Today's update: I decided to scrap the art I had previously done and start over again, now that I'm more familiar with the tools and workflow I'm using. I'm happy with the results, which is fortunate because I need to start actually working on the game soon if want a chance to finish it.
I've been struggling a bit to find a way of framing the pitch for the game in a way that's more accessible to players. I felt the title was working against me a bit, since the sequel aspect only comes up after the first minigame is over whereas I'd like players to be engaged in the metagame from the very beginning. The revised pitch is "you've been invited to an obscure board games night, but the games are so obscure that no one knows the full rules for them. You collectively decide to invent house rules for each game with the most important rule being that everything that happens within the game needs to be explained in the context of an ongoing story.