Hey, thx for playing!
Yeah the difficulty increase was intentional. With every day taking up a minute with a maximum of 7 days, the difficulty ramps up quick. We could've made the days longer, but I figured with the small amount of mini-games we had, the overall gameplay would've gotten stale. I do agree that counting 50 sheep is a bit too much though.
When it comes to the gauges depleting during mini-games, it was also intentional. The player's goal is to finish the mini-games as fast as possible, because it is supposed to be a stressful game (like what the phoenix in the game is experiencing).
And yeah, there are two mini-games where the player does not have control over the duration of the given mini-game, oops. One of them (clicking super chats) can be changed to where the player does have control. The other one (counting sheep) I would keep the same, but have another option to gain the stamina stat, a snacking mini-game. Where the player has the option to pick the faster snacking mini-game, where they have control over the duration of it, but have a lower overall stat gain. And a slower option the counting sheep game, where they don't have control, but are able to get a higher stat gain if they do it right (or gamble). That would allow the player to have a more interesting experience than just counting sheep and mashing left mouse button. I wish we had more time for the other mini-games. :(
For the UI, I do agree on all those points that you made.
Also sorry for my rambling, I just get a bit invested when it comes to game design.