diff --git a/lib/lua/scoreboard.json b/lib/lua/scoreboard.json
index 9563b5d7..70055a22 100644
--- a/lib/lua/scoreboard.json
+++ b/lib/lua/scoreboard.json
@@ -43,19 +43,19 @@
       "name": "attrib.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 5841
+      "ms": 5583
     },
     {
       "name": "big.lua",
       "status": "timeout",
       "reason": "per-test timeout",
-      "ms": 8008
+      "ms": 8007
     },
     {
       "name": "calls.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 4666
+      "ms": 4566
     },
     {
       "name": "checktable.lua",
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
       "name": "closure.lua",
       "status": "timeout",
       "reason": "per-test timeout",
-      "ms": 8008
+      "ms": 8007
     },
     {
       "name": "code.lua",
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
       "name": "constructs.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 4155
+      "ms": 4358
     },
     {
       "name": "db.lua",
@@ -91,13 +91,13 @@
       "name": "errors.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Not callable: nil (kont=10 frames)\\",
-      "ms": 3155
+      "ms": 3064
     },
     {
       "name": "events.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 6725
+      "ms": 6749
     },
     {
       "name": "files.lua",
@@ -115,13 +115,13 @@
       "name": "literals.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 1787
+      "ms": 1802
     },
     {
       "name": "locals.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"lua: attempt to call non-functio",
-      "ms": 1539
+      "ms": 1557
     },
     {
       "name": "main.lua",
@@ -133,43 +133,43 @@
       "name": "math.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 3892
+      "ms": 3762
     },
     {
       "name": "nextvar.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 6711
+      "ms": 6669
     },
     {
       "name": "pm.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 5734
+      "ms": 5572
     },
     {
       "name": "sort.lua",
       "status": "timeout",
       "reason": "per-test timeout",
-      "ms": 8007
+      "ms": 8008
     },
     {
       "name": "strings.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 3937
+      "ms": 3730
     },
     {
       "name": "vararg.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"assertion failed!\\\\\\\"\\",
-      "ms": 2096
+      "ms": 2031
     },
     {
       "name": "verybig.lua",
       "status": "fail",
       "reason": "other: Unhandled exception: \\\"Unhandled exception: \\\\\\\"lua: attempt to call non-functio",
-      "ms": 533
+      "ms": 534
     }
   ]
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/lua/scoreboard.md b/lib/lua/scoreboard.md
index 6823bc66..4a393e70 100644
--- a/lib/lua/scoreboard.md
+++ b/lib/lua/scoreboard.md
@@ -16,25 +16,25 @@ fail=13 timeout=3 skip=8 total=24
 |---|---|---|---:|
 | all.lua | skip | driver uses dofile to chain other tests | 0 |
 | api.lua | skip | requires testC (C debug library) | 0 |
-| attrib.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 5841 |
-| big.lua | timeout | per-test timeout | 8008 |
-| calls.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 4666 |
+| attrib.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 5583 |
+| big.lua | timeout | per-test timeout | 8007 |
+| calls.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 4566 |
 | checktable.lua | skip | internal debug helpers | 0 |
-| closure.lua | timeout | per-test timeout | 8008 |
+| closure.lua | timeout | per-test timeout | 8007 |
 | code.lua | skip | bytecode inspection via debug library | 0 |
-| constructs.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 4155 |
+| constructs.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 4358 |
 | db.lua | skip | debug library | 0 |
-| errors.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Not callable: nil (kont=10 frames)\ | 3155 |
-| events.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 6725 |
+| errors.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Not callable: nil (kont=10 frames)\ | 3064 |
+| events.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 6749 |
 | files.lua | skip | io library | 0 |
 | gc.lua | skip | collectgarbage / finalisers | 0 |
-| literals.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 1787 |
-| locals.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"lua: attempt to call non-functio | 1539 |
+| literals.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 1802 |
+| locals.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"lua: attempt to call non-functio | 1557 |
 | main.lua | skip | standalone interpreter driver | 0 |
-| math.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 3892 |
-| nextvar.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 6711 |
-| pm.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 5734 |
-| sort.lua | timeout | per-test timeout | 8007 |
-| strings.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 3937 |
-| vararg.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 2096 |
-| verybig.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"lua: attempt to call non-functio | 533 |
+| math.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 3762 |
+| nextvar.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 6669 |
+| pm.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 5572 |
+| sort.lua | timeout | per-test timeout | 8008 |
+| strings.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 3730 |
+| vararg.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"assertion failed!\\\"\ | 2031 |
+| verybig.lua | fail | other: Unhandled exception: \"Unhandled exception: \\\"lua: attempt to call non-functio | 534 |
diff --git a/lib/lua/test.sh b/lib/lua/test.sh
index cd2b70a0..09d87cae 100755
--- a/lib/lua/test.sh
+++ b/lib/lua/test.sh
@@ -922,6 +922,12 @@ cat > "$TMPFILE" << 'EPOCHS'
 (epoch 1821)
 (eval "(lua-eval-ast \"function f(a, ...) return arg[1] + arg[2] + arg[3] end return f({}, 10, 20, 30)\")")
 
+;; ── Decimal-escape strings ────────────────────────────────────
+(epoch 1830)
+(eval "(lua-eval-ast \"return \\\"\\\\65\\\"\")")
+(epoch 1831)
+(eval "(lua-eval-ast \"if \\\"\\\\09912\\\" == \\\"c12\\\" then return 1 else return 0 end\")")
+
 EPOCHS
 
 OUTPUT=$(timeout 60 "$SX_SERVER" < "$TMPFILE" 2>/dev/null)
@@ -1391,6 +1397,10 @@ check 1812 "elseif local shadows"           '10'
 check 1820 "arg.n in vararg fn"             '3'
 check 1821 "arg[i] access"                  '60'
 
+# ── Decimal-escape strings ───────────────────────────────────
+check 1830 "\\65 → A"                        '"A"'
+check 1831 "\\099 + 12 → c12"                '1'
+
 TOTAL=$((PASS + FAIL))
 if [ $FAIL -eq 0 ]; then
   echo "ok $PASS/$TOTAL Lua-on-SX tests passed"
diff --git a/lib/lua/tokenizer.sx b/lib/lua/tokenizer.sx
index a31dff38..f0c4cc6e 100644
--- a/lib/lua/tokenizer.sx
+++ b/lib/lua/tokenizer.sx
@@ -1,3 +1,19 @@
+(define __ascii-tok " !\"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~")
+
+(define lua-byte-to-char
+  (fn (n)
+    (cond
+      ((= n 0) "\0")
+      ((= n 7) "\a")
+      ((= n 8) "\b")
+      ((= n 9) "\t")
+      ((= n 10) "\n")
+      ((= n 11) "\v")
+      ((= n 12) "\f")
+      ((= n 13) "\r")
+      ((and (>= n 32) (<= n 126)) (char-at __ascii-tok (- n 32)))
+      (else "?"))))
+
 (define lua-make-token (fn (type value pos) {:pos pos :value value :type type}))
 
 (define lua-digit? (fn (c) (and (not (= c nil)) (>= c "0") (<= c "9"))))
@@ -228,6 +244,35 @@
                   (begin (advance! 1) (read-decimal-digits!)))
                 (read-exp-part!)
                 (parse-number (slice src start pos)))))))
+      (define
+        lua-char-one-tok
+        (fn (n)
+          (cond
+            ((= n 7) (str (list n)))
+            ((= n 8) (str (list n)))
+            ((= n 11) (str (list n)))
+            ((= n 12) (str (list n)))
+            (else (str (list n))))))
+      (define
+        read-decimal-escape!
+        (fn (chars)
+          (let ((d0 (cur)))
+            (begin
+              (advance! 1)
+              (let ((n (- (char-code d0) (char-code "0"))))
+                (begin
+                  (when
+                    (and (< pos src-len) (lua-digit? (cur)))
+                    (begin
+                      (set! n (+ (* n 10) (- (char-code (cur)) (char-code "0"))))
+                      (advance! 1)
+                      (when
+                        (and (< pos src-len) (lua-digit? (cur))
+                             (<= (+ (* n 10) (- (char-code (cur)) (char-code "0"))) 255))
+                        (begin
+                          (set! n (+ (* n 10) (- (char-code (cur)) (char-code "0"))))
+                          (advance! 1)))))
+                  (append! chars (lua-byte-to-char n))))))))
       (define
         read-string
         (fn
@@ -251,14 +296,18 @@
                             ((ch (cur)))
                             (begin
                               (cond
-                                ((= ch "n") (append! chars "\n"))
-                                ((= ch "t") (append! chars "\t"))
-                                ((= ch "r") (append! chars "\r"))
-                                ((= ch "\\") (append! chars "\\"))
-                                ((= ch "'") (append! chars "'"))
-                                ((= ch "\"") (append! chars "\""))
-                                (else (append! chars ch)))
-                              (advance! 1))))
+                                ((= ch "n") (begin (append! chars "\n") (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "t") (begin (append! chars "\t") (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "r") (begin (append! chars "\r") (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "a") (begin (append! chars (lua-char-one-tok 7)) (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "b") (begin (append! chars (lua-char-one-tok 8)) (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "f") (begin (append! chars (lua-char-one-tok 12)) (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "v") (begin (append! chars (lua-char-one-tok 11)) (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "\\") (begin (append! chars "\\") (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "'") (begin (append! chars "'") (advance! 1)))
+                                ((= ch "\"") (begin (append! chars "\"") (advance! 1)))
+                                ((lua-digit? ch) (read-decimal-escape! chars))
+                                (else (begin (append! chars ch) (advance! 1)))))))
                         (loop)))
                     ((= (cur) quote-char) (advance! 1))
                     (else
diff --git a/plans/lua-on-sx.md b/plans/lua-on-sx.md
index 343ac66c..65bc7a8d 100644
--- a/plans/lua-on-sx.md
+++ b/plans/lua-on-sx.md
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ Each item: implement → tests → tick box → update progress log.
 
 _Newest first. Agent appends on every commit._
 
+- 2026-04-24: lua: scoreboard iteration — **decimal string escapes** `\ddd` (1-3 digits). Tokenizer `read-string` previously fell through to literal for digits, so `"\65"` came out as `"65"` not `"A"`. Added `read-decimal-escape!` consuming up to 3 digits while keeping value ≤255, plus `\a`/`\b`/`\f`/`\v` control escapes and `lua-byte-to-char` ASCII lookup. 362 tests (+2 escape tests).
 - 2026-04-24: lua: scoreboard iteration — **`loadstring` error propagation**. When `loadstring(s)()` was implemented as `eval-expr ( (let () compiled))`, SX's `eval-expr` wrapped any propagated `raise` as "Unhandled exception: X" — so `error('hi')` inside a loadstring'd chunk came out as that wrapped string instead of the clean `"hi"` Lua expects. Fix: transpile source once into a lambda AST, `eval-expr` it ONCE to get a callable fn value, return that — subsequent calls propagate raises cleanly. Guarded parse-failure path returns `(nil, err)` per Lua convention. vararg.lua now runs past assert #18; errors.lua past parse stage.
 - 2026-04-24: lua: scoreboard iteration — `table.sort` O(n²) insertion-sort → **quicksort** (Lomuto partition). 1000-element sorts finish in ms; but `sort.lua` uses 30k elements and still times out even at 90s (metamethod-heavy interpreter overhead). Correctness verified on 1000/5000 element random arrays.
 - 2026-04-24: lua: scoreboard iteration — `dostring(s)` alias for `loadstring(s)()` (Lua 5.0 compat used by literals.lua). Diagnosed `locals.lua` call-non-fn at call #18 → `getfenv/setfenv` stub-return pattern fails `assert(getfenv(foo("")) == a)` (need real env tracking, deferred). Tokenizer long-string-leading-NL rule verified correct.