On reflection I think it is that the bulk of the scoring happens at the end of the game.

In Carcasonne, there is scoring all the way through, sometimes in little bits, sometimes in big bits. There is also scoring at the end. If you’ve played well you can sweep from last place to first place through the game end scoring. You can get an idea of where the game end scoring will go and react.

And other players action have an effect on the in-game and game end scoring.

I think that was what was missing from Kingdom Builder.