Ark Nova Digital is Now Available Cross-Platform!

Ark Nova Digital is now available on Steam and mobile platforms! 

Designed by Mathias Wigge, the tabletop version of Ark Nova quickly became a modern classic after its release in 2021, earning numerous tabletop awards around the world. Now, the beloved strategy game comes alive in digital form, with online multiplayer, AI opponents, single-player modes, and more!

We’re extremely grateful for the valuable feedback we’ve received from our community of players during Ark Nova Digital’s Early Access period on Steam. Click here to read the full 1.0 patch notes!

A Menagerie of Modes

There are more than a few ways to play Ark Nova Digital, whether you’re playing with friends online (or in the same room!) or competing against AI opponents.

• Versus AI: Want to play Ark Nova anytime, anywhere? No need to wait for players to show up to the table when you can play against AI opponents! Play against one to three AI opponents with six(!) adjustable difficulty levels.
• Solo Mode: The official solo mode from the tabletop game is fully playable in Ark Nova Digital. Race against the clock to score 100 Victory Points, and set the difficulty with different levels of starting appeal!
• Challenges: Play against AI opponents in special scenarios with unique rules and win conditions. 13 Challenges await to test your mettle, each with its own expert variant!
• Special Exhibits: Play a new scenario that changes every three days in Special Exhibits! These games have ever-changing modifiers to rules and scoring, allowing players to compete for the best high score on online leaderboards.
• Pass and Play: Create custom games in Pass and Play to support up to four players in one room on a single screen!
• Online Multiplayer: Play with your friends, compete with strangers in open lobbies, and bring AI opponents into the mix in online games, featuring a variety of adjustable rules and available in both live and async format.

Highly Adjustable Difficulty

AI opponents come with the standard Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulties. But for veteran players who really want to challenge themselves, there are also Unfair, Expert, and Legendary difficulty settings. These settings include additional modifiers that give special advantages to the AI opponents. You’ll have to be a true master to beat a Legendary AI… are you up to the challenge?

Malus Modifiers

In addition to the difficulty settings listed above, Ark Nova Digital also includes Malus modifiers, which can be used to add variability and replayability to your games — as well as adjusting the challenge level to account for different skill levels!

When Malus mode is toggled, you will choose one of two randomized options that will make your game slightly more difficult, which will be active for the duration of the game. Maluses can be applied to both human and CPU players — set them according to your needs to fine-tune the difficulty!

Customize Your Game

Difficulty isn’t the only thing you can customize in your games of Ark Nova Digital. Any game you create — whether online, versus AI, or Pass and Play — includes the following options:

Map Selection Modes

Ark Nova Digital includes all of the maps from the tabletop game, along with multiple ways to determine which one you (and your opponents) are playing with:

• Beginner: All players play on Map A, starting with a 3-size enclosure and a kiosk.
• Intermediate: All players play on Map 0, which has no special rules and a well-balanced layout.
• Advanced Standard: Each player chooses from two randomly selected advanced maps.
• Advanced Draft: Players choose from a pool of randomly selected advanced maps in reverse turn order.
• Mirrored: Players are all given the same randomly selected advanced map.
• Freeform: Choose any map.

Alternate Maps

Each of the advanced maps from the tabletop game also feature an alternate version, with a revised layout. Simply toggle the Alternate Maps option to play with them!

Peaceful Mode

Certain animals in Ark Nova include “attack” abilities, such as Hypnosis, Venom, and Pilfer. For players who aren’t keen on conflict in their zoo-building, toggle Peaceful Mode to replace all “attack” cards with their solo variants, resulting in a less aggressive game!

UI and Animation Settings

As a game that has quite a table presence, fitting it all onto one screen — especially on mobile — was quite an endeavor! With the understanding that some players like to have as much information as possible on-screen at all times, while others prefer a cleaner layout, Ark Nova Digital allows you to choose how much information you want to see on-screen at any given moment, with the game’s UI organized into various tableaus that can be expanded or minimized at will.

You’ll find additional options in the Settings menu, such as changing the size of the entire UI scale, and adjusting the animation speed for both you and your opponents. 

Personal Progression

Play History

In a game with as many strategic systems as Ark Nova, it can be fun getting all the juicy details about your play habits. You’ll be able to do that in the digital version by clicking into your Play History, which provides data from previous sessions.

What’s your average appeal per game? How often do you upgrade each action? What’s your win rate at different player counts? You can check all these statistics and more, and even measure them against your friends!

You can also get a rundown of your previous games in the Game History tab, which lists each session by date, and a rundown of basic information such as number of turns and your score and ranking.

Player Icons

For a little bit of personalization, be sure to give yourself a fun player icon! Players are represented in-game by their username and an icon of their choice. Choose between characters and animals sourced from the artwork of various cards in the game! 

Achievements

For players who really want to put their zoo-building skills to the test, Ark Nova Digital includes 30 different achievements that will challenge even the most hardened veterans of the game. Any player who can earn all 30 can safely pat themselves on the back — that’s true Ark Nova mastery!

The Gates Are Open

Available now on the App Store, Google Play, and Steam, we’re excited for countless new players to jump into Ark Nova Digital. Download the game today on your platform of choice!