head to head
vs
The Excavation of Hob's BarrowvsThe Secret of Monkey Island
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Secret of Monkey Island leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
The Excavation of Hob's BarrowThe Secret of Monkey Island
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 2
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow leans harder on variance: Dread comes from unknowns that vanish on replay
Optimization7 vs 8
The Secret of Monkey Island leans harder on optimization: Correct item combinations and dialogue chains fully determine progress
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.