head to head
vs
Europa Universalis VvsSid Meier's Civilization IV
Europa Universalis V leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Sid Meier's Civilization IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Europa Universalis VSid Meier's Civilization IV
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Europa Universalis V leans harder on execution: Pausable map game, no twitch demand
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
Sid Meier's Civilization IV leans harder on variance: Map generation and unrevealed terrain drive early decisions
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.