To set a time limit, whenever the main level starts, assign SDL_GetTicks() to a variable, then at the end of each frame, check if the current time minus the start time is bigger than the time limit. i.e.

[source lang="cpp"]const int levelTimeLimit = 30000 //30s time limit
int startTime = SDL_GetTicks()

while(game is running)
{
//insert game loop code here

if(SDL_GetTicks() - startTime > levelTimeLimit) //check the current time vs the time limit
{
//exit level code goes here
}
}[/source]


The game seemed to work perfectly well from my quick trial, I like the idea behind it and the animations were pretty nice, but trying to read the code gave me a headache. Try to format your code nicely with proper indenting (like my example code above) to make it easier to read and understand for others. You might want to look into object oriented code as well, it'll make things easier for you in the long run when your games get bigger. If you want an idea I've got a few SDL games and their sourcecode at the link in my signature.