That's pretty cool. I really like the gold mine theme too; you're bringing gold out of the mine on a mine cart. That seems to mimic the ball on the rod. The ball could probably be gold, which would add to the theme. The longer it takes the more gold falls out of the cart. A bit of a stretch, but it could work. Your goal is to collect as much gold as possible. During normal gameplay your target hole is flashing yellow. There could be random callouts of "Fire in the hole!" then have a red/orange flash in one of the non-target holes along with an explosion. I really like the whole wild west theme that goes along with this, think: crazy prospectors, outlaws, shootouts, saloons, poker, rattlesnakes, runaway mine cars, cave-ins, gold strike, dynamite, "Fire in the hole!", "There's gold in them-there hills.", "Eheheheh!", "Rootin'-Tootin'", etc.
Then there is always this western trope:
MODE EXAMPLES
Standard Gameplay:
For added variety, I still like the idea of having different paths for the basic game. In this case those could be different gold mines. Perhaps each mine has it's own bonus game mode. I'm thinking something like Shaker's Cavern (Cave In); Gamblers Gulch (Poker); and El Dorado (Gold Strike). These paths would play basically like the original ICB. The most notable exception being that after X targets completed there would be a bonus mode. Of course those seeking a more traditional experience could turn off the bonus modes.
Cave In:
A survival mode where a random holes starts flashing red once per X seconds. These represent cave ins. You can repair them by putting a ball into the flashing hole. If there are ever X cave ins at any one time the entire mine collapses, with a cascading light show, ending the mode. Perhaps have the mine become increasingly unstable by slowly increasing the rate of the cave ins.
Poker (Video Mode):
I kind of like the idea of being able to gamble with your gold. Perhaps there could be a video mode that's simply jacks or better draw poker. Having this programmed into the game, could allow users to play it as a standard poker machine, an added bonus.
Gold Strike:
All target holes flash yellow. Collect as many as possible in X seconds. Make one and the hole illuminates solid and X seconds are added to the countdown. Targets could be assigned a value of gold, somewhat randomly. For example, the easiest targets would be randomly assigned 100, 100, 50, 50, 0; the middle difficulty targets would be assigned 150, 150, 100, 100, 50; and the most difficult targets would be assigned: 500 (Jackpot!), 250, 200, and 150. This would add a slight element of luck which might be appropriate for a gold strike, although perhaps the jackpot award should always be in the most difficult target.
Practice Mode:
Choose any target hole and try to improve your high score. Tracking a high score for each target is an improvement over the original ICB that will add replay value.