head to head
vs
Children of a Dead EarthvsDawn of Discovery
Children of a Dead Earth leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Dawn of Discovery leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Children of a Dead EarthDawn of Discovery
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Dawn of Discovery leans harder on variance: Island fertilities and resources are unknown until scouted
Optimization10 vs 9
Children of a Dead Earth leans harder on optimization: realistic orbital combat engineering is fully 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.