diff --git a/tests/e2e/changes.go b/tests/e2e/changes.go
index 56d4ff7ffb..a9bd094fe6 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/changes.go
+++ b/tests/e2e/changes.go
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import (
 var (
 	changesetFiles     []string
 	changesetAvailable bool
-	alwaysPatterns     []glob.Glob
+	globalFullRun      bool
 )
 
 func initChangedFiles() {
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ func initChangedFiles() {
 	changesetFiles = strings.Split(changes, `\n`)
 	log.Info("Only running tests covered by a subset of test files. Received the following list of CHANGED_FILES: %q", changesetFiles)
 
-	alwaysTest := []string{
+	globalPatterns := []string{
 		// meta and config
 		"Makefile",
 		"playwright.config.js",
@@ -39,18 +39,25 @@ func initChangedFiles() {
 		// templates
 		"templates/base/**",
 	}
-	for _, expr := range alwaysTest {
-		globPattern, err := glob.Compile(expr, '.', '/')
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Fatal("Invalid glob pattern '%s' (skipped): %v", expr, err)
+	fullRunPatterns := []glob.Glob{}
+	for _, expr := range globalPatterns {
+		fullRunPatterns = append(fullRunPatterns, glob.MustCompile(expr, '.', '/'))
+	}
+	globalFullRun = false
+	for _, changedFile := range changesetFiles {
+		for _, pattern := range fullRunPatterns {
+			if pattern.Match(changedFile) {
+				globalFullRun = true
+				log.Info("Changed files match global test pattern, running all tests")
+				return
+			}
 		}
-		alwaysPatterns = append(alwaysPatterns, globPattern)
 	}
 }
 
 func canSkipTest(testFile string) bool {
-	// run all tests when environment variable is not set
-	if !changesetAvailable {
+	// run all tests when environment variable is not set or changes match global pattern
+	if !changesetAvailable || globalFullRun {
 		return false
 	}
 
@@ -76,7 +83,7 @@ func getWatchPatterns(filename string) []glob.Glob {
 	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(file)
 
 	watchSection := false
-	patterns := alwaysPatterns
+	patterns := []glob.Glob{}
 	for scanner.Scan() {
 		line := scanner.Text()
 		// check for watch block