Worms Armageddon for Mac

This game draws in people who like their strategy loud, unpredictable and a little absurd. It’s for anyone who enjoys plotting a careful shot, then watching it ricochet off three cliffs before a sheep explodes where you least expected.

Movement: tiny steps across a crumbling map

Each turn begins with a short timer. You walk or jump your worm to a new position, mindful that the ground can be blasted away with every action.

Aiming: wind, angle and power

You choose a weapon, adjust the shot angle and set the launch force. A wind indicator at the bottom of the screen pushes every projectile sideways, so a perfect line on a still day can miss completely in a stiff breeze.

Weapons: from bazookas to banana bombs

The arsenal is vast and deliberately unbalanced. A well-placed homing missile can end a match, but a mistimed holy hand grenade can take out your own team just as easily.

Terrain: a destroyable playground

Small conveniences: shortcuts worth knowing

Several details are easy to overlook simply because the interface does not advertise them. Holding Shift while pressing the arrow keys makes a worm sidestep without turning, useful when you need to peek over an edge without exposing your back to a second opponent. The spacebar skips the replay of an opponent's turn, a small mercy during long matches. Tapping Tab cycles through your remaining worms so you can assess positions before committing to a move. The weapon panel itself supports number keys for quick selection: 1 for bazooka, 5 for grenade, and so on — faster than mousing through icons when the turn timer is ticking.

Training tools: wind lessons and rope practice

Begin with the training modes before the campaign. The target range teaches wind compensation without anyone shooting back, and the rope-training course turns the ninja rope from a novelty into a genuine movement tool. Adjust the mouse sensitivity in the options menu early: the default can feel sluggish on a modern display, and a slight increase makes fine aiming less of a wrestle. If the game does not launch cleanly on Apple Silicon, run the Fix file from the disk image once — that resolves most Wine-related hiccups without further tinkering.

Beginners’ mistakes: three common ones

The first is treating every turn as an attack turn. Moving a worm to safer ground or simply hiding is often the stronger play, especially when the terrain is crumbling. The second is forgetting that the wind affects every projectile, including grenades and bananas rolled along the floor; a gentle breeze can curve a seemingly straight roll into the water. The third is stockpiling powerful weapons for a finale that never arrives. A well-timed sheep or an airstrike mid-match can thin the enemy ranks before they get the same idea. Use the good tools while your worms are still alive to aim them.

Every explosion redraws the landscape. Tunnels collapse, bridges vanish and a worm that felt safe seconds ago can suddenly be standing over open water.

• Apple Silicon Mac