With my coverage of classic artillery games as of late, it would be remiss of me to skip out on writing about the Worms series of video games. You could be forgiven for not having heard of Scorched Earth or Scorched 3D, but just about everyone has played one of the 25 Worms games at some point. So what exactly makes Worms so great? Read on and find out after the bump!

Worm fact: Did you know that worms are considered a delicacy by the Maori people of New Zealand? They call it "Noke". Wow!

Worms is a series of artillery video games originally developed in 1995 by Team17 and continues to be created to the present day. Where other artillery games have you playing as tanks, Worms has you playing as a team of the titular lubricidae, armed to the teeth (do worms have teeth?) with an arsenal of insane and hilarious weapons and tools. In other artillery games, you shoot various types missiles at other players. In Worms, you shoot anything from shotguns, to crazy exploding sheep, and even throw Holy Hand Grenades to decimate your foes. Clearly these are games created by a team that enjoys making their players laugh.

A feature I love is that you can name all your worms. It brings a twisted smile to my face when I crush the worms so carefully named by my opponents. And when they die, they have hilarious voices and dying insults to go along with their comical demise. Why can't I use salt as a weapon?

Worm fact: Did you know that worms have no legs? They contract their muscles to move underground. Wow!

In other artillery games, you may have limited movement of your tank. In Worms, you're expected to run and jump and use a variety of tools like grappling hooks and parachutes to maneuver your team to strategically advantageous positions of high ground and avoid the rising tides that engulf the stage and drown any slowpokes left behind. It adds a level of dread to each game, and frequently you'll need to weigh your options when deciding whether to eliminate one of your opponent's worms, or climb higher to safety. Definitely a cool feature.

I think it's hilarious to dragon punch other players off the stage and watch them drown in the waters.

Worms is probably my favorite game to put on at a party. Rounds only take a few minutes, and everybody will always have a good laugh at the ridiculous carnage that unfolds. Definitely a good game to play when you and some friends want a quick laugh. And, as I mentioned in my review of Scorched Earth, Worms has a lot of variance with some of the weapons and ordnance drops. The random nature really adds to the suspense and fun of the game.

When I play Worms, I like to think about one of my favorite quotes from master tactician Sun Tzu:

“When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.”

Sources: wikipedia, giphy