head to head
vs
Age of Wonders: PlanetfallvsPathfinder: Kingmaker
Age of Wonders: Planetfall leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Pathfinder: Kingmaker leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Age of Wonders: PlanetfallPathfinder: Kingmaker
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads2 vs 1
Age of Wonders: Planetfall leans harder on reads: AI opponents follow personality scripts without adaptive modelling
Variance5 vs 5
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization9 vs 10
Pathfinder: Kingmaker leans harder on optimization: Pathfinder feat chains and kingdom management routing have known optimal solutions
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.