Challenges in Ark Nova Digital

Ark Nova Digital is now available on Steam Early Access! Plan and build a modern, scientifically managed zoo to support conservation projects in this highly-acclaimed strategy board game.

Board games aren’t always easy to get to the table, and that’s why, whenever we convert a tabletop game to digital, one of our highest priorities is providing numerous ways for solo players to get maximum mileage out of the game. One of our favorite ways to do this is Challenges — a feature you’re no doubt familiar with if you’ve played other Dire Wolf digital board games!

Ark Nova Digital is no exception, and having just released on Steam Early Access, let’s take a look at what players can expect from its Challenges.

Challenges in a Nutshell

Challenges are scenarios with unique rules and starting conditions that will challenge you to win the game via unconventional strategies that you may not have used otherwise. 

Here are some things to know about the Challenges in Ark Nova:

• No Final Scoring Cards: Each Challenge has unique rules in place of final scoring cards, encouraging you to build your strategy around the scenario.
• Challenges are Played Against AI Opponents: Challenges are played solo, against AI opponents, which is not to be confused with Solo Play mode, where you have no opponents at all!
• Each Challenge has a More Difficult Variant: Every Challenge has a second version that unlocks after you beat it for the first time. This version will be more difficult, with stronger AI opponents and a further tweak to the rules to make it just that much more tough.
• There are 13 Challenges: There are 13 base Challenges, which means there are 26 total, including the hard mode variants.
• Challenges Can be Saved and Continued Later: Also true for other single-player modes in Ark Nova Digital, you can quit any Challenge at any time and come back to it later.

How Challenges Can Make You a Better Player

Part of what makes Ark Nova a compelling game is the potential for countless strategies based on the variability in the cards that are available from session to session. However, with so many intertwining systems, it can be easy for players to fall into the habit of playing “comfortable” strategies instead of experimenting with everything the game has to offer. Challenges help to push you out of your comfort zone and familiarize you with unique mechanics you may have otherwise missed!

Here are some of Ark Nova Digital’s Challenges, along with how they can provide insights about the various strategies for the game.

City Zoo

In the City Zoo Challenge, you’ll gain 7 conservation instead of 7 appeal when you completely fill your map. Conservation points are generally more difficult to come by than appeal, and also come with extra bonuses, such as card upgrades, and are also worth 2-3x more Victory Points than appeal. To get that many at once is a major boon that you’re unlikely to experience in a typical game of Ark Nova! 

That means building, building, building! It also means prioritizing large animal enclosures in order to cover more space. What happens when you play a game where you heavily prioritize building and focusing on large animals? City Zoo gives you the chance to find out.

Reptile Month

A strategy that can pay dividends in Ark Nova is going heavy on certain Animal types, and the Reptile Month Challenge invites you to do that by putting a nice shiny Reptile House right on your map when you begin the game, along with extra appeal per reptile you play.

It goes without saying that this is a great opportunity for players to experiment with reptiles. How advantageous is it to have a Reptile House instead of normal enclosures? What are the bottlenecks in a heavy Reptile strategy? What are some of the “best” Reptiles, and which Sponsors play well with them? You’ll come out of this Challenge with a better understanding of all these concepts — many of which you’ll be able to apply to other animal groups in future games!

Explorer

While Reptile Month invites you to focus on a specific type of animal, the Explorer Challenge asks you to do the opposite — in this scenario, you want to be gathering as many different types of icons as possible, and you can’t win until you have at least 5 different icons for animal categories and continents.

One of the best ways to improve at Ark Nova is to establish some basic “goals” based on the starting setup. This Challenge reinforces that concept by providing you with the Explorer card from the get-go, which rewards you with money and appeal every time you place a new type of icon. Playing this Challenge can demonstrate the advantages of establishing a strategic direction early on!

Sponsorship Drive

Speaking of Sponsors, why not have some fun with them in the Sponsorship Drive Challenge? This scenario increases the rewards for Sponsors and reduces the awards for Animals. We know how tempting it is to focus your whole game on getting exciting animals — you are, after all, building a zoo — but sometimes that approach can lead to neglecting powerful Sponsor cards.

Tight Schedule 

In the Tight Schedule Challenge, you start with an upgraded Action card, but you’re only allowed to use Actions at strength 5, which changes the traditional dynamic of Ark Nova quite a bit. You’ll have to sequence your actions very carefully in order to advance your plans successfully!

With its unconventional rules, this is a fun Challenge for veteran players, but it’s also an opportunity for newer players to practice getting optimal use out of their Actions. This scenario will also demonstrate the value of X-Tokens, which you can use to upgrade the strength level of cards. Be sure to use them judiciously in order to give yourself more flexibility!

Coming out of this Challenge, you’re likely to have learned a thing or two about how to avoid taking wasteful actions — an incredibly important ingredient in the recipe for success when playing Ark Nova at a high level.

More Challenges to Come 

We could say more, but we don’t want to spoil the surprise! These are just five of the thirteen Challenges you’ll find in Ark Nova Digital (26 if you’re counting Hard variants), and you can see what more awaits you by adding the game to your Steam library today!

Learn More About Ark Nova Digital

• Building the Best Zoo – An Overview of Ark Nova
• A Tour of Ark Nova Digital