head to head
vs
Age of War 2vsStronghold
Age of War 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Stronghold leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Age of War 2Stronghold
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads3 vs 2
Age of War 2 leans harder on reads: Mostly versus AI; minimal opponent adaptation
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 9
Stronghold leans harder on optimization: economy and castle-building near-solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.