head to head
vs
StrongholdvsThe Settlers: Rise of an Empire
Stronghold leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Settlers: Rise of an Empire leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
StrongholdThe Settlers: Rise of an Empire
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Stronghold leans harder on execution: minimal, mostly clicking and management
Reads2 vs 2
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization9 vs 8
Stronghold leans harder on optimization: economy and castle-building near-solvable
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.