Ark Nova vs Abducktion
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.
Abducktion
Arrange adorable ducks in specific formations to beam them up to your UFO. Compete in a solo classic mode or a rogue-like career challenge with upgradeable decks and perks.
- Arrange ducks in formations
- Beam ducks to UFO
- Classic solo mode
- Rogue-like career challenge
- Upgradeable action card deck
- Research perks
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You're an intern at Abducktion Labs Intergalactic, racing to arrange adorable ducks in specific formations before beaming them up to your UFO. CLASSIC MODE Experience the original Abuducktion board game solo mode by abducting as many ducks as you can. CAREER MODE Put your research skills to the test in this all-new rogue-like challenge mode. Earn research points each round to upgrade your action card deck, or buy research perks for your ever-expanding lab. But be careful - challenge rounds will alter how the game plays and test your abduction skills. Do you have what it takes to become the new Abducktion Labs CEO?
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Abducktion at Free against Ark Nova's $10.99. Abducktion also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). Ark Nova's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.2K vs 12). On in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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
Abducktion is free to download; Ark Nova costs $10.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Abducktion holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ark Nova has 1.2K ratings behind it against 12, 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 Abducktion's.
Ark Nova ships an update fortnightly, Abducktion every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ark Nova | Abducktion |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) | 5.0 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #37 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 682 MB | 166 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Dire Wolf Digital | Very Special Games |
Customer experience
Ark Nova
Abducktion
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
Abducktion
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ark Nova
No in-app purchases
Abducktion
No in-app purchases
