Boom or Bloom

One more scoop?
Every scoop you add makes the shell worth more. But every shell has a limit you can't see, and one scoop too many blows it up on the spot: the workbench goes flying, everyone nearby gets knocked over, and whoever was closest catches fire.
Every clue tells only part of the story
The pressure gauge shows how much pressure is in the shell. The red zone shows where this kind of shell's limit might be.

The stethoscope tells how thick the shell is - which part of the red zone its limit sits in. Only the wearer hears it, with empty hands at the clamp, so everyone else depends on what they shout.

The workshop cat bolts when a shell is about to blow - unless it's napping.

A smoking, shaking shell is still reacting, and the pressure keeps rising for a moment. Seal it now and it might blow right as you seal it.

Shells sealed close to the limit are daredevil shells: they score the most at night, but they might burst low, veer off and hit a guest, or fizzle out.
Better with friends
1-4 players online: open a room and invite your Steam friends, or play over LAN.

Help out: hold a shell steady so your friends' scoops are less shaky, or throw a bucket over a smoking shell to stop the reaction - it gets damp and loses 30% of its value.

Or don't: shove a friend who is pouring and their hand slips - one extra scoop.

Whoever catches fire drops flames wherever they run, until someone empties a bucket over their head. A slow-motion replay names the culprit - and calls out anyone who yelled STOP and then shoved. Every night ends with awards: Boom King, Saboteur, Lifesaver, Drenched, Chicken.

Solo works too: same rules, a calmer craft of reading the signs.
Put on a show for the whole town
Every shell gets a name and a credit, like "Big Multi-Break Heart". The bigger it is, the louder the crowd. Beat your best of the run for an EPIC, beat your best ever for a LEGENDARY - and the camera swoops in.

Sketch mold: draw a shape inside the shell and it bursts into your drawing at night.

Every night picks a "Best of the night".
How far can you go?
16 guided nights for 8 guests, with requests from "keep the materials under budget" to "one really big shell". Then endless nights with a grand festival every 5 nights. Miss a target and you lose one of your 3 hearts.

8 ingredients, 5 kinds of shells, 5 molds, 6 recipes, 9 firework effects and 9 workshop upgrades, stocked at random in the morning shop.

11 legendary upgrades that change how your fireworks look or bend the rules.

8 workshop signs and 6 nightly events keep every run different.

Fame and 17 permanent perks, a fireworks gallery to complete, 7 ranks, Steam leaderboards and 30 achievements.