Building comparison
head to head
Human Resource MachinevsReturn of the Obra Dinn
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Human Resource Machine
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A visual programming puzzle that teaches algorithmic thinking through factory-floor instruction sequences.
Return of the Obra Dinn
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A pure deduction puzzle with a single solvable answer set.
Human Resource Machine leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Return of the Obra Dinn leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Human Resource MachineReturn of the Obra Dinn
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Human Resource Machine leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Human Resource Machine
Dragging instructions has no timing component
Return of the Obra Dinn
No mechanical execution required
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Human Resource Machine
No opponent; purely computational puzzle
Return of the Obra Dinn
Static scenes, no opponent
Variance0 vs 0
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Human Resource Machine
Input data is fixed per level with no randomness
Return of the Obra Dinn
Fully deterministic puzzle
Optimization10 vs 10
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Human Resource Machine
Writing minimal correct assembly-like programs to pass each input sequence
Return of the Obra Dinn
Pure deductive logic on a fixed manifest
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.