Building comparison
head to head
ForagervsThe Planet Crafter
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Forager
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A compulsive grind-and-automate sandbox where optimizing the resource loop is the whole game.
The Planet Crafter
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A peaceful survival game about optimizing machines to terraform a dead planet.
Forager leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Planet Crafter leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
ForagerThe Planet Crafter
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Forager
Click-and-walk inputs, no dexterity ceiling
The Planet Crafter
Walking and placing machines, no dexterity test
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Forager
No opponents
The Planet Crafter
A dead planet offers no opposition
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Forager
Minor drop randomness, quickly irrelevant
The Planet Crafter
Wreck locations unknown until explored, then fixed
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Forager
Pure economy loop: automate, expand, compound
The Planet Crafter
Terraforming-index machine ratios are a solvable progression
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.