Ark Nova vs Chesspy
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.
Chesspy
Solve daily chess logic puzzles by strategically placing pieces to attack numbered targets. Compete with friends in multiplayer battles or tackle endless challenges. Offers a tutorial for beginners and advanced modes for experienced players.
- Daily chess logic puzzles
- Multiplayer battles with friends
- Piece placement strategy
- Tutorial for beginners
- Unlimited daily boards
- Hints and past missions
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Place chess pieces. Hit every number. Numbered squares are targets. Place chess pieces so each target is attacked by exactly its number — in the app, your pieces are called agents. A 0 is a safe square: nothing may attack it. Match every number and the next board is right there. Every board has exactly one solution, and you can reach it by logic alone — no guessing. Today’s Mission • Twenty boards in a row, growing from 3×3 to 6×6. • Three hearts. Placing or moving an agent so a number newly turns red costs one heart. Removing and undoing are always free. • Lose your last heart and you can see that board’s answer. • Everyone gets the same mission each day. Finish it to see your Top % today. • Sundays bring the S-Rank Mission: it starts at 4×4 and the last five boards are 7×7. Battles • Create a battle and get a six-digit code. Paste the link in a group chat and friends jump straight in. • Everyone plays the same five boards with three hearts. Most boards, then fewest hearts lost, then fastest time wins. • Up to 16 players, each joining as a chess piece: king, queen, rooks, bishops, knights and pawns. • A battle stays open for 7 days. Joining is free for anyone. The agents • The rook attacks along rows and columns, the bishop along diagonals — all the way to the edge, right past other agents. • From board 10 the knight joins in, jumping in an L. • No chess needed. A three-board tutorial shows you how on the board. More to play • Unlimited: opens after today’s mission. Endless boards that grow to 7×7 — two free runs a day. • Hints: stuck in Unlimited or a past mission? Get the reason for the next move, one step at a time. One free hint a day. • Past missions: anyone can play one past day for free. • Streaks, six achievements that unlock agent designs, and a result card to share. • Dark mode and a colour-blind palette. • English, Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, French, German and Spanish. Pro (one-time purchase) • Unlimited, with no daily limit • Hints, with no daily limit • Create battles • Every past mission — fill a missed day to keep your streak • Every agent design and detailed stats • Pro never touches a daily score, and Today’s Mission has no hints. Everyone plays by the same rules. No ads. No account. Your records stay on your device; Top % and battles use only a random ID with no name.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Chesspy at Free against Ark Nova's $10.99. Chesspy also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Ark Nova's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 1) and chart position (#23 vs unranked). On ads, 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
Chesspy is free to download; Ark Nova costs $10.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Chesspy 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 1, 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 Chesspy's.
Ark Nova ships an update fortnightly, Chesspy every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ark Nova | Chesspy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.2K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #23 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 682 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Dire Wolf Digital | Jaewon Seo |
Customer experience
Ark Nova
Chesspy
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
Chesspy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Ark Nova
No in-app purchases
Chesspy
No in-app purchases









