diff --git a/app/game/Main.hs b/app/game/Main.hs
index d43a88a4e..cde368d9c 100644
--- a/app/game/Main.hs
+++ b/app/game/Main.hs
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ cliParser =
     scriptToRun <- run
     pausedAtStart <- paused
     autoPlay <- autoplay
+    autoShowObjectives <- not <$> hideGoal
     speed <- speedFactor
     debugOptions <- debug
     cheatMode <- cheat
@@ -127,6 +128,8 @@ cliParser =
   paused = switch (long "paused" <> short 'p' <> help "Pause the game at start.")
   autoplay :: Parser Bool
   autoplay = switch (long "autoplay" <> short 'a' <> help "Automatically run the solution defined in the scenario, if there is one. Mutually exclusive with --run.")
+  hideGoal :: Parser Bool
+  hideGoal = switch (long "hide-goal" <> help "Do not show goal modal window that pauses the game.")
   speedFactor :: Parser Int
   speedFactor = option auto (long "speed" <> short 'm' <> metavar "N" <> value defaultInitLgTicksPerSecond <> help speedFactorHelp)
   speedFactorHelp =
diff --git a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State.hs b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State.hs
index 883ba8dd4..04d517e6e 100644
--- a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State.hs
@@ -461,7 +461,9 @@ initGameState :: GameStateConfig -> GameState
 initGameState gsc =
   GameState
     { _creativeMode = False
-    , _temporal = initTemporalState $ startPaused gsc
+    , _temporal =
+        initTemporalState (startPaused gsc)
+          & pauseOnObjective .~ (if pauseOnObjectiveCompletion gsc then PauseOnAnyObjective else PauseOnWin)
     , _winCondition = NoWinCondition
     , _winSolution = Nothing
     , _robotInfo = initRobots gsc
diff --git a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Runtime.hs b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Runtime.hs
index 411153d47..f48f53c84 100644
--- a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Runtime.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Runtime.hs
@@ -79,17 +79,18 @@ initGameStateConfig ::
   , Has (Accum (Seq SystemFailure)) sig m
   , Has (Lift IO) sig m
   ) =>
-  Bool ->
+  RuntimeOptions ->
   m GameStateConfig
-initGameStateConfig pause = do
-  gsi <- initGameStateInputs
-  appDataMap <- readAppData
-  nameGen <- initNameGenerator appDataMap
-  return $ GameStateConfig appDataMap nameGen pause gsi
+initGameStateConfig RuntimeOptions {..} = do
+  initAppDataMap <- readAppData
+  nameParts <- initNameGenerator initAppDataMap
+  initState <- initGameStateInputs
+  return $ GameStateConfig {..}
 
 -- | Runtime state initialization options.
 data RuntimeOptions = RuntimeOptions
-  { gamePausedAtStart :: Bool
+  { startPaused :: Bool
+  , pauseOnObjectiveCompletion :: Bool
   , loadTestScenarios :: Bool
   }
   deriving (Eq, Show)
@@ -101,10 +102,9 @@ initRuntimeState ::
   ) =>
   RuntimeOptions ->
   m RuntimeState
-initRuntimeState RuntimeOptions {..} = do
-  gsc <- initGameStateConfig gamePausedAtStart
-  scenarios <- loadScenarios (gsiScenarioInputs $ initState gsc) loadTestScenarios
-
+initRuntimeState opts = do
+  gsc <- initGameStateConfig opts
+  scenarios <- loadScenarios (gsiScenarioInputs $ initState gsc) (loadTestScenarios opts)
   return $
     RuntimeState
       { _webPort = Nothing
diff --git a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Substate.hs b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Substate.hs
index f271b33fe..85305ab0b 100644
--- a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Substate.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/State/Substate.hs
@@ -27,12 +27,14 @@ module Swarm.Game.State.Substate (
 
   -- *** Temporal state
   TemporalState,
+  PauseOnObjective (..),
   initTemporalState,
   gameStep,
   runStatus,
   ticks,
   robotStepsPerTick,
   paused,
+  pauseOnObjective,
 
   -- *** Recipes
   Recipes,
@@ -146,7 +148,7 @@ data WinStatus
     -- The boolean indicates whether they have
     -- already been informed.
     Unwinnable Bool
-  deriving (Show, Generic, FromJSON, ToJSON)
+  deriving (Eq, Show, Generic, FromJSON, ToJSON)
 
 data WinCondition
   = -- | There is no winning condition.
@@ -274,11 +276,15 @@ data SingleStep
 -- | Game step mode - we use the single step mode when debugging robot 'CESK' machine.
 data Step = WorldTick | RobotStep SingleStep
 
+data PauseOnObjective = PauseOnWin | PauseOnAnyObjective
+  deriving (Eq, Ord, Show, Enum, Bounded)
+
 data TemporalState = TemporalState
   { _gameStep :: Step
   , _runStatus :: RunStatus
   , _ticks :: TickNumber
   , _robotStepsPerTick :: Int
+  , _pauseOnObjective :: PauseOnObjective
   }
 
 makeLensesNoSigs ''TemporalState
@@ -300,6 +306,9 @@ ticks :: Lens' TemporalState TickNumber
 --   a single tick.
 robotStepsPerTick :: Lens' TemporalState Int
 
+-- | Whether to pause the game after an objective is completed.
+pauseOnObjective :: Lens' TemporalState PauseOnObjective
+
 data GameControls = GameControls
   { _replStatus :: REPLStatus
   , _replNextValueIndex :: Integer
@@ -406,6 +415,7 @@ initTemporalState pausedAtStart =
     , _runStatus = if pausedAtStart then ManualPause else Running
     , _ticks = TickNumber 0
     , _robotStepsPerTick = defaultRobotStepsPerTick
+    , _pauseOnObjective = PauseOnAnyObjective
     }
 
 initGameControls :: GameControls
diff --git a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/Step.hs b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/Step.hs
index aadb22d9c..266c7cae0 100644
--- a/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/Step.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-engine/Swarm/Game/Step.hs
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import Control.Effect.Lens
 import Control.Effect.Lift
 import Control.Lens as Lens hiding (Const, distrib, from, parts, use, uses, view, (%=), (+=), (.=), (<+=), (<>=))
 import Control.Monad (foldM, forM_, unless, when)
+import Data.Foldable.Extra (notNull)
 import Data.Functor (void)
 import Data.IntMap qualified as IM
 import Data.IntSet qualified as IS
@@ -338,7 +339,13 @@ hypotheticalWinCheck em g ws oc = do
     Unwinnable _ -> grantAchievement LoseScenario
     _ -> return ()
 
-  messageInfo . announcementQueue %= (>< Seq.fromList (map ObjectiveCompleted $ completionAnnouncementQueue finalAccumulator))
+  queue <- messageInfo . announcementQueue Swarm.Util.<%= (>< Seq.fromList (map ObjectiveCompleted $ completionAnnouncementQueue finalAccumulator))
+  shouldPause <- use $ temporal . pauseOnObjective
+
+  let gameFinished = newWinState /= Ongoing
+  let finishedObjectives = notNull queue
+  when (gameFinished || (finishedObjectives && shouldPause == PauseOnAnyObjective)) $
+    temporal . runStatus .= AutoPause
 
   mapM_ handleException $ exceptions finalAccumulator
  where
diff --git a/src/swarm-scenario/Swarm/Game/State/Config.hs b/src/swarm-scenario/Swarm/Game/State/Config.hs
index 03978f64b..f2e71322c 100644
--- a/src/swarm-scenario/Swarm/Game/State/Config.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-scenario/Swarm/Game/State/Config.hs
@@ -18,5 +18,7 @@ data GameStateConfig = GameStateConfig
   -- ^ Lists of words/adjectives for use in building random robot names.
   , startPaused :: Bool
   -- ^ Start the game paused - useful for debugging or competitive play.
+  , pauseOnObjectiveCompletion :: Bool
+  -- ^ Pause the game when any objective is completed.
   , initState :: GameStateInputs
   }
diff --git a/src/swarm-tournament/Swarm/Web/Tournament/Validate.hs b/src/swarm-tournament/Swarm/Web/Tournament/Validate.hs
index e8913a4d9..36f8674c4 100644
--- a/src/swarm-tournament/Swarm/Web/Tournament/Validate.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-tournament/Swarm/Web/Tournament/Validate.hs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import Swarm.Game.Scenario.Scoring.CodeSize (codeMetricsFromSyntax)
 import Swarm.Game.Scenario.Status (emptyLaunchParams)
 import Swarm.Game.State
 import Swarm.Game.State.Initialize (scenarioToGameState)
-import Swarm.Game.State.Runtime (initGameStateConfig, initScenarioInputs)
+import Swarm.Game.State.Runtime (RuntimeOptions (..), initGameStateConfig, initScenarioInputs, pauseOnObjectiveCompletion)
 import Swarm.Game.State.Substate (initState, seed)
 import Swarm.Game.Step.Validate (playUntilWin)
 import Swarm.Language.Pipeline
@@ -184,7 +184,12 @@ gamestateFromScenarioText content = do
       . ExceptT
       . runThrow
       . evalAccum (mempty :: Seq SystemFailure)
-      $ initGameStateConfig False
+      . initGameStateConfig
+      $ RuntimeOptions
+        { startPaused = False
+        , pauseOnObjectiveCompletion = False
+        , loadTestScenarios = False
+        }
 
   let scenarioInputs = gsiScenarioInputs $ initState gsc
   scenarioObject <- initScenarioObject scenarioInputs content
diff --git a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Controller/UpdateUI.hs b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Controller/UpdateUI.hs
index d9a22e9b6..a2e30d42b 100644
--- a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Controller/UpdateUI.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Controller/UpdateUI.hs
@@ -190,8 +190,7 @@ doGoalUpdates :: EventM Name AppState Bool
 doGoalUpdates = do
   curGoal <- use (uiState . uiGameplay . uiDialogs . uiGoal . goalsContent)
   curWinCondition <- use (gameState . winCondition)
-  announcementsSeq <- use (gameState . messageInfo . announcementQueue)
-  let announcementsList = toList announcementsSeq
+  announcementsList <- use (gameState . messageInfo . announcementQueue . to toList)
 
   -- Decide whether we need to update the current goal text and pop
   -- up a modal dialog.
@@ -238,10 +237,8 @@ doGoalUpdates = do
         -- automatically popped up.
         gameState . messageInfo . announcementQueue .= mempty
 
-        isAutoPlay <- use $ uiState . uiGameplay . uiIsAutoPlay
-        showGoalsAnyway <- use $ uiState . uiDebugOptions . Lens.contains ShowGoalDialogsInAutoPlay
-        unless (isAutoPlay && not showGoalsAnyway) $
-          openModal GoalModal
+        showObjectives <- use $ uiState . uiGameplay . uiAutoShowObjectives
+        when showObjectives $ openModal GoalModal
 
       return goalWasUpdated
  where
diff --git a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model.hs b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model.hs
index 821932c67..ce15747a6 100644
--- a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model.hs
@@ -255,6 +255,8 @@ data AppOpts = AppOpts
   -- ^ Pause the game on start by default.
   , autoPlay :: Bool
   -- ^ Automatically run the solution defined in the scenario file
+  , autoShowObjectives :: Bool
+  -- ^ Show objectives dialogs when an objective is achieved/failed.
   , speed :: Int
   -- ^ Initial game speed (logarithm)
   , debugOptions :: Set DebugOption
@@ -275,6 +277,7 @@ defaultAppOpts =
     , userScenario = Nothing
     , scriptToRun = Nothing
     , pausedAtStart = False
+    , autoShowObjectives = True
     , autoPlay = False
     , speed = defaultInitLgTicksPerSecond
     , debugOptions = mempty
diff --git a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/DebugOption.hs b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/DebugOption.hs
index a3faaa981..5a7e12d14 100644
--- a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/DebugOption.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/DebugOption.hs
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ data DebugOption
   | ListAllRobots
   | ListRobotIDs
   | ShowHiddenGoals
-  | ShowGoalDialogsInAutoPlay
   | LoadTestingScenarios
   deriving (Eq, Ord, Show, Enum, Bounded)
 
@@ -32,7 +31,6 @@ debugOptionName = \case
   ListAllRobots -> "all_robots"
   ListRobotIDs -> "robot_id"
   ShowHiddenGoals -> "hidden_goals"
-  ShowGoalDialogsInAutoPlay -> "autoplay_goals"
   LoadTestingScenarios -> "testing"
 
 debugOptionDescription :: DebugOption -> String
@@ -43,7 +41,6 @@ debugOptionDescription = \case
   ListAllRobots -> "list all robots (including system robots) in the robot panel"
   ListRobotIDs -> "list robot IDs in the robot panel"
   ShowHiddenGoals -> "show hidden objectives in the goal dialog"
-  ShowGoalDialogsInAutoPlay -> "show goal dialogs when running in autoplay"
   LoadTestingScenarios -> "load Testing folder in scenarios menu"
 
 readDebugOption :: String -> Maybe DebugOption
diff --git a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/StateUpdate.hs b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/StateUpdate.hs
index f519e411d..6b8361d73 100644
--- a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/StateUpdate.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/StateUpdate.hs
@@ -126,8 +126,15 @@ initPersistentState ::
   m (RuntimeState, UIState, KeyEventHandlingState)
 initPersistentState opts@(AppOpts {..}) = do
   (warnings :: Seq SystemFailure, (initRS, initUI, initKs)) <- runAccum mempty $ do
-    rs <- initRuntimeState $ RuntimeOptions pausedAtStart (Set.member LoadTestingScenarios debugOptions)
-    ui <- initUIState speed (not (skipMenu opts)) debugOptions
+    rs <-
+      initRuntimeState
+        RuntimeOptions
+          { startPaused = pausedAtStart
+          , pauseOnObjectiveCompletion = autoShowObjectives
+          , loadTestScenarios = Set.member LoadTestingScenarios debugOptions
+          }
+    let showMainMenu = not (skipMenu opts)
+    ui <- initUIState UIInitOptions {..}
     ks <- initKeyHandlingState
     return (rs, ui, ks)
   let initRS' = addWarnings initRS (F.toList warnings)
diff --git a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/UI.hs b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/UI.hs
index 4fcddcc8b..72ef5d12f 100644
--- a/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/UI.hs
+++ b/src/swarm-tui/Swarm/TUI/Model/UI.hs
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ module Swarm.TUI.Model.UI (
   uiStructure,
   uiDialogs,
   uiIsAutoPlay,
+  uiAutoShowObjectives,
   uiAchievements,
   lgTicksPerSecond,
   lastFrameTime,
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ module Swarm.TUI.Model.UI (
   initFocusRing,
   defaultInitLgTicksPerSecond,
   initUIState,
+  UIInitOptions (..),
 ) where
 
 import Brick (AttrMap)
@@ -226,6 +228,7 @@ data UIGameplay = UIGameplay
   , _uiScrollToEnd :: Bool
   , _uiDialogs :: UIDialogs
   , _uiIsAutoPlay :: Bool
+  , _uiAutoShowObjectives :: Bool
   , _uiShowREPL :: Bool
   , _uiShowDebug :: Bool
   , _uiHideRobotsUntil :: TimeSpec
@@ -263,11 +266,12 @@ uiScrollToEnd :: Lens' UIGameplay Bool
 -- | State that backs various modal dialogs
 uiDialogs :: Lens' UIGameplay UIDialogs
 
--- | When running with @--autoplay@, suppress the goal dialogs.
---
--- For development, the @--cheat@ flag shows goals again.
+-- | When running with @--autoplay@ the progress will not be saved.
 uiIsAutoPlay :: Lens' UIGameplay Bool
 
+-- | Do not open objectives modals on objective completion.
+uiAutoShowObjectives :: Lens' UIGameplay Bool
+
 -- | A toggle to expand or collapse the REPL by pressing @Ctrl-k@
 uiShowREPL :: Lens' UIGameplay Bool
 
@@ -347,6 +351,14 @@ initFocusRing = focusRing $ map FocusablePanel enumerate
 defaultInitLgTicksPerSecond :: Int
 defaultInitLgTicksPerSecond = 4 -- 2^4 = 16 ticks / second
 
+data UIInitOptions = UIInitOptions
+  { speed :: Int
+  , showMainMenu :: Bool
+  , autoShowObjectives :: Bool
+  , debugOptions :: Set DebugOption
+  }
+  deriving (Eq, Show)
+
 -- | Initialize the UI state.  This needs to be in the IO monad since
 --   it involves reading a REPL history file, getting the current
 --   time, and loading text files from the data directory.  The @Bool@
@@ -356,11 +368,9 @@ initUIState ::
   ( Has (Accum (Seq SystemFailure)) sig m
   , Has (Lift IO) sig m
   ) =>
-  Int ->
-  Bool ->
-  Set DebugOption ->
+  UIInitOptions ->
   m UIState
-initUIState speedFactor showMainMenu debug = do
+initUIState UIInitOptions {..} = do
   historyT <- sendIO $ readFileMayT =<< getSwarmHistoryPath False
   let history = maybe [] (map mkREPLSubmission . T.lines) historyT
   startTime <- sendIO $ getTime Monotonic
@@ -370,7 +380,7 @@ initUIState speedFactor showMainMenu debug = do
     UIState
       { _uiMenu = if showMainMenu then MainMenu (mainMenu NewGame) else NoMenu
       , _uiPlaying = not showMainMenu
-      , _uiDebugOptions = debug
+      , _uiDebugOptions = debugOptions
       , _uiLaunchConfig = launchConfigPanel
       , _uiAchievements = M.fromList $ map (view achievement &&& id) achievements
       , _uiAttrMap = swarmAttrMap
@@ -397,12 +407,13 @@ initUIState speedFactor showMainMenu debug = do
                   , _uiStructure = emptyStructureDisplay
                   }
             , _uiIsAutoPlay = False
+            , _uiAutoShowObjectives = autoShowObjectives
             , _uiTiming =
                 UITiming
                   { _uiShowFPS = False
                   , _uiTPF = 0
                   , _uiFPS = 0
-                  , _lgTicksPerSecond = speedFactor
+                  , _lgTicksPerSecond = speed
                   , _lastFrameTime = startTime
                   , _accumulatedTime = 0
                   , _lastInfoTime = 0
diff --git a/test/bench/Benchmark.hs b/test/bench/Benchmark.hs
index e0cbabae3..9e139d83b 100644
--- a/test/bench/Benchmark.hs
+++ b/test/bench/Benchmark.hs
@@ -142,7 +142,9 @@ mkGameState prog robotMaker numRobots = do
 
   -- NOTE: This replaces "classicGame0", which is still used by unit tests.
   gs <- simpleErrorHandle $ do
-    (_ :: Seq SystemFailure, initRS) <- runAccum mempty $ initRuntimeState $ RuntimeOptions False False
+    (_ :: Seq SystemFailure, initRS) <-
+      runAccum mempty . initRuntimeState $
+        RuntimeOptions {startPaused = False, pauseOnObjectiveCompletion = False, loadTestScenarios = False}
     (scenario, _) <- loadStandaloneScenario "classic"
     return $ pureScenarioToGameState scenario 0 0 Nothing $ view stdGameConfigInputs initRS