Comparison

Ark Nova vs SpaceCorp

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

Head to head
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.

About

SpaceCorp

Lead humanity's expansion into space, building bases, mining resources, and exploring distant star systems. This turn-based strategy game offers a complete sci-fi experience playable in under an hour, featuring a card-driven system and various game modes.

Highlights
  • Build bases on Moon and Mars
  • Survey Saturn's rings
  • Explore Europa's oceans
  • Send generational colony ships
  • Card-driven hand management
  • Multiple game modes
  • Three distinct eras of play
Features
Read full description

Lead mankind's exploration into outer space! Build bases on the Moon and Mars, survey the rings of Saturn, explore the vast oceans of Europa, and send generational Colony ships to Alpha Centauri and beyond, all in one sitting! SpaceCorp: 2025-2300 AD is a fast-playing, turn-based, sci-fi strategy game, playable in 60 minutes or less! Using a clever card-driven, hand-management system, SpaceCorp plays in under 60 minutes, and has many exciting game modes, from playing against aggressive AI's to playing against a devious, hand-crafted, card-driven automa. It also includes optional era situation cards to add additional variety. Do you have what it takes to lead mankind into the future? ------------------------------- In SpaceCorp, the player explores and develops outer space over three eras. The player controls an Earth-based enterprise seeking profit by driving the expansion of humanity into the Solar System and nearby stars. In SpaceCorp you can … - Assemble a spaceport at a Lagrange Point. - Launch an exploration mission to Mars. - Mine asteroids. - Earn profit from exotic resources discovered on the Jovian moons. - Discover microbial life in the subsurface oceans of Charon. - Decode exo-DNA to develop radiation resistant human pioneers. - Undertake a mission to Alpha Centauri in a generation ship. - Break through technological barriers to achieve faster-than-light travel. - Establish a colony in the Tau Ceti star system. - Each of the three eras is played on a different map: - The first era, Mariners, covers exploration and development out to Mars. - In Planeteers, players settle the outer solar system. - In Starfarers, players send missions to nearby star systems and establish interstellar colonies. ------------------------------- SpaceCorp: 2025-2300 AD is a digital adaptation of the award-winning board game by the same name released in 2018 by John Butterfield and GMT Games. It was nominated for the "2018 Golden Elephant Award" on Board Game Geek, along with Root and Brass: Birmingham. Other award winners on Board Game Geek include Terraforming Mars, Twilight Imperium, Star Wars: Rebellion, and Dune: Imperium. As a fast-playing, tight strategy game, SpaceCorp is perfect for players looking to get their strategy game fix in short time frames. ------------------------------- SpaceCorp: Ventures is an expansion for SpaceCorp under development, and planned for release in Fall of 2025. In SpaceCorp: Ventures, players will be able to play as any one of 14 different rival corporations, each with their own powers, abilities, and motivations, leading to very dynamic games and ever changing strategies.

Screenshots

Ark Nova4 screens
SpaceCorp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ark Nova at 4.8 against SpaceCorp's 4.1. Ark Nova also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 23). SpaceCorp's advantage is price ($6.99 vs $10.99). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and device support 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

Ark Nova costs $10.99 and SpaceCorp $6.99 up front. SpaceCorp sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ark Nova asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ark Nova holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ark Nova has 1.2K ratings behind it against 23, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 72% and 72% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ark Nova ships an update every 2 weeks, SpaceCorp weekly. Both last shipped on September 27, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Ark Nova versus SpaceCorp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArk NovaSpaceCorp
Price$10.99$6.99 — better
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better4.1 (23 ratings)
Positive reviews72.4% of reviews — better72.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.2K — better23
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#28 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size682 MB341 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDire Wolf DigitalLogix Interactive LLC

Customer experience

Ark Nova

All ratings1,190 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews127 reviews
Positive72.4%
Neutral11.0%
Negative16.5%

SpaceCorp

All ratings23 ratings
Positive82.6%
Neutral4.3%
Negative13.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive72.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative24.0%

User reviews

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

SpaceCorp

From 23 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent implementation of board game
  • 🎮 Challenging mechanics with many ways to win/lose
  • 🎶 Excellent soundtrack that enhances the experience
  • 💰 Great value for the price

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when starting the game
  • 🤔 Tutorial could be more complete
  • 🔍 Difficulty navigating the board and using pinch-to-zoom

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

SpaceCorp

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes when starting the game
  • Tutorial doesn't work consistently

Requested features

2 requests
  • Online multiplayer
  • Improved tutorial experience

In-app purchases

None

Ark Nova

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SpaceCorp

One-time1
  • Ventures Expansion$4.99

Questions

Is Ark Nova free?
Ark Nova costs $10.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SpaceCorp free?
SpaceCorp costs $6.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Ark Nova or SpaceCorp?
Ark Nova is rated higher. Ark Nova averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while SpaceCorp averages 4.1 from 23 ratings.
Do Ark Nova or SpaceCorp have ads?
Neither Ark Nova nor SpaceCorp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ark Nova or SpaceCorp?
Ark Nova ships an update every 2 weeks, and SpaceCorp weekly. Most recently, Ark Nova was updated on September 27, 2026 and SpaceCorp on September 27, 2026.

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