Worms (Series)
Platforms: Mac, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS
Genres: Fighting, Shooting, Strategy and Turn-Based
Released: August 2016, updated in 2018. Added to this library 6 months ago, last updated 8 weeks ago.
Overview
This is a long-standing turn-based multiplayer combat game. The twist is that all the players are worms. With bizarre attacks on opponents that range from exploding sheep to self-deploying ninja rope, the battle is on the far end of crazy.
Players take turns choosing an attack for each of their worms to make, although once chosen they have a limited time to target and fire. The worm characters have become embellished with hats and funny voices over the years, so this now looks and sounds like an episode of Monty Python. The lightheartedness works well to diffuse the intense competition with comedy. It's funny but also needs considerable strategy and tactical skill.
A popular recent version is Worms W.M.D. It has updated hand-drawn style visuals and adds the new ability to craft items as well as vehicles and buildings. It includes many of the classic Worms levels.
This game is good if you want to compete on the couch, connect with grandparents or connect and challenge friends.
Commitment
Players: You can play with 6 players in the same room and up to 6 players online. 6 players can compete against each other in teams of 2-4. Each team has multiple worms to control in their turn. Because you are taking turns you only need one controller. You can complete Worms W.M.D. in around 12 hours but the real longevity is the multiplayer modes.
Worms 3 on iOS and Android offers asynchronous online play where you take turns on your go without having to both play at the same time.
Costs
Worms WMD has free additional content. But Worms 3 on iOS offers in-game purchases for "Forts Mode" and other enhancements.
You will need PlayStation Plus to play online with PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4. You will need Xbox Live Gold to play online with Xbox 360 or Xbox One. You will need Nintendo Online to play online with Nintendo Switch.
This game is free with Xbox Game Pass. This game is free with Origin Access. Multiplayer on DS or 3DS is available with one copy of the game, via Download Play feature.
Ratings
The game features online playing capability which may involve real-time interaction with other players.
This game has been rated ESRB EVERYONE 10+.
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.
Accessibility
System settings: Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games. The Wii has a few helpful settings, like disable rumble, but you have to use gesture controls for most games and the system menu. Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators. PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping). Xbox One has a wide range of system features including some that can be used on all games, like the excellent co-pilot mode. iOS has a very extensive suite of accessibility settings including ways to navigate with voice and comprehensive screen reading, though most of the features don't work with games... read more.
Similar Games
The following games address a similar topic or offer a similar way to play. They are good options to play after Worms, and also offer a range of alternatives for different age ratings.
ClusterPuck 99
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox One
Genres: Action, Creative, Sports and Strategy
Players: You can play with 8 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
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Sociable Soccer
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Genres: Action, Simulation and Sports
Duration: Between 40 hours and 60 hours to complete.
Players: You can play with 2 players in the same room and up to 4 players online.
Costs: Free-to-start. In-game purchases.
Sociable Soccer is a fast-paced, quick to pick-up, slow to master, football game. Unlike the intricated lifelike simulation of FIFA, this game wants to recreate the frantic feel of classic arcade football games. It has its heritage back in Sensible...
Words With Friends
Platforms: Android, Web Browser and iOS
Genres: Strategy and Turn-Based
Duration: Between 10 minutes and half an hour to complete.
Players: You can play with 2 players in the same room and up to 2 players online.
Costs: Free.
Words with Friends is online Scrabble. You take turns placing tiles to make words crossword-style. Because the game is online you can play with people in different places, but also without having to be online at the same time with its asynchronous play.
Retimed
Platforms: Mac, Nintendo Switch and PC
Genres: Action, Platform, Shooting and Strategy
Duration: Between 5 minutes and 15 minutes to complete.
Players: You can play with 4 players in the same room and up to 4 players online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Retimed is a multiplayer shooting game where players can create a bubble that slows down time. This makes the usual frantic shooting and dodging more achievable as when you are in danger you have more time to get out of the way.
12 Orbits
Platforms: Android, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC and iOS
Genres: Action, Simulation and Sports
Duration: Between 5 minutes and 10 minutes to complete.
Players: You can play with 12 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Free-to-start.
12 Orbits is a tactical game where you control a small coloured ball by pressing a single button. When you are over the grey circles you press to orbit that circle, otherwise pressing the button will dodge.
Spaceland
Platforms: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC and iOS Apple Arcade
Genres: Fighting, Shooting, Strategy and Turn-Based
Duration: Between 10 minutes and 15 minutes to complete.
Players: This is a single player game.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Spaceland is a quick turn-based strategy game where you command sci-fi troopers to shoot, kick, blow up and destroy the enemy. It's a little like a game of chess as you equip and plan your missions, before carefully moving and attacking on your turn.
Towerfall
Platforms: Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One
Genres: Action, Fighting, Platform and Shooting
Players: You can play with 6 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Purchase cost. In-game purchases.
Each player selects a pixelated knight and fights to eliminate opponents by shooting them with arrows or jumping on their heads. The arena is a single shared screen. What makes it so competitive is the limited resource of arrows and the ability to dodge...
Bomberman (Series)
Platforms: Android, Mac, Nintendo 2DS/3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS
Players: You can play with 8 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Bomberman is the spiritual ancestor to last-player-standing battles like Fortnite and Apex Legends, but here you all play on the same screen and have the same bomb weapon. There are lots of versions, but in all of them you battle with up to eight...
Wargroove
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Genres: Fighting, Strategy and Turn-Based
Duration: Between 20 hours and 40 hours to complete.
Players: You can play with 4 players in the same room and up to 4 players online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
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Cannon Brawl
Platforms: Mac, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
Genres: Fighting, Shooting and Strategy
Duration: Between 2 hours and 4 hours to complete.
Players: You can play with 2 players in the same room, but you can’t play it online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Cannon Brawl is a two-player battle where you collect resources and build weapons and defences, all in real time. It’s shout-out-loud fun where one wrong shot can let your opponent get the upper hand. Each battle is as frantic as it is silly. To win...
Worms Rumble
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
Genres: Action, Fighting, Platform and Shooting
Duration: Between 5 minutes and 15 minutes to play a round.
Players: You can play this with 32 players online.
Costs: Purchase cost. In-game purchases.
Worms Rumble is a multiplayer game where 32 worm characters try and shoot each other. It takes the usual turn-based Worms formula in a real time direction complete with a battle royale mode like Fortnite.
Clubhouse Games (Series)
Platforms: Nintendo DS and Nintendo Switch
Genres: Action, Platform, Puzzle and Strategy
Duration: Between 5 minutes and 15 minutes to complete.
Players: You can play with 4 players in the same room and up to 4 players online.
Costs: Purchase cost.
Clubhouse Games, is a series that offers classic board and card games in one large bundle. It's not only great value but introduces children to a wide range of real-world games to play with the family.
Worms is in These Lists
In addition to the similar games listed above, which have been linked to this game specifically in the database, you may find games with a similar theme to Worms in the following lists:
Compete on the Couch
Free With Xbox Game Pass
You cannot play games you install when your Xbox Game Pass expires, although you do keep any games you have purchased at a discount with your membership. You will need to purchase any in-game extra content in addition to the subscription, although some games include this content for free.
- Xbox Game Pass £7.99/month
- Xbox Game Pass Ultimate including Xbox Live Gold for online play £10.99/month
- Xbox Game Pass PC £7.99/month
Play And Connect
Players enjoy making new connections in these games, as well as connecting with wider family and friends. Listen to the chatter while children play these games, and you hear as much talk about homework, television, YouTube or what's happening in the world as who to shoot in the head next.
Free With Origin Access
- Basic (£3.99/Month) grants access to games but not other in-game purchases. Very new games are sometimes restricted to a demo.
- Advance (£14.99/Month) grants access to even the newest EA games and includes in-game purchases.
Ease Loneliness With Intergenerational Games
Video games are one way that we can reconnect with each other, without needing to be in the same place. Finding games to play online with grandparents and carers is not only a good way to keep in touch but a lot of fun.
The games on this page are part of the PLAY&TALK Weekend, which has launched in time for National Loneliness Awareness Week, aims to reduce feelings of isolation by getting people to talk with friends or family safely online. Backed by over 30 companies in the games industry, the Play&Talk weekend hopes to initiate 10,000 extra conversations across the UK through the power of games.- Co-operative: Some of the games are good ways to connect and play co-operatively online (like Feather, Overcooked 2, Ibb and Obb, Skylanders Children of Light).
- Competitive: With some practice there are easy and fun online competitive games (like Tricky Towers, Videoball)
- Asynchronous: Other games are a way to connect and play without being online at the same time (like Horizon Chase Turbo, Worms, Words With Friends, Wargroove, Animal Crossing).
- Community: Then there are games that connect you with a wider player community in a gentle non-invasive way (like The First Tree, Journey, Lost Words, The Endless Forrest).
Free Multiplayer With Nintendo Download Play
The main player has the game in their DS, the other players go to the Download Play option in the menu of their DS. The game then downloads a small version to each player so everyone can play.
Some games limit this to just one other player, but games like Mario Tennis allow for 4 players to compete, and Mario Kart allows for up to 8 players to race against each other with just one copy of the game. Other games, like Luigi's Manion: Dark Moon offers special download multiplayer modes where you can compete against each other.
Here is a list of the top Download Play DS and 3DS games. Or there is our full list of great Download Play games.
Remote Play Together With Steam
Not all games support these feature but for those that do, listed here, all you need is one copy of the game for the two of you, an account on Steam and a PC to play on in your separate locations and a good internet connection.
You can also use the Steam Remote Play Anywhere feature to stream your games from you PC to another device like a smartphone or tablet. This enables you to play in a different room of the house or on the go.
Thanks for using our resource. We are editorially independant, written by parents for parents, but welcome sponsorship, partnership and suggestions. It is supported by the Get Smart About PLAY campaign from AskAboutGames.com. For more advice and guidance on video games, also check out my Taming Gaming book.Tweet
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