Building comparison
head to head
Lara Croft GovsThe Incredible Machine 3
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is optimization, and it is a single point.
Lara Croft Go
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Turn-based board-puzzle distillation of Tomb Raider's traps and tombs.
The Incredible Machine 3
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A physics puzzle of engineering Rube Goldberg contraptions to solve fixed goals.
Lara Croft Go leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Incredible Machine 3 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Lara Croft GoThe Incredible Machine 3
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.
Lara Croft Go
Turn-based taps, zero dexterity
The Incredible Machine 3
Placing parts is untimed, no dexterity needed
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Lara Croft Go
Hazards move on fixed rules
The Incredible Machine 3
Solo puzzle, nothing to predict
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Lara Croft Go
Everything visible on the board
The Incredible Machine 3
Physics is deterministic, no randomness
Optimization8 vs 9
The Incredible Machine 3 leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Lara Croft Go
Each level is a solvable movement puzzle
The Incredible Machine 3
Engineering a working contraption from parts IS the game
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.