head to head
vs
Europa Universalis IIvsSid Meier's Civilization IV
Europa Universalis II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Sid Meier's Civilization IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Europa Universalis IISid Meier's Civilization IV
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Europa Universalis II leans harder on execution: Pausable real-time needs only light interface speed
Reads1 vs 2
Sid Meier's Civilization IV leans harder on reads: Human multiplayer adds diplomacy reads; AI is mappable
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
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.