head to head
vs
Master of Orion IIIvsStardew Valley
Master of Orion III leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Stardew Valley leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Master of Orion IIIStardew Valley
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
Stardew Valley leans harder on execution: Trivial timing on fishing and combat
Reads1 vs 0
Master of Orion III leans harder on reads: AI empires follow mappable diplomatic logic
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.