head to head
vs
Sid Meier's CivilizationvsSurviving Mars
Sid Meier's Civilization leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Surviving Mars leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Sid Meier's CivilizationSurviving Mars
Axis by axis
Execution0 vs 1
Surviving Mars leans harder on execution: pausable, no reflex
Reads1 vs 0
Sid Meier's Civilization leans harder on reads: AI leaders follow mappable personalities, not adaptive minds
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization9 vs 9
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.