Grow along the outer ring first
This is an endless slide, not a level-based run: eat to grow, and any touch with another body or your own tail ends the round. The useful note for a session is to spend the early length where the arena is quiet, then decide whether the middle is worth the risk.
The food-rich middle is where collisions happen
Eat food to make the worm longer while avoiding contact with every other body in the arena, including your own tail. The run continues until a collision, so the practical goal is to keep growing as long as possible without running out of space to turn.
Guide the worm with the mouse, arrow keys, or a touch joystick, depending on the control prompt shown. Some sessions add a speed option; use it only when the path ahead is clearly open, since quick movement shortens your reaction window and feeds the run into an early stop.
Spend the first moments near the open edges of the field, eating the food that sits away from the crowd. This gives you a short, controllable worm and a clear view of where the larger worms are moving before you commit to the middle of the arena.
Read the loader before you touch the joystick
The scene opens with a dotted loading line, the •..LOADING... cue, before the arena is live. Wait for that line to finish before steering, because the food and the other worms are not on the field yet — an early nudge just aims at an empty arena.
Grow a short worm along the outer ring first
The middle always looks full of food, but it is also where most collisions happen. Work the outer ring first, where the space is wide and the other worms pass through less often. A longer worm grown in calm space is worth more than a short one grown in the chaos.
Give the big worms a full body-width of space
Larger worms tend to circle wide paths and rarely change course quickly. Read their direction before you cross near them, and give them a full body-width of room. Most runs end when a small worm turns into the path that a bigger one is already committed to.
Turn early and wide when the gap closes
When a run gets crowded, a hard turn is the fastest way to hit another body. Start your curve early and make it wide, because a gradual loop keeps your tail on the outside of the turn where it cannot cut across you. Wide arcs need more room, so begin before the gap feels small.
Plan a sitting around one clean run
Every round is self-contained: a collision ends it and the next round starts fresh from a shorter worm. That makes the run a natural unit for a session — play until a run ends or the arena thins out, then stop on your own terms instead of losing the length you built to a careless gap.
Use the first stretch to map the big worms' loops
The opening seconds are also a scouting pass. Stay small, stay near the edge, and note which arcs the largest worms keep circling — that map tells you where you can cut later and where the crossings will always be busy, before your own length makes movement expensive.
Questions about the safe distance between worms
Is the center of the arena worth the risk?
It holds the most food, but it also collects the most bodies. The safer route is to grow along the outer ring first, where the runs are long and calm, then enter the middle only once your worm is big enough to hold its own line.
How much room should I keep between myself and others?
A full body-width is a good starting rule for smaller worms, and larger worms need more. If your head is within a curve's length of another body, you are one turn away from a collision, so take the wide route earlier rather than later.
Does an ended run keep any of its length?
No. A collision ends the round and the next one starts from a shorter worm again, so there is no carry-over to save. The only thing a finished run leaves behind is the map of where the arena crowded out.
When is the arena ready to steer?
Wait for the dotted loading line — the •..LOADING... cue — to finish before you move. Food and rivals are not placed until the loading pass completes, so early input only wastes a chance to choose a clean opening line.
