diff --git a/evalharness/agent/envs/tau2_official.py b/evalharness/agent/envs/tau2_official.py
index 3151203..a6e214c 100644
--- a/evalharness/agent/envs/tau2_official.py
+++ b/evalharness/agent/envs/tau2_official.py
@@ -193,6 +193,10 @@ class Tau2Environment(Environment):
         return self.reward_info
 
     async def run_task(self, adapter, sample, max_turns: int = 40, user_adapter=None, gen_kwargs=None, **kw):
+        # the runner's generic default (8 turns) is for single-tool benches;
+        # a tau2 phone call needs greet -> verify -> find -> policy -> act ->
+        # confirm (official runs use 40+). Floor it, never cap below it.
+        max_turns = max(int(max_turns or 0), 40)
         from tau2.data_model.tasks import Task
         from tau2.run import run_task