Worms: The Board Game

All right then: carnage. At a time when lavish, feelgood euros rule and people get upset even by an effect that says “lose one resource,” Worms: The Board Game arrives to serve pain. There is no room for misunderstandings here: bazookas, super sheep, and whatever complexes I am carrying, preferably delivered straight into someone else’s face. As an adaptation of the epic and dearly departed computer game —one that personally got me thrown out of two internet cafés— it is a solid effort, even if the original’s madness does not come across intact.

The game essentially has me doing what I expect from Worms: aiming at other players and trying to load them up with damage through its ridiculous weapons. Its core identity is direct take-that; it does not pretend that we are all peacefully building something pretty side by side. I play to get my frustrations out, everyone else plays to return the favour, and that open warfare is exactly the flavour I want from the theme.

The difference is that things become a little more thinky than they ought to be. Rather than the videogame’s completely immediate, chaotic feel, it asks for somewhat more thought around choices and attacks. Even so, the chaos remains: there are yolo moments when the dice and the wind decide that my brilliant move is going to become my public trial. And honestly, in a Worms game that is not a flaw; it is the moment when the whole table remembers why it showed up.

I do have my reservations. The price is steep for what it offers, especially in the Collector’s Edition I own, which comes packed with a ton of miniatures for no particularly meaningful reason that I can see. If there is a cheaper edition, though, it starts looking much more worth the money. I can see it being the star of the trip and dethroning Dungeon Derby. Easy as a pie for Smidge!