Ok, here's a new screen list. With this setup, the obvious default path gets right to playing a level by clicking on "Play" from the first screen.

1. INTRO  Music and animation of some kind to hold a user's interest    - probably the "intro" music should extend over all the non-game screens  This screen includes some sort of description of the basics of gameplay.    Probably the animation on the page should lead the player's attention to    that information.  The idea is to give them enough info to start playing.  One corner left free to put junk in (like the distributor's logo or whatever)  "Loading" progress bar while resources are fetched and precomputation done  After loading is complete, the following choices appear:    "Options" (goes to OPTIONS)    "Quit" (goes to QUIT)    "Player Name" (goes to PLAYER NAME)    "High Scores" (goes to HIGH SCORES)    "Play"      The Play button is prominent to encourage its selection      The first time through, play goes right to LEVEL INTRODUCTION for        an introductory level which is just difficult enough to get the        player used to the mechanics and may include some tutorial info        if needed.      Subsequent launches go to GAME SELECTION2. OPTIONS  This presents gameplay options:    Full screen vs windowed    Sound and music volume    More if needed, depending on game mechanics    "OK"    "Cancel"    Returns to the previous screen3. QUIT  Simple screen asking for confirmation.  If a game is in progress, the  text should include something like "You can resume this game next time  if you wish"    "Quit"    "Don't Quit"    Exits program or returns to previous screen.  If a game is in progress    it gets saved with the player name (or 'default' if there    is no player name set)4. HIGH SCORES  Display of the high score list.  Personally I couldn't care less about  what scores I get on games, but some people are into it.  "OK"  Goes to previous screen5. GAME SELECTION  After the first run through the game, this appears to give various  options.  "Difficulty"    Choose between game difficulty levels (radio button type deal)  "New Game"     Starts a new game with the chosen difficulty level  "Untimed Play"    Starts a free-form version of the game at the chosed difficulty level    This just gives random levels and does not save anything on quit  "Continue Saved Game"    This only appears if there is a saved game.  It should be the most    prominent option if available.  "Cancel" (goes to INTRO)  All other choices go to LEVEL INTRODUCTION6. PLAYER NAME  Prompts the user to enter a player name    Text entry box (pre-populated if a recent user name exists)    Could get fancy and have a dropdown of all user names, but      that probably isn't necessary    Button for "OK"    Returns to previous screen7. METASTORY INTRODUCTION  The "metastory" is the thing that shows progress through the game  toward the point where it is "over" (all levels have been played).  This screen explains the metastory.  "OK"  "Don't Show Me This Again"  Both go to METASTORY PROGRESS8. METASTORY PROGRESS  This shows the current state of the metastory, and includes animations  or actions related to progress in the metastory.  User might have to  make some sort of selection, they might be able to examine things in  some detail, or there could even be a separate mini-game associated  with the metastory.  At least the following options:  "Play" (goes to LEVEL SELECTION)  "Quit" (goes to QUIT)  Unless the game is over, in which case this leads to GAME OVER WIN9. LEVEL SELECTION  This is optional.  For some types of games it might make sense  to let the user choose a level - a particular quest they want to go on,  a particular prize they want to go after, a particular maze they  want to solve, etc.  Maybe a "stage" is comprised of several levels  and it doesn't matter which order they are done in, so the user can  be given control over what they want to do.  Goes to LEVEL INTRODUCTION10. LEVEL INTRODUCTION  Level-specific loading and computation, shows the level name and  might show other stuff as well.  This could be integrated into GAMEPLAY  especially if there isn't much to introduce or if the loading time  is very short.  "Go" goes to GAMEPLAY11. GAMEPLAY  Starts with a brief animation saying "Go!", and lets the user  play the game.    Available commands:      "Pause" (goes to GAME PAUSED)      "Options" (goes to OPTIONS)      "Hint" (performs some specific gameplay highlighting)      "Quit" (goes to QUIT) - each user only has one saved game, so        there's no need to ask about saving    If the level is completed, goes to LEVEL COMPLETE    If the player loses, goes to GAME OVER LOSS 12. GAME PAUSED  "Continue" (goes back to GAMEPLAY)  "Quit" (goes to QUIT)13. GAMEPLAY HINT  When new gameplay elements are introduced, in some cases at least it  is probably a good idea to explain them.  This type of screen should  definitely be an overlay over the gameplay screen with a visual indication  of what is being discussed  "OK"  "Don't Show This Again"  Both return to GAMEPLAY14. LEVEL COMPLETE  Some sort of animation and score summary to congratulate the user.  "OK"  Goes to METASTORY INTRODUCTION or METASTORY PROGRESS15. GAME OVER LOSS  Should contain their score and game stats.  "Save Score"    If there is no user name, first goes to PLAYER NAME    Goes to HIGH SCORES with current score highlighted  "High Scores" (goes to HIGH SCORES)  "Quit" (goes to QUIT)16. GAME OVER WIN  Starts with some sort of celebratory message.  Should contain their score and game stats.  "Save Score"    If there is no user name, first goes to PLAYER NAME    Goes to HIGH SCORES with current score highlighted  "High Scores" (goes to HIGH SCORES)  "Quit" (goes to QUIT)