Ark Nova vs Light Speed
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Light Speed
This companion app enhances a physical board game by visualizing and resolving battles through photos. It requires the physical game and an internet connection to function.
- Battle visualization
- Battle resolution
- Photo analysis
- Companion app functionality
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Snap a picture of your Light Speed: Arena game and let the app visualize and resolve the battle for you! Note that this is a companion app for a physical board game: You need a copy of Light Speed: Arena to use it for its main purpose. An internet connection is required.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Light Speed at Free against Ark Nova's $10.99. Light Speed also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Ark Nova's advantage is ratings volume (1.3K vs 8) 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
Light Speed is free to download; Ark Nova costs $10.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Light Speed holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ark Nova has 1.3K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Ark Nova's written reviews are positive against 100% of Light Speed's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ark Nova | Light Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.3K ratings) | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #38 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 682 MB | 222 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Dire Wolf Digital | TABLESCOPE GmbH |
Customer experience
Ark Nova
Light Speed
Bugs and requests
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
Light Speed
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ark Nova
No in-app purchases
Light Speed
No in-app purchases








