Annelid antics: How Worms made an art of refining a timeless genre

Fwoosh! The unmistakable sound of a bazooka launch rings out from the TV’s speakers. “Oh no!” says the player who fired the shot, as the force of wind turns it back towards their own Worm. Boom! The missile narrowly misses the Worm but takes out the ground beneath it, sending it plunging into the briny depths below.

“Stupid!” rings out of the TV in a high-pitched voice, but one now drowned out by the laughter of the players in the room. Ever since Andy Davidson designed the Amiga original 25 years ago, Worms has enabled chaotic scenes like this in living rooms and bedrooms across the world, joining an elite list that have endured over such a long time.