Herding game · Browser · Keyboard & mouse
Sheep Survival
Play the sheepdog. Guide the flock away from UFO beams, regroup after meteor strikes, and keep as many sheep as you can.
Free to play, no account required. Open on a computer with a keyboard to play.
Survival
Keep at least 30 sheep as hazards build in waves. Your score is how long you last.
Rescue Run
Three minutes of increasing pressure. Your score is the number of sheep you keep.
Free Herding
Learn to guide the flock at your own pace. Switch hazards on when you want them.
Move, bark, rally
WASD or arrow keys to run. Hold Space or left click, then release to bark. Press E to rally nearby sheep. Esc pauses.
Designing the flock
The dog controls the flock through proximity and pressure. A bark gives a stronger push; a rally call brings nearby sheep toward a fixed point.
Implementation details
Guiding without selecting
You control one dog, not each sheep. Running along the flock's edges applies directional pressure. Moving through the middle can split it. Each sheep responds to its neighbours, nearby space and the dog's movement, with small, stable differences in steering response.
The aim is to make a large flock feel responsive without moving like one rigid object. Local cohesion brings nearby groups together, while separation leaves individual sheep room to move. Strong impulses can scatter them and bounce them off the field's edges.
Three ways to move the flock
Running gives continuous steering. A charged bark pushes sheep in a visible cone, trading precision for a stronger impulse. The rally call draws nearby sheep toward the place where you called, while leaving you free to move elsewhere.
Rally does not disable ordinary guiding. Running close to sheep takes control back, and barking overrides their attraction to the call. The cooldown limits the next rally, not the flock's response to the dog.
Hazards with different consequences
UFOs lift sheep that remain inside their beams. Some target the flock's anticipated position, but their zones stop moving once the warning appears. Meteors scatter sheep rather than remove them. Their disruption can leave smaller groups exposed to another beam.
Survival increases hazard pressure in waves, with short breaks between them. Rescue Run asks how many sheep you can keep after three minutes. Free Herding removes the defeat condition and lets you switch hazards on or summon them yourself.
Browser implementation
The game uses JavaScript and Canvas for the field, flock and drawing. Flock steering, hazards, rendering, audio and game modes live in separate files. Cached drawings keep repeated sheep and ground details inexpensive to render.
Recorded barks and bleats sit alongside synthesized hazard sounds. Personal bests are saved in the browser. The game does not require an account or a model call during play.
The illustrated project plate is separate from the game's visuals. Its small hover loop combines a bark pulse, a lifted sheep and rotating saucer lights.