Oh snap, how long is the game? If you tell me how to beat the first level I will play more levels and give more feedback if desired. I'd hate to shortchange you in that aspect. As for the pausing I would relate that information to the players, as most offline games do indeed pause time when a menu is up so it's a subversion of expectation in the negative sense. And for sure making the first level easy is the way to go, you don't want the players to quit early on.