Through the Ages vs Ark Nova
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Through the Ages
Lead a civilization from its beginnings to the modern era. Expand your resources, develop technologies, and build armies to defend or attack. Construct wonders and choose governments to achieve victory in this deep strategy game.
- Civilization development
- Resource management
- Technology research
- Military expansion
- Government selection
- Wonder construction
- Card-driven gameplay
- Solo and online multiplayer
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Through the Ages is based on a highly acclaimed civilization board game by well-known designer Vlaada Chvátil. The original game is recognized as a modern classic board game. ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Become a chieftain of a small civilization at the dawn of humankind's history. Expand your farms and mines to ensure you have enough resources to grow your civilization. This is our chance to make history! Develop various technologies, improve armies to defend your cities, or attack other civilizations nearby. Choose the best government that fits your goals and build magnificent wonders to achieve memorable victory at the end of the modern era. CARD-DRIVEN GAMEPLAY Through the Ages is a card-driven, turn-based board game that gives you countless options on what to do and how to play. Thanks to the pool of hundreds of cards, every game is unique, allowing you to build a mighty civilization. PLAY SOLO OR ONLINE You can play against AI-driven world leaders with various difficulties, or you can jump into online games against other players. Thanks to the ELO system, the game will find you opponents of the same level as you are. Clash with them and discover whose strategy leads to victory. You can also participate in some of the many championships, including the official World Championship in Through the Ages. PLENTY OF CHALLENGES The game offers more than 30 challenges that change the winning conditions or rules, so you must adapt your strategy to lead your civilization to victory. Prove that you understand how civilization works and become the mighty world leader.
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.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ark Nova at none against Through the Ages's 1. Through the Ages's advantage is review sentiment (88% vs 72%) and ratings volume (5.1K vs 1.2K). On rating, update cadence, ads and chart position 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
Through the Ages costs $9.99 and Ark Nova $10.99 up front. Through the Ages sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Ark Nova asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Through the Ages against 4.8 for Ark Nova. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.1K and 1.2K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Through the Ages's written reviews are positive against 72% of Ark Nova's.
Through the Ages ships an update every 10 days, Ark Nova every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Through the Ages | Ark Nova |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 — better | $10.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (5.1K ratings) — better | 4.8 (1.2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.7% of reviews — better | 72.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5.1K — better | 1.2K |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #76 | #29 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 188 MB | 682 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CGE Digital s.r.o. | Dire Wolf Digital |
Customer experience
Through the Ages
Ark Nova
User reviews
Through the Ages
From 5.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent tutorial
- 👍 Great implementation of board game
- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 👍 Challenging AI
- 👍 Lots of replay value
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🐛 Connectivity issues with online play
- 🐛 Bugs in challenge mode
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with older devices
Ark Nova
From 1.2K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Bugs and requests
Through the Ages
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes during challenge mode
- Connectivity issues with online play
- Compatibility problems on older devices
- Freezing during gameplay
Requested features
5 requests- Add pass-and-play mode with AI
- Ability to mix human and AI players
- More customization options for game settings
- Expansion content (new leaders, wonders, etc.)
- Ability to slow down AI turns for better observation
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
In-app purchases
Through the Ages
- New Leaders and Wonders$4.99
Ark Nova
No in-app purchases








