1) boolean properties on the object itself rather than building and parsing sub-arrays to check role inclusion.
+
+## 2026-07-02 - [O(N^2) Iteration vs O(N(N-1)/2) in Pair Counting]
+**Learning:** In highly recursive inner loops, like the pairwise distance scoring in `parallelGroupCreator.ts`, checking all N×N combinations and skipping self-pairs (`if (i === j) continue`) wastes roughly 50% of CPU cycles and memory allocations for pair keys (e.g., `a|b` vs `b|a`).
+**Action:** Always optimize internal matrix operations to an upper-triangular loop (`i = 0; i < len; i++`, `j = i + 1; j < len; j++`) when relationships are commutative/undirected, accumulating the values into both the `i` and `j` indexes simultaneously.
diff --git a/activity/tests/__screenshots__/components.spec.ts/group-slide.png b/activity/tests/__screenshots__/components.spec.ts/group-slide.png
index 90eaa5f1..30af0954 100644
Binary files a/activity/tests/__screenshots__/components.spec.ts/group-slide.png and b/activity/tests/__screenshots__/components.spec.ts/group-slide.png differ
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/index.ts b/packages/shared/src/index.ts
index 9937707b..5fe0c325 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/index.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ export {
   topAffinityFor,
   shortestPath,
   parseSeasonPairs,
+  type SeasonPairs,
 } from './seasonPairs.js';
 
 export { generateInviteCommand } from './inviteCommand.js';
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/parallelGroupCreator.ts b/packages/shared/src/parallelGroupCreator.ts
index c015ff0d..86343344 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/parallelGroupCreator.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/parallelGroupCreator.ts
@@ -98,19 +98,36 @@ function scoreGroups(
 ): { maxPerPlayer: number; total: number } {
   let maxPerPlayer = 0;
   let perPlayerSum = 0;
+
+  // ⚡ Bolt Opt: Pre-allocate an array for the 5 slots to avoid inner loop allocations
+  const scores = new Array(5);
+
   for (const g of groups) {
     const ms = g.players;
-    for (let i = 0; i < ms.length; i++) {
-      let perPlayer = 0;
-      for (let j = 0; j < ms.length; j++) {
-        if (i === j) continue;
-        perPlayer += pairCounts.get(pairKey(ms[i].name, ms[j].name)) ?? 0;
+    const len = ms.length;
+
+    // Reset scores for this group
+    for (let i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+      scores[i] = 0;
+    }
+
+    // ⚡ Bolt Opt: Use an upper-triangular loop to halve the pair iterations
+    for (let i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+      const p1 = ms[i].name;
+      for (let j = i + 1; j < len; j++) {
+        const count = pairCounts.get(pairKey(p1, ms[j].name)) ?? 0;
+        scores[i] += count;
+        scores[j] += count;
+        // The original code summed each unique pair twice across all players
+        perPlayerSum += count * 2;
       }
-      if (perPlayer > maxPerPlayer) maxPerPlayer = perPlayer;
-      perPlayerSum += perPlayer;
+    }
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < len; i++) {
+      if (scores[i] > maxPerPlayer) maxPerPlayer = scores[i];
     }
   }
-  // Each unique pair is summed twice across the players' perPlayer counts.
+
   return { maxPerPlayer, total: perPlayerSum / 2 };
 }