Systems and methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention operate a difference engine hybrid game. The hybrid game includes a real world engine constructed to determine a randomly generated payout of real world credits from a wager in a gambling game, the payout determined using a paytable, an entertainment software engine constructed to execute an entertainment game providing one or more entertainment game variables based upon skillful execution of the entertainment game involving at least one player action, and a game world engine constructed to manage the entertainment software engine and communicate gameplay gambling event occurrences based upon skillful execution of the entertainment game involving the at least one player action that trigger a wager in the gambling game to the gambling game; wherein the game world engine utilizes a difference engine module constructed to determine the paytable of the real world engine used to determine the randomly generated payout, from among a plurality of paytables based on the one or more entertainment game variables of the entertainment game.