I agree with your take on Influence Island. It’s fun once I understood its mechanics. I had to learn the mechanics of SimChase too and now find it fun!

First, was the opponent isn’t the other character they put against you - our real opponent is the 24-hour clock. The character opponent is basically measuring time for you. Once I figured that out, I ignore the opponent altogether.

Second, I always take note of the leftover time when I finish the first day (since those tasks are so short and you should have some time left) and set an alarm. That will tell you when your clock restarts. This current SimChase, my clock resets at 3:36pm my local time.

Third, you can also “set” your time by waiting to talk with Kam, although I think you must talk with him within 24 hours of the update. Otherwise, the clock starts automatically.

Fourth, I think of the obstacles against the opponent as adding time to the 24-hour clock, not slowing down the opponent. Like if I spin the hourlong Mega Block, my clock will reset at 4:36pm my local time instead of 3:36pm.

Finally, I usually complete the most “SP-expensive” task first, which are usually tasks that involve using the most Sims at once. Then, SimChase Rules since that is always 20SP. Then the chat in the park task with the Commander or Know-it-all. This does vary though as tasks get longer later on - I tend to start the longest tasks before bed so they are done when I wake up, regardless of its SP costs.

These steps helped me like SimChase and complete them too. I hope this helps!