Board Game Arena

I started playing ark nova a week ago and I really liked the game. I love games where the player determines when the game ends and try to finish it as quickly as possible.

Today I completed the game in 26 moves, which is well below my average (though in just 10 games) of 30.5.

What is the average number of moves in ark nova, and is it compared to 26? Considering that I've just started and I'm playing non optimally, I assume that it's lower then 29 but still higher than 26

That’s really interesting and proves a point I like to make: You’re just good at board gaming in general, so you’re also good at Ark Nova. People who are good at a game often tell weaker players they just have to invest more effort to get better, which is true in general but doesn’t mean it’s mainly about effort.

To answer your question: the average amount of turns is 34,54 for all players and 33,92 for winners. Better players than me will tell you what the average for top players is, it’s considerably lower. Regardless of what their average is, 26 is very good (edit:as is an average of 30.5). It is possible to end in less, but only a few turns less.

Premium users can check the statistics, for example by clicking “my statistics at this game “ on the profile page where you can see all of the games you’ve played.

29 is very good, but probably unreasonable to maintain in the long run.

Some maps are just harder to end quickly.
Map A games really shouldn't really count.
There will also be situations where it's correct to stall a break because you benefit more from staying in a round.

Turn average is a bit tricky, is not necessarily a great metric of strength.

Many top players have somewhere between 29 and 31.

But the differences are more down to style i think. Some players break more aggressively and value sponsors a bit less and will have a lower average. Others play more sponsors and have a higher turn count.

Thank you for your answers!

FDHenneberg wrote: ↑01 March 2026, 08:54 That’s really interesting and proves a point I like to make: You’re just good at board gaming in general, so you’re also good at Ark Nova. People who are good at a game often tell weaker players they just have to invest more effort to get better, which is true in general but doesn’t mean it’s mainly about effort.

I'm really faster at learning games, and I can probably achieve more in some of them than the average person, but I still spend a lot of time and effort on it. I would say that most important thing is a desire for victory and improvement.

I found out that the average number of moves for top players is really about 30, but 30 moves at their level is many times better than 30 at mine, since at a good level all good cards and projects are immediately taken away and breaks always at worse possible timing

Beginners maps are really easier, but due to the fact that I played them in the very first games, I got the same 30 moves and did not change the average.