head to head
vs
Emily Wants to PlayvsKeep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Emily Wants to Play leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos); Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Emily Wants to PlayKeep Talking and Nobody Explodes
Axis by axis
Execution3 vs 3
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads1 vs 0
Emily Wants to Play leans harder on reads: Dolls follow fixed rules per hour, not adaptive minds
Variance5 vs 5
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 6
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.