Comparison

Ark Nova vs Dice Mate

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

Dice Mate

Features
Read full description

Ever feel like the dice are out to get you? Dice Mate settles the argument. Track every roll of your game and see exactly how the dice behaved. Built for tabletop players who love their stats, Dice Mate is the cleanest, fastest way to log dice rolls and turn a game night into a satisfying breakdown of probability, luck, and streaks. Whether you're a strategy gamer convinced the odds are against you, a Dungeon Master tracking critical hits, or a family that wants the receipts on dice night—Dice Mate has you covered. FAST, TAP-TO-SCORE LOGGING Dice Mate is designed to keep up with the pace of a real game. Tap the face of each die you rolled and save — that's it. The interface stays out of your way so you can focus on the game, not the app. Most rolls take seconds to log. PICK YOUR GAME, PICK YOUR DICE Start a session by selecting from a library of popular tabletop games, or skip ahead with a blank session. Track multiple dice per roll, with custom colors so you can tell one die from another at a glance — perfect for any game with distinguishable dice. Save your favorite dice setups as named sets so you can launch your usual game in a single tap. No more reconfiguring every time you sit down to play. SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE Every game ends with a full statistical recap that turns your session into a story. BUILT FOR REAL TABLETOP NIGHTS Dice Mate works for any game where the dice decide your fate—strategy games, classic dice games, war games, tabletop RPGs, party games, or any custom game where you want to track dice probability. Every game you play is saved to your history, so you can revisit old sessions and compare how the dice treated you across weeks, months, or years. Download Dice Mate and turn your next game night into your most informed one yet.

Screenshots

Ark Nova4 screens
Dice Mate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dice Mate at Free against Ark Nova's $7.99. Ark Nova's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#23 vs unranked). On update cadence and ads 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

Dice Mate is free to download; Ark Nova costs $7.99 up front. Dice Mate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ark Nova asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ark Nova ships an update every 2 weeks, Dice Mate fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Ark Nova versus Dice Mate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArk NovaDice Mate
Price$7.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.2K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
Best chart rank#23 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size682 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDire Wolf DigitalFox Snap LLC

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

Dice Mate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Ark Nova

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Dice Mate

One-time1
  • Dice Mate Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Ark Nova free?
Ark Nova costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dice Mate free?
Dice Mate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ark Nova or Dice Mate have ads?
Neither Ark Nova nor Dice Mate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ark Nova or Dice Mate?
Ark Nova ships an update every 2 weeks, and Dice Mate fortnightly. Most recently, Ark Nova was updated on October 1, 2026 and Dice Mate on September 28, 2026.

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