Thanks WILL, for reviving the subject again as my own thread appears to have gone silent.
I believe I have explained the workings of my game enough allready, but in short, it comes down to the fact that there can be no changing of maps in my game, as it would affect gameplay in a negative way.

Taking your three options as boundaries to what defines a level, the second option comes the closest to what I have. I do have to make a few minor adjustments as there is no title, only a short message, telling the player to get ready. A visual 'erase' is however not an option. I'm opting for a few other alterations though, but time is limited.