Night Shepherd — an honest story about a game that owns your evening

Sometimes the simplest-looking game hooks you harder than a blockbuster. This is exactly that case: the rules take a minute to learn, and putting it down is much harder.

What this game is

Night shepherd: wolves prowl the meadow while the flock scatters in the dark. Shine your lantern to lure the sheep and scare off the wolves, gather the whole flock and drive it into the pen before dawn. But the lantern battery runs down, so you have to act fast.

How to play, in short

1. Night shepherd: wolves prowl the meadow while the flock scatters in the dark.

2. Shine your lantern to lure the sheep and scare off the wolves, gather the whole flock and drive it into the pen before dawn.

3. But the lantern battery runs down, so you have to act fast.

Controls

Controls: steer the lantern beam with the mouse or your finger; on the keyboard use the arrows. Draw the sheep toward the pen with light and keep the wolves away from them.

A few final tips

• Check out the demo mode on the game page — the AI shows how it is played, and repeating it yourself gets much easier.
• Play in short sessions: the best results come with a warmed-up head.

Simple on the surface, deep underneath — exactly the kind of game that never ages. Ready to try? "Night Shepherd"