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Are there maybe some JTAG lines exposed on the board?

Maybe these could be used for finding out the contents of the mem chip and the CPU used.

This class of devices is often made at a ridiculously huge volume and the cheapest way possible, so they're very likely to contain one-time-programmable devices with no test / debug lines.

Yet there are labeled(!) test points visible for the I2C lines on the board, and a number of other labels... so the question is, why doing the epoxy stuff while leaving the labeling on the PCB?

Epoxy blobs tend to be more about cheap mass-production than anti-reverse-engineering. If you're getting a custom chip manufactured, it's often easier to just stick the die straight on the board than it would be to have it put in a package, then put on the board.

How is the bonding from the pads on the die to the pads on the PCB accomplished? Sounds easier to do with packaging compared to PCB for me.

Exactly the same way the die connects to the pins on the package (usually fine wire). Then they cap it all.

Epoxy enhances reliability by keeping the chips hermetically sealed. So when your kid barfs on his favorite Furby it still has a chance of working, or gets thrown by the family dog against the wall.

They are fun to play with from a hardware poking perspective.

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