Building comparison
head to head
Cookie ClickervsRiven
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Cookie Clicker
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The archetypal idle game where optimal purchase order is the entire skill.
Riven
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The Myst sequel: a slow, wordless puzzle adventure solved by observing an alien world's internal logic.
Cookie Clicker leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Riven leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Cookie ClickerRiven
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Cookie Clicker
Clicking is optional past the early game
Riven
Point-and-click; no dexterity required at all
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Cookie Clicker
No opponent
Riven
No opponent of any kind
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Cookie Clicker
Golden cookie timing randomness
Riven
Information is hidden only until you observe it
Optimization9 vs 9
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Cookie Clicker
Purchase order and ascension math are the game
Riven
Deciphering the world's logic is one giant solvable puzzle
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.