I like your disciplined approach to explore what you can do with a single fixed rack. I know Omri Cohen, among others, recommends that approach. I’ve only done that with two patches, both being emulations of hardware: My Benjolin patch(es) and Subharmonicon patch(es). Both are definitely fun instruments on their own.
Your recent posts inspired me to explore Sapphire again. This video uses Frolic and Glee as the sole sources of both CV modulation and audio (with some help of Tube Unit, Venom modules, and Squinky F2 filter).
I don’t think I have ever created a satisfying patch without having some preconceived constraints, or fundamental concept that I want to explore. I think this is my most Draconian self imposed patch constraint to date - use nothing but AirWindows for VCP challenge #75. I ended up using 81 instances, nearly half of which are used to construct a 4 channel mixer with a pair of aux sends/returns.
But lately I am more interested on seeing what can be done with a limited number of modules (limiting both type and quantity), much like Don’s recent patches.