THE NEST

A tiny ASCII arcade shooter for the terminal, by sata.

Space dragons crawl across the sky above their nest, laying eggs as they go. The eggs warm up (white, yellow, red) and hatch into little dragons that dive straight at you. Shoot the heads, split the bodies, and don't let them hatch.

 SCORE 000200                   WAVE 1                HI-SCORE 005000
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                           \,_.-~^^^~-._,/                          |
|                             \__.---.__/                            |
|                               `-----'                              |
|                                                                    |
|                             __________-^                           |
|                            {oOoOoOoOoO: o{                         |
|                                        -"                          |
|                    .-.                                             |
|                    (_)                          /o\                |
|                                                 \"/                |
|                                                                    |
|                                 /"\                                |
|                                [=0=]                               |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
 /"\ /"\ /"\

Pure Python and the standard library. No graphics, no extra downloads: it runs in any terminal, over SSH, and on the bare console of a Linux server.

Install

The easiest way is pipx, which installs command-line programs in their own little space:

pipx install the-nest

Then just type:

thenest

Want to try it first, without installing anything?

pipx run the-nest

You can also use plain pip inside a virtual environment: pip install the-nest.

How to play

• Dragon head: 100 points, plus 10 for every body segment. Long dragons are worth more.
• Dragon body: 20 points, and the dragon splits in two. The tail turns around and keeps going.
• Egg: 10 points. Hatchling: 30 points. If a hatchling reaches the ground, you lose a life.
• Extra life every 2000 points.
• Every 3 waves there is a bonus stage: the hatchlings line up in formation. Shoot them all before time runs out for a PERFECT bonus.

Your top 10 is saved in ~/.the_nest_scores.

Requirements

• Python 3.8 or newer
• A terminal of at least 62 x 26 characters (bigger is better)
• Linux and macOS work out of the box. On Windows, pip installs windows-curses automatically; use Windows Terminal.

On the Linux text console the game switches to a large font while you play and restores yours when you quit. Use thenest --normal-font to keep your font.

Credits

• Game design, art direction, ASCII art and playtesting: sata
• Programming: written with Claude, an AI assistant made by Anthropic, directed and reviewed by sata

License

MIT. Made by sata, 2026.

You're free to play it, change it and share it. If you make your own version, a credit like "original game by sata" is appreciated.