worms

worms [options]

-h
    Displays a help message, explaining the available command-line options.

-f
    Makes the worm move faster, increasing the game's difficulty.

-l
    Enables 'looping' behavior; the worm wraps around the screen edges, appearing on the opposite side when it goes off-screen.

-s
    Activates 'stay' mode; the screen is not cleared between moves, leaving a persistent trail of the worm's path.

-w
    Enables 'walls' mode; the worm dies upon hitting the screen boundaries, disabling the looping behavior.

The worms command invokes a classic, text-based arcade game played directly in the terminal. The objective is to control a 'worm' that continuously moves and grows longer. Players must guide the worm to avoid colliding with the screen boundaries or its own tail. It's a simple yet engaging game often found in the bsdgames package, representing an early form of terminal entertainment before the advent of graphical user interfaces.

The game typically uses arrow keys for navigation, providing a straightforward and addictive experience focused on quick reflexes and spatial awareness. Its minimalist ASCII graphics are a hallmark of vintage console gaming.

The worms command is not a standard utility but rather an entertainment program. It is typically part of the bsdgames package or similar collections of classic Unix games and may not be installed by default on all Linux distributions. Users often need to install this package separately to play the game.

On Debian/Ubuntu-based systems, you can install worms by installing the bsdgames package:
sudo apt install bsdgames
For Fedora/RHEL, it might be part of the bsd-games package, usually installed via sudo dnf install bsd-games.

Once launched, the worm's direction is controlled using the arrow keys on your keyboard (Up, Down, Left, Right). The game starts automatically upon execution.

The worm continuously moves. Your goal is to guide it, making sure it doesn't collide with the borders of the terminal window (unless 'looping' is enabled) or its own growing body. The game ends upon collision.

The worms game, like many simple console games, has its roots in early computing environments, particularly Unix and BSD systems. It emerged during an era when graphical interfaces were nascent or non-existent, making text-based or 'ASCII art' games a popular form of user interaction and entertainment. It represents a long-standing tradition of including recreational software within standard system packages.

snake(6), ncurses(3), bsdgames(6), fortune(6)