Building comparison
head to head
Civilization VvsMerge & Blade
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.
Civilization V
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Optimizing city placement, social policies, and victory routing under randomized map unknowns.
Merge & Blade
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A merge-puzzle auto-battler about composing strong squads to retake castles.
Civilization V leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Merge & Blade leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Civilization VMerge & Blade
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Civilization V
UI actions need no precision; speed is not a factor
Merge & Blade
Placing and merging units, no twitch input
Reads2 vs 1
Civilization V leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Civilization V
AI follows scripted personalities, not genuine player modelling
Merge & Blade
Monster armies scripted, not adaptive opponents
Variance5 vs 5
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Civilization V
Random starts, barbarian spawns, and goody huts create hidden unknowns
Merge & Blade
Unit draws from merging inject roguelike randomness
Optimization9 vs 8
Civilization V leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Civilization V
Hex placement, social policies, and victory routing are fully solvable
Merge & Blade
Building optimal merged squads for auto-battles 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.