Building comparison
head to head
Mario Bros.vsPac-Mania
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is reads, and it is a single point.
Mario Bros.
Execution · Pure Mechanics
An arcade test of jump timing and enemy-flipping precision on a single screen.
Pac-Mania
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Tests maze-routing knowledge executed under constant scripted ghost pressure.
Mario Bros. leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Pac-Mania leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Mario Bros.Pac-Mania
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Mario Bros.
Precise jumps and bump timing under crowding enemies decide survival
Pac-Mania
Steering and jump timing under ghost pressure decide runs
Reads1 vs 0
Mario Bros. leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Mario Bros.
Versus mode adds light human interference, enemies are scripted
Pac-Mania
Ghosts run scripted routines, not adaptive minds
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Mario Bros.
Enemy spawns vary slightly but patterns are quickly learned
Pac-Mania
Ghost movements add mild run-to-run unpredictability
Optimization4 vs 5
Pac-Mania leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Mario Bros.
POW block usage and enemy routing have known best lines
Pac-Mania
Maze routes and pellet timing have learnable optimal patterns
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.