On Start Of Layout vs On Start Of Game?

I want to implement an effect on the title text but only when the game starts for the first time and not when it's been restarted after a game over. Should I use the OnLoadComplete event?

No, On Load Complete is triggered when you load a saved game.

You can add a global variable "EffectIsShown". Check if EffectIsShown=0 and run that effect, after that set it to 1.

The only problem with this method is that if you are resetting global variables when the game is restarted, this variable will be reset too. To avoid this, you can use local static variable, or an instance variable on some global object.