head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Hand-drawn puzzle where overlapping illustrated panels unlock impossible connections.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
Lateral-thinking puzzle solving that converges to a walkthrough once solutions are known.
Gorogoa leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Gorogoa
Dragging panels requires no skill
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Pointing and clicking has no physical ceiling
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Gorogoa
No opponent exists
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Insult swordfighting is scripted dialogue lookup, not prediction
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Gorogoa
Solutions unknown on first encounter only
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Puzzle solutions are hidden information until discovered
Gorogoa leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Gorogoa
Each panel arrangement has one elegant solvable answer
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Once solutions are known the game is fully solved
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.