head to head
vs
Planetary AnnihilationvsThe Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth
Planetary Annihilation leans Optimization (Mind & Math); The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth leans Optimization (Mind & Math).
Planetary AnnihilationThe Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads6 vs 6
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Planetary Annihilation leans harder on optimization: Economy scaling and build orders dominate - near-solvable openings
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.