Building comparison
head to head
FactoriovsSpaceChem
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.
SpaceChem
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A hardcore programming-in-disguise puzzle where you wire atomic assembly lines to synthesize compounds.
Factorio leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); SpaceChem leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
FactorioSpaceChem
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.
SpaceChem
Drawing waldo paths requires no physical precision
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.
SpaceChem
No opponent; pure logic construction
Variance1 vs 0
Factorio leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Factorio
Resource patch placement adds minor map randomness.
SpaceChem
All reactor inputs are deterministic and fixed
Optimization10 vs 10
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Factorio
Throughput, ratios, and logistics are the entire game.
SpaceChem
Designing correct chemical pipelines that transform inputs to outputs exactly
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.