head to head
vs
Civilization VvsGalactic Civilizations III
Civilization V leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Galactic Civilizations III leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Civilization VGalactic Civilizations III
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Civilization V leans harder on execution: UI actions need no precision; speed is not a factor
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance5 vs 4
Civilization V leans harder on variance: Random starts, barbarian spawns, and goody huts create hidden unknowns
Optimization9 vs 9
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.