The biggest problem with the game is just that it's missing some aesthetic. For example, at the start of level 1, I thought I was looking at a tutorial popup...but that beige color was actually just the playing surface. But the puzzle itself seems pretty solid.
Dunno what everyone else was doing, but I reached boomtown status within 65 days. It's really important to maintain your town and to build multiple epicenters. I had large sprawling areas on both sides of the map. Every time you get a new building, sprinkle it among your existing areas, and put a lot of emphasis on growth and population buildings (town halls, churches, sheriffs offices, etc). I tried to avoid being redundant...if I made a new town hall, I'd build it outside the influence of any others. I got gold on all the challenges this way.
 "Puzzle Monsters"){kind=icon}
 "Boom Town"){kind=icon}
 "Darkest Days"){kind=icon}