Thank you so much for such a kind, thorough response! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and that you think the animating idea's out there in a good way, hehe. I'll definitely check out the piece you mentioned -- I'm really happy to hear other people are making things like this.
To answer your question about the ghazal game instructions: Gosh, I really couldn't figure out the extent to which any of the instructions were clear, so I appreciate any and all questions about (and suggestions for) them! The winner of "Ghazal" is just whoever runs out of cards first. This (insofar as I played it out myself with a partner) doesn't depend on whether any given verse is considered "finished" by the players, even in a "Free" round. One of two things can happen in a Free round: Either both players decide that the verse is finished and continue playing (because they both have cards in their hands), or one player runs out of cards to put down during that round, bringing an end to the entire game. A winner isn't exactly "chosen;" it just happens naturally in the course of play. The strategy during Free rounds is to string out the verse in such a way that the other player's forced to pass or that brings the verse to an obvious end. Does that make sense? (Totally chill if it doesn't! I can take another crack at explaining.)