head to head
vs
Act of AggressionvsEmpire Earth
Act of Aggression leans Optimization (Mind & Math); Empire Earth leans Optimization (Mind & Math).
Act of AggressionEmpire Earth
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads6 vs 7
Empire Earth leans harder on reads: Opponent epoch rush and civilization bonuses must be predicted
Variance2 vs 3
Empire Earth leans harder on variance: Map resource distribution adds uncertainty at start; converges quickly
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.