Building comparison
head to head
7 Wonders of the Ancient WorldvsPortal
7 Wonders of the Ancient World asks more than Portal, and the gap is variance.
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A match-three puzzle about planning rune swaps to clear themed wonder boards.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
7 Wonders of the Ancient World leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
7 Wonders of the Ancient WorldPortal
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 4
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Quick swaps under time pressure matter somewhat
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Solo match-three, no opponent to predict
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance4 vs 0
7 Wonders of the Ancient World leans clearly harder on variance.
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Random rune drops drive each board's possibilities
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization7 vs 8
Portal leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
Planning cascades and clears to meet goals is core
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.