Defs one of my favourites, I love how much this takes a simple push-your-luck mechanic and manages to make it feel very controllable. I was already impessed by the first level, but then the additional dice manipulation mechanics really turned up the heat! I'm really torn as to whether I would've preferred a dice count feature as I did find it frustrating sometimes counting them up but I do also recognise that it certainly adds to the tension! Perhaps it would make sense as an additional mechanic, incurring a heat penalty to 'peek' at the dish and get a quick calculation? Did you explore any other options in your initial design?
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Thank you so much for playing and for the feedback! I prototyped a number counter early on, but I found having the counter actually rippled out and affected all the other parts of design -- imo the counter made adding up the dice almost too easy, which would've meant rebalancing the other factors like heat and the random ranges to keep things engaging. I ultimately sided with the simpler option due to time. I totally get what you're saying and felt it myself when playtesting, and I think your idea of having a counter as an upgrade or tradeoff is a good compromise! The final game does get a little too frustrating, especially in the later levels.