Building comparison
head to head
Old WorldvsPortal
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Old World demands more variance; Portal demands more execution.
Old World
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Classical 4X with dynastic events and order economy.
Portal
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The portal-gun puzzle game whose solutions are everything.
Old World leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Portal leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Old WorldPortal
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 4
Portal leans clearly harder on execution.
Old World
turn-based, no twitch
Portal
Portal placement timing modest.
Reads3 vs 0
Old World leans clearly harder on reads.
Old World
AI scripted, some MP
Portal
No adversary modeling player.
Variance4 vs 0
Old World leans clearly harder on variance.
Old World
event cards, character traits
Portal
Deterministic chambers; no randomness.
Optimization8 vs 8
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Old World
orders, families, tech routing
Portal
Pure puzzle-solving optimization.
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.