The idea is you eventually learn to stay in the forward position from repeated failures. It requires 3D for the learning curve. It's suppose to be hard. I am glad you felt the frustration. You can also sacrifice score by always shooting from the forward position, and regain score by focusing on less of the total bases.
It's not a game for everyone but if I were taking quarters in an arcade I would have a lot of money. I think that is part of the Arcade theme. I had a strong focus on making a profitable arcade game so a steep undisclosed learning curve was essential to the jam.