Sheep Game

Sheep Game is a top-down sheepdog herding game. You play a border collie working a small flock across 10 farm fields, steering the sheep around trees, through hedge gaps, past ponds and over narrow bridges until every one is in the pen and the gate is shut. You can play this sheep game online free in your browser with no download, on a keyboard, mouse or touch screen.

How to play

You only move the dog, and the sheep react to it. Each field starts with the flock grazing in one corner and an empty pen with an open gate somewhere else.

• Move the dog: use the arrow keys or WASD. On a phone, or with a mouse, hold down on the field and the dog runs to the spot under your finger or pointer. Let go and it stops.
• Read the flock: sheep run from the dog when it comes inside the dashed ring around it, and the closer the dog gets, the faster they bolt. They also stay close together and move the same way as their neighbors.
• Watch for strays: left alone, sheep wander off in their own directions. On some fields a black sheep ignores the flock, wanders more and reacts less to the dog.
• Avoid the water: a sheep that ends up in a pond or the river is lost. Sheep try to stay off the bank, but a panicking sheep can still blunder in.
• Pen them and shut the gate: a sheep counts as penned once it is inside the fence. When every sheep that is left is in, bring the dog to the gate and press C, Enter or the Close gate button.

Losing more than half the flock, or taking longer than five minutes, ends the attempt.

The whistle

Hold Space, or hold the Whistle button, and the dog drops into a crouch. While it crouches it creeps along slowly, its scare ring shrinks to a little over half its normal size, and nearby sheep settle down quickly. Use it next to water, when lining sheep up for a bridge or a gate, or when a few sheep start running the wrong way.

Fields and stars

There are 10 fields, and each one unlocks the next. They add one idea at a time: an orchard, a hedge with one gap, a duck pond, the black sheep, a river with a single wooden bridge, two hedges with gaps at opposite ends, and finally fields that mix them all.

Clearing a field earns one star, beating its par time earns a second and losing no sheep earns a third. Your best stars and times are saved in your browser, so you can replay any unlocked field.

Tips

• Work from behind. Put the dog on the far side of the flock from where you want it to go. The sheep move directly away from the dog, so a small step to the left or right steers the whole group.
• Stay wide. Charging into the flock splits it. Keep the dog near the edge of the ring, and circle around the sheep rather than cutting through them.
• Collect stragglers first. Bring wanderers back to the group before you push through a gap or over the bridge. A lone sheep left by the river is the one most likely to fall in.
• Line up the gate. Bring the flock straight out in front of the gate before you push in. Sheep pushed against the side of the pen get stuck on the fence, though the hay inside tempts nearby sheep toward the opening.

FAQ

Is Sheep Game free?

Yes. There is no account and nothing to install.

Does it work on phones and Chromebooks?

Yes. On a phone or tablet, hold your finger on the field and the dog runs toward it, and use the buttons under the field to whistle and close the gate. On a Chromebook or laptop, use the arrow keys or WASD.

Can I pause the game?

Press P or Esc, or use the Pause button. It also pauses when you switch tabs.

How do I get three stars?

Pen the whole flock, lose no sheep to the water and close the gate before the field’s par time runs out. On the river fields, crouch with the whistle near the bridge so nobody slips in.

What happens if I lose a sheep?

You can still clear the field with the sheep you have left, as long as no more than half the flock is lost. You just miss the star for a perfect round.

Like games with farm animals? Try Farm Game to grow crops and raise animals on your own farm, or Chicken Game to catch eggs as they roll out of the coop.