head to head
vs
Balloon FightvsPac-Man 256
Balloon Fight leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Pac-Man 256 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Balloon FightPac-Man 256
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 0
Balloon Fight leans harder on reads: A couch rival adds light prediction; birds don't adapt
Variance2 vs 3
Pac-Man 256 leans harder on variance: power-up and maze-hazard randomness
Optimization3 vs 3
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.