head to head
vs
Cities: SkylinesvsSimCity 4
Cities: Skylines leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); SimCity 4 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Cities: SkylinesSimCity 4
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
SimCity 4 leans harder on execution: Point-and-click placement; zero reflex requirement
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 3
SimCity 4 leans harder on variance: Neighbor city interactions and demand curves add unpredictability
Optimization10 vs 9
Cities: Skylines leans harder on optimization: Traffic flow, zoning, and budgets are 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.