Ark Nova vs Tic Tac Tesseract
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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Tic Tac Tesseract
Experience tic tac toe in a dynamic 3D universe. Navigate cosmic events and power-ups on a 3x3x3 cube or a larger 4x4x4 galaxy. Outsmart AI or friends in this strategic challenge.
- 3D Tic Tac Toe gameplay
- Two board sizes (3x3x3 and 4x4x4)
- Galactic events and cosmic hazards
- Unique constellation power-ups
- Variety of power-ups
- 1-3 player modes (AI or local multiplayer)
- Save and resume functionality
Read full descriptionHide full description
Tic tac toe in three dimensions - with a universe trying to stop you. Build your own galaxy. Tap BUILD to drag systems anywhere, drop in any event, add monsters, pick who plays and which bonuses they start with, then play it on 3×3×3, 4×4×4 or 5×5×5. Or hit Randomize for a galaxy that's ready to play. Play in portrait or landscape, on iPhone and iPad. Play on a 3×3×3 cube where winning lines cut through three spatial dimensions - or step up to the 4×4×4 galaxy, where the cosmos fights back in force. Supernovas scorch nearby systems. Black holes rupture spacetime and swallow settlements. Monsters hunt. Pulsars sweep the board with rotating beams. The Great Attractor drags your settlements off their lines. Stellar Nurseries incubate rewards for whoever claims them first. Arrange your settlements into constellations - Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, Cassiopeia - to earn powerful one-time rewards. Collect power-ups: encase a system in a Dyson Sphere, pull rivals into a Graviton Wave, jump the turn order - or gather Big Bang fragments from dying black holes and wipe the board. Outmaneuver the AI, a friend, or two rivals at once. Adapt or lose. FEATURES • Two boards - classic 3×3×3, or the bigger 4×4×4 galaxy • Level builder - make your own galaxies on 3×3×3, 4×4×4 or 5×5×5 (or Randomize one), then play them • Portrait or landscape - on iPhone and iPad • 10 galactic events - Supernova, Gamma Ray Burst, Solar Flare, Gaia, and Nebula everywhere (plus Black Holes, Monsters, Pulsars, the Great Attractor, and Stellar Nurseries on 4×4×4) • Stars - form constellations for unique one-time power-ups • A dozen power-ups - Hyperspace, Dyson Sphere, Graviton Wave, and more • Big Bang - collect 3 fragments from dying black holes to wipe the board • 1–3 players - face the AI (Easy or Hard), pass-and-play with a friend, or mix humans and AI in 3-player games on 4×4×4 • High graphics - smoother planets on devices that can run them • Save & resume - leave mid-game, pick up right where you left off • No ads. No subscriptions. One purchase. Shout out to my spacers, Maximilian and Alexander, for their ideas and playtesting.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Tic Tac Tesseract at $3.99 against Ark Nova's $10.99. Tic Tac Tesseract also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Ark Nova's advantage is ratings volume (1.3K vs 2) and chart position (#37 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
Ark Nova costs $10.99 and Tic Tac Tesseract $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Tic Tac Tesseract 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 2, 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 Tic Tac Tesseract's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ark Nova | Tic Tac Tesseract |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.3K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 73.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.3K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #37 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 682 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dire Wolf Digital | Joshua Staples |
Customer experience
Ark Nova
Tic Tac Tesseract
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
Tic Tac Tesseract
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ark Nova
No in-app purchases
Tic Tac Tesseract
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ark Nova free?
Is Tic Tac Tesseract free?
Which has better reviews, Ark Nova or Tic Tac Tesseract?
Do Ark Nova or Tic Tac Tesseract have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ark Nova or Tic Tac Tesseract?
Other comparisons















