Thanks a lot for testing Adventure 1 and for such a detailed write-up, this is really useful.
You nailed something I hadn’t seen clearly: in the first level you can earn points without getting any closer to the gems, so the objective feels disconnected from the satisfying part (the clears). I like your idea of a starting hand that lets a deliberate early row clear free a gem. I’ll rework level 1 so the first clear teaches the goal, and I’ll also look at making the gem progress more visible.
I’ll give Kingdoms a try and focus on your question: is there an interesting choice before the building gets repetitive? I’ll leave my notes on your post once I’ve played it.
Thanks again!