After mentioning it on discord it seems that some authors used free-scroll mice or touchpad slide gestures which don't have the problem a mousewheel has, that eventually your finger has gone as far as it can and you have to stop to reposition it, so you can only scroll in short bursts. To be fair, a crank would not have that problem, so it is more representative of the actual playdate, but awkward to play if you have a regular mouse.