diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
index 3d2300a954..187dea0385 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
@@ -147,6 +147,15 @@ jobs:
           echo "TEST_PROJECT_PATH=$projectPath" >> $env:GITHUB_ENV
           echo "TEST_ASSEMBLY_NAME=$filenameWithoutExtension" >> $env:GITHUB_ENV
 
+      - name: Check Playground manifests
+        if: ${{ inputs.os == 'ubuntu-latest' && inputs.testShortName == 'Playground' }}
+        env:
+          CI: false
+        run: |
+          ./build.sh -restore -testnobuild &&
+          for f in `find playground -name '*.AppHost.csproj'`; do echo "Generating manifest for $f"; ./dotnet.sh run --project $f --no-build --publisher manifest --output-path $PWD/$(dirname $f)/aspire-manifest.json; done &&
+          git diff --exit-code -- playground
+
       - name: Build test project
         if: ${{ ! inputs.requiresNugets }}
         env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 4f40b71ec0..ec2e3ab94f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build with packages
         env:
           CI: false
-        run: ./build.sh -restore -build -ci -pack /bl /p:InstallBrowsersForPlaywright=false /p:SkipTestProjects=true
+        run: ./build.sh -restore -build -ci -pack -testnobuild /bl /p:InstallBrowsersForPlaywright=false /p:SkipPlaygroundAppBuilds=true
 
       - name: Upload built NuGets
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@4cec3d8aa04e39d1a68397de0c4cd6fb9dce8ec1 # v4.6.1
@@ -134,9 +134,18 @@ jobs:
       testShortName: EndToEnd
       # EndToEnd is not run on Windows due to missing Docker support
       os: ubuntu-latest
-      testProjectPath: tests/Aspire.EndToEnd.Tests/Aspire.EndToEnd.Tests.csproj
       requiresNugets: true
 
+  #playground_tests:
+    #name: Playground ${{ matrix.os }}
+    #uses: ./.github/workflows/run-tests.yml
+    #needs: build_packages
+    #with:
+      #testShortName: Playground
+      ## Playground is not run on Windows due to missing Docker support
+      #os: ubuntu-latest
+      #requiresNugets: true
+
   results: # This job is used for branch protection. It ensures all the above tests passed
     if: ${{ always() && github.repository_owner == 'dotnet' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/eng/Build.props b/eng/Build.props
index 51736e0017..1c204e3fa8 100644
--- a/eng/Build.props
+++ b/eng/Build.props
@@ -3,8 +3,7 @@
     <ProjectToBuild Include="$(RepoRoot)src\**\*.csproj" Exclude="$(RepoRoot)src\Aspire.ProjectTemplates\templates\**\*.csproj" />
     <ProjectToBuild Include="$(RepoRoot)eng\dcppack\**\*.csproj" />
     <ProjectToBuild Include="$(RepoRoot)eng\dashboardpack\**\*.csproj" />
-    <ProjectToBuild Include="$(RepoRoot)playground\**\*.csproj" />
-
+    <ProjectToBuild Include="$(RepoRoot)playground\**\*.csproj" Condition="'$(SkipPlaygroundAppBuilds)' != 'true'" />
     <!-- `$(SkipTestProjects)` allows skipping test projects from being
           included in the build at all. This is useful for cases like when we are
           just building the packages, and don't need to build the test projects. -->