Building comparison
head to head
Anno 1800vsElement TD 2
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Anno 1800
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Beautiful 19th-century city-builder ruled by production ratios.
Element TD 2
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A tower defense testing optimal tower combinations against scripted waves.
Anno 1800 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Element TD 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Anno 1800Element TD 2
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Element TD 2 leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Anno 1800
pausable, no twitch
Element TD 2
Light micro on tower placement timing, minimal twitch
Reads1 vs 1
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Anno 1800
AI scripted, not adaptive
Element TD 2
Scripted enemy waves, no adaptive opponent
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Anno 1800
minor trade fluctuations
Element TD 2
Wave composition known, little hidden information
Optimization10 vs 9
Anno 1800 leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Anno 1800
supply chains and ratios are the game
Element TD 2
Optimal tower combos and placement IS the game
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.