I think I have to agree with what others have said about the randomness seeming high, but I think the problem might be more in the presentation, as the game feels as if it's presented as though strategy is key, when in reality most of it is just a gamble, as I felt just brute forcing it through using only one tool to find the foxes to be the most effective.
thanks for the feedback! i think you're spot on, people might see the game as more of a strategy game, and that's what i'm aiming for. its both a game of chance and a strategy game. also, the most effective strategy is definitely not checking every box. the best one i’ve found is dividing the grid into 3x3 cells and using the counter tools to estimate how many foxes could be inside. there’s a really high chance that a '0' is actually a '0,' so you can safely ignore that entire 3x3 cell. anyway, i’ll think about how to better align the presentation with the gameplay intent, thanks again for sharing your thoughts!