Building comparison
head to head
Fallout SheltervsLacuna
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Fallout Shelter
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A vault management sim about optimising dwellers, rooms, and resource loops.
Lacuna
Optimization · Systems & Chaos
Deduction under permanent consequences - assembling hidden case facts into correct conclusions.
Fallout Shelter leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Lacuna leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Fallout ShelterLacuna
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 0
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout Shelter
Tapping menus only
Lacuna
Walking and dialogue choices need no dexterity
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout Shelter
No opponent
Lacuna
Suspects follow a fixed script regardless of you
Variance4 vs 5
Lacuna leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Fallout Shelter
Incident spawns and lunchbox loot rolls
Lacuna
The case is hidden information; wrong reads stick permanently
Optimization7 vs 6
Fallout Shelter leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Fallout Shelter
Dweller stats and room layout are fully solvable
Lacuna
Cross-referencing clues into correct deductions is the test
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.