head to head

The Curse of Monkey Island cover artvsZork III: The Dungeon Master cover art

The Curse of Monkey IslandvsZork III: The Dungeon Master

The Curse of Monkey Island leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Zork III: The Dungeon Master leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE3 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
The Curse of Monkey IslandZork III: The Dungeon Master

Axis by axis

Execution0 vs 0

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance3 vs 4

Zork III: The Dungeon Master leans harder on variance: Hidden rooms and timed events punish unmapped exploration

Optimization7 vs 8

Zork III: The Dungeon Master leans harder on optimization: Puzzle solutions and routing are fully solvable with knowledge

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

The Curse of Monkey Island

full breakdown

Zork III: The Dungeon Master