Building comparison
head to head
Craft the WorldvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Craft the World demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Craft the World
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Optimising a dwarf fortress economy against a randomly generated world.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Craft the World leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Craft the WorldPortal
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Craft the World
Indirect dwarf orders mean hands barely matter
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Craft the World
Monster waves follow predictable scripted triggers
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance4 vs 0
Craft the World leans clearly harder on variance.
Craft the World
Random world generation hides resources until dug out
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization7 vs 8
Portal leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Craft the World
Fortress layout, tech tree and crafting chains are the real game
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
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.