head to head
vs
Icewind DalevsSid Meier's Colonization
Icewind Dale leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Sid Meier's Colonization leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Icewind DaleSid Meier's Colonization
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Icewind Dale leans harder on execution: Pausable real-time needs little dexterity
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 9
Sid Meier's Colonization leans harder on optimization: Production chains and liberty-bell timing are a solvable economy
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.