head to head
vs
A Good Snowman Is Hard to BuildvsThe Witness
A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Witness leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
A Good Snowman Is Hard to BuildThe Witness
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 0
A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build leans harder on variance: Everything visible; a few hidden bonus areas.
Optimization9 vs 10
The Witness leans harder on optimization: Decoding the rule systems IS the whole game.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.