Ease-of-understanding ask is the right one for a bayou loop like this.
I’d gate the rifle hard until the gator has stolen fish once in front of the player. First minute = cast / reel / lose a fish — no weapon chrome on screen yet. The “find the rifle” beat then answers a problem the player already felt, instead of a scavenger hunt before the loop exists.
Keep that first steal loud and readable (splash + empty slot), then a single landmark toward the rifle so mobile players don’t pan the whole map hunting an unlabeled prop. If someone still doesn’t know what to do after the steal, the fix is usually one highlighted next action, not a longer help screen.
Desktop vs mobile: same verb order; only the tap targets change. Looking forward to hearing where people actually hesitate.