Building comparison
head to head
FactoriovsGemCraft
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Factorio
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A factory-engineering sandbox about scaling throughput against your own bottlenecks.
GemCraft
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A tower defense game about engineering optimal gem combinations against scripted waves.
Factorio leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); GemCraft leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
FactorioGemCraft
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Factorio
Some APM in early hand-crafting; otherwise irrelevant.
GemCraft
Placing gems and towers has no twitch demand
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Factorio
Biters follow fixed pollution rules; no adaptive opponent.
GemCraft
Monster waves are scripted, never adapting to player
Variance1 vs 2
GemCraft leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Factorio
Resource patch placement adds minor map randomness.
GemCraft
Wave composition is fixed once a level is known
Optimization10 vs 9
Factorio leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Factorio
Throughput, ratios, and logistics are the entire game.
GemCraft
Combining gems for optimal tower output is the entire game
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.