Thanks so much for the detailed feedback, it helps a lot! I recorded a little video to explain the rhythm seeing as the game doesn't do a great job of making it intuitive.
As you noticed the level generation and the CPU are incredibly simple, so yes the RNG can screw you over. I wanted to have hand crafted levels but they didn't make the cut in the one week jam period.
As for the table being too far, I did implement the recenter event so if you hit the recenter button it should bring you straight to the right place on the table.
Starting the game with the whistle is a great idea, I'm definitely putting that in post-jam! The plan was for some sort of obstacles that you need to clear with the whistle, e.g. cars at a level crossing, but that also had to get cut for now.
I'm away from my headset traveling interstate at the moment, but I'll definitely fire up your game and the others that I haven't got to yet when I get back home.