acm

acm [-sS] [-l num] [-w num] [-h num] [-p num] [-m num] [-v] [-V]

-s
    Start game paused.

-S
    Enable sound effects (default off).

-l num
    Set starting lives (default 3).

-w num
    Set map width in columns (default 80).

-h num
    Set map height in rows (default 24).

-p num
    Set number of power pills (default 3).

-m num
    Set number of mines (default 10).

-v
    Enable verbose output.

-V
    Display version information.

acm is a single-player terminal-based game written using ncurses library. Players control a worm navigating a scrolling ASCII art map to eat berries, which make the worm grow longer. The goal is to achieve the highest score by collecting berries while avoiding enemies such as hunters, butterflies, and mines. Power pills temporarily stun enemies, adding strategy.

The map wraps around edges and scrolls as the worm moves. Lives are lost upon collision with enemies or self-biting. Default settings provide a 80x24 map with 3 lives, 10 mines, and 3 power pills. Sound effects and verbose modes enhance play. Ideal for quick sessions in a terminal emulator.

Scoring: Berries worth 10 points each; bonuses for length and survival time. High scores saved to ~/.acmscore. Simple yet addictive, reminiscent of classic Snake with added hazards.

Requires ncurses library; terminal must support colors for best experience. High scores in ~/.acmscore may conflict in multi-user setups.
No network play; single-player only.

Arrow keys or hjkl to move; SPACE to pause; q to quit; ESC for menu.

Berry: 10 pts; Length bonus: 100 pts per 10 segments; Survival: 1 pt/sec; Power pill: 50 pts.

Developed by DJ Clark (dsclark@qnx.com) around 1990s. Ported to Linux; available in Debian repos since early 2000s. Inspired by classic worm games on Unix systems.

worm(6), snake(6), nethack(6)