diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 542bb56..bae6a13 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -56,7 +56,6 @@ CPPFILES  := $(SRC:.c=.i) $(TSTSRC:.c=.i)
 CPPFLAGS  := -I$(BRINCDIR) -I$(INCDIR)
 
 CPPFLAGS  += -DNDEBUG                                       # assert
-CPPFLAGS  += -DBUG_ON                                       # brlib bug.h
 CPPFLAGS  += -DWARN_ON                                      # brlib bug.h
 
 #CPPFLAGS  += -DDEBUG                                        # global - unused
@@ -79,6 +78,9 @@ CPPFLAGS  += -DWARN_ON                                      # brlib bug.h
 
 CPPFLAGS  += -DDIAGRAM_SYM                                  # UTF8 symbols in diagrams
 
+# Never comment this one !
+CPPFLAGS  += -DBUG_ON                                       # brlib bug.h
+
 # remove extraneous spaces (due to spaces before comments)
 CPPFLAGS  := $(strip $(CPPFLAGS))
 
diff --git a/src/chessdefs.h b/src/chessdefs.h
index 19d2382..59f2837 100644
--- a/src/chessdefs.h
+++ b/src/chessdefs.h
@@ -173,6 +173,8 @@ s64 clock_elapsed_μs(mclock_t *clock);
 s64 clock_elapsed_ms(mclock_t *clock);
 double clock_elapsed_sec(mclock_t *clock);
 
+#define RAND_SEED_DEFAULT U64(1)
+
 void rand_init(u64 seed);
 u64 rand64(void);
 
diff --git a/src/init.c b/src/init.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a12957a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/init.c
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+/* init.c - initialize all.
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2024 Bruno Raoult ("br")
+ * Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.
+ * Some rights reserved. See COPYING.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this
+ * program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0-standalone.html>.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later <https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0-or-later.html>
+ *
+ */
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <locale.h>
+
+#include "chessdefs.h"
+
+#include "bitboard.h"
+#include "hyperbola-quintessence.h"
+
+#include "hash.h"
+
+void init_all()
+{
+    /* for printf() numeric thousands separator */
+    setlocale(LC_NUMERIC, "");
+    /* line-buffered stdout */
+    setlinebuf(stdout);
+
+    /* pseudo random generator seed */
+    rand_init(RAND_SEED_DEFAULT);
+
+    /* bitboards & hq */
+    bitboard_init();
+    hyperbola_init();
+
+    /* zobrist tables & default tt hashtable */
+    zobrist_init();
+    hash_create(HASH_DEFAULT);
+
+}
diff --git a/src/util.h b/src/util.h
index 2036366..8ce8dd8 100644
--- a/src/util.h
+++ b/src/util.h
@@ -17,13 +17,19 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 
-#include "bug.h"
+#include <bug.h>
 
 #include "chessdefs.h"
 
 #undef safe_malloc
 #undef safe_free
 
+/* force BUG_ON, to get a program abort for failed malloc/free
+ */
+#pragma push_macro("BUG_ON")
+#undef BUG_ON
+#define BUG_ON
+
 #define safe_malloc(size) ({                   \
             void *_ret = malloc(size);         \
             bug_on(_ret == NULL);              \
@@ -35,4 +41,8 @@
         free(ptr);                             \
     } while (0)
 
+/* restore BUG_ON
+ */
+#   pragma pop_macro("BUG_ON")
+
 #endif  /* UTIL_H */