Comparison

X vs Ark Nova

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

X

This app serves as an unofficial assistant for popular board games like Gloomhaven and Frosthaven. It aims to provide a seamless user experience by consolidating most functionalities onto a single screen, minimizing the need for user input during gameplay.

Highlights
  • Unofficial helper for Gloomhaven family games
  • Replaces unavailable Gloomhaven Helper
  • Focus on user experience
  • Single-screen functionality
  • Minimizes user input
Features
Read full description

An unofficial helper app for the boardgames Gloomhaven, Frosthaven, Crmson Scales and other campaigns in the same family of boardgames. The aim is to be a good replacement for the Gloomhaven Helper by Esoteric Software that is no longer available. The focus is on good user experience, and to be like a boardgame component rather than a typical material style app. That means most of the functionality will be in one single screen, which makes it seem slightly busy at first glance, but is really necessary to minimize need for user input which is a key factor to good UX for a boardgame component.

About

Ark Nova

Design and manage a modern zoo to support global conservation efforts. Build enclosures, house animals, and utilize unique cards for special abilities. Compete to create the most successful zoological establishment.

Highlights
  • Plan and design a modern zoo
  • Build enclosures and accommodate animals
  • Support global conservation projects
  • Utilize 255 unique cards (animals, specialists, projects)
  • Upgrade action cards for gameplay
  • Increase zoo appeal and scientific reputation
Features
Read full description

Plan and build a modern, scientifically managed zoo to support conservation projects in an acclaimed strategy board game. In Ark Nova, you will plan and design a modern, scientifically managed zoo. With the ultimate goal of owning the most successful zoological establishment, you will build enclosures, accommodate animals, and support conservation projects all over the world. Specialists and unique buildings will help you in achieving this goal. At the heart of Ark Nova are 255 cards featuring animals, specialists, unique enclosures, and conservation projects, each with a particular ability. Use them to increase the appeal and scientific reputation of your zoo and to collect conservation points. Each player has a set of action cards, which you will use and upgrade to carry out your plans. Each player has a set of five action cards to manage their gameplay, and the power of an action is determined by the slot the card currently occupies. The cards are: BUILD: Allows you to build standard or special enclosures, kiosks, and pavilions. ANIMALS: Allows you to accommodate animals in your zoo. CARDS: Allows you to gain new zoo cards (animals, sponsors, and conservation project cards). ASSOCIATION: Allows your association workers to carry out different tasks. SPONSORS: Allows you to play a sponsor card in your zoo or to raise money. With high replayability and rich components, Ark Nova provides a remarkable gaming experience that will bring the game to the table again and again.

Screenshots

X2 screens
Ark Nova4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: X at Free against Ark Nova's $10.99. X also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 73%). Ark Nova's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 87) and chart position (#38 vs unranked). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

X is free to download; Ark Nova costs $10.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for X against 4.8 for Ark Nova. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ark Nova has 1.2K ratings behind it against 87, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of X's written reviews are positive against 73% of Ark Nova's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

X ships an update every 3 weeks, Ark Nova fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
X versus Ark Nova: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXArk Nova
PriceFree — better$10.99
Rating4.7 (87 ratings)4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.4% of reviews — better72.9% of reviews
Number of ratings871.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#38 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB682 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHans MoellerDire Wolf Digital

Customer experience

X

All ratings87 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral1.1%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive86.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative11.4%

Ark Nova

All ratings1,236 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive72.9%
Neutral10.5%
Negative16.5%

User reviews

X

From 87 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Streamlines setup and teardown
  • 👍 Greatly improves gameplay experience
  • 💡 Automates busywork and tracking
  • ✅ Eliminates table clutter
  • 🆓 Free and valuable resource

Room to improve

  • 🔋 Drains phone battery quickly
  • 🔥 Makes phone heat up
  • 🐛 Connection issues and instability
  • 🐛 Networking code is problematic
  • 🐛 Manual status removal required

Ark Nova

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great implementation overall
  • 👍 Lots of fun
  • 👍 Good animations
  • 👍 Choice of modes
  • 👍 Clean, modern and enjoyable design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Tile placement/rotation issues on iPad
  • 🐛 Building placement UI issues
  • 👎 Difficult to read board state on mobile
  • 👎 Lack of simultaneous view for key game info
  • 👎 Cumbersome to create games with friends

Bugs and requests

X

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Solo button not working
  • Menu keeps opening on iPad mini
  • Enemy attack cards re-appearing frequently
  • Connection issues make app worthless
  • Networking code is bad
Show 7 more
  • Statuses have to be manually removed
  • Cannot drag to alter initiative order
  • Ally and monster decks too close
  • Client/host syncing issues
  • Undo button doesn't work
  • Cannot place more monsters
  • Loot deck not visible

Requested features

10 requests
  • Indicate when turn is over
  • Automatically remove expired statuses
  • Allow dragging to alter initiative order
  • Make decks larger and easier to distinguish
  • Undo for accidentally ending a round
Show 5 more
  • Fix loot deck visibility
  • Improve UI scaling on tablets
  • Fix bug with placing monsters
  • Improve client/host syncing
  • Add undo button functionality

Ark Nova

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • iPad Flash exit issue
  • Rewards screen being blocked by other UI elements

Requested features

4 requests
  • Option to enable larger UI buttons for modal panels
  • Full screen mode
  • Option to reverse zoom direction
  • Improved card readability/zoom

In-app purchases

None

X

No in-app purchases

None

Ark Nova

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is X free?
X is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ark Nova free?
Ark Nova costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, X or Ark Nova?
Ark Nova is rated higher. X averages 4.7 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while Ark Nova averages 4.8 from 1.2K ratings.
Do X or Ark Nova have ads?
Neither X nor Ark Nova shows ads.
Which is updated more often, X or Ark Nova?
X ships an update every 3 weeks, and Ark Nova fortnightly. Most recently, X was updated on October 18, 2026 and Ark Nova on October 19, 2026.

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