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.