Uncle Worm

Uncle Worm is a video game created by a programmer going by the alias Badja. It can be run on the Mirage operating system of Texas INSTRUMENTS' TI-83 Plus graphing calculator.

Gameplay

Uncle Worm is a simple game that plays very much like the old classic Snake. After choosing which speed he or she wants to play the game at, the player controls a 1-pixel wide "worm" in a quest to eat dots that appear on the screen one at a time. Each dot eaten increases both the player's score and the worm's length, which makes it increasingly difficult for the player to maneuver the worm without hitting himself. After eating ten dots, the player is able to ProgresS to the next level by proceeding through a narrow opening at the top of the screen, ending the level and earning himself a bonus. The process is then repeated, with each level increasingly narrow and more difficult - level 5 is practically impossible on a "fast" setting. When the player hits any of the four walls (more common amongst amateurs) or himself (more common amongst experts), the game is over.

The Primary difference between Uncle Worm and its more famous predecessor is that, while in Snake one can only turn the snake at 90-degree angles, one can turn the worm in Uncle Worm at any angle he or she so desires.

For a long time there was much controversy as to the amount of levels in Uncle Worm but Michael Cardace proved that there are only 6 levels to the game after beating it on 'Medium' speed: a task virtually impossible. As of September 2006 he is the only known person to beat Uncle Worm

Scoring

After each level is finished or the player gets a game over, the game tells the player his score, which is computed as follows:

  • Each tiny dot - Adds 4 points
  • Each small dot - Adds 5 points
  • Each mid-size dot - Adds 6 points
  • Each large dot - Adds 7 points
  • Each huge dot - Adds 8 points (note: the larger dot sizes, though they are easier to get with the worm and do score more points, also increase the length of the worm more than do the smaller sizes.)
  • The bonus - Adds 16 points * the number of the level just finished. For example, if a player finishes level 2, he scores 32 additional points. If the player also beats level 3, he or she scores 48 additional points on top of the 48 bonus points the player received for beating levels 1 and 2.

Each size of dot nominally appears with the same frequency, so a bit of arithmetic shows that the average amount of points one scores on average per level is 10 dots * 6 points/dot = 60 points. Add this to the bonus of 16 points and the player gets the average score after level 1, 76 points. (The amount of points scored on a level is rarely more than 10 above or below the average; for example, it's most common to score (60±10)+32 = between 82 and 102 points on level 2.)

Another quick bit of arithmetic shows that the mean score after beating level 4 should be (60*4 + 16 + 32 + 48 + 64) = 400, but in practice it's usually less. This is because smaller dots are actually slightly more common than larger dots, simply because there's more space to put them. This is most evident in the later levels, where there's less room.

Commonly defined, a "good" score is 300-350 points, while a "great" score is anything above 420. (Scores between 350 and 400 rarely occur, due to the 64-point bonus for beating level 4.)

Proper Play

Playing Uncle Worm (or " uncle worming") at a high level requires extreme discipline and patience, but these are worth nothing if the player's technique is poor. Firstly, all expert play is done on the most difficult setting, which is "fast" - the "medium" and "slow" speeds are for amateurs only. Once "fast" is selected from the starting screen, the game of Uncle Worm immediately begins.

The first difficulty that most beginners run into is a simple inability to control the worm, due to improper fingering. It is optimal to place the thumbs of each hand on the left and right keys; this allows for quick turns in either direction, which becomes of paramount importance the further in the game one progresses.

After proper fingering is established, though the new players can now turn correctly, they often end up trapping themselves against the side, resulting in a premature game over. The key to avoiding this is to "always leave oneself an out". The most effective way to do this (and the only way to progress into the further levels of Uncle Worm) is to double back on oneself, thus creating a compressed "S" sort of shape. This allows for much more free maneuvering space, reducing greatly the possibility of unforced errors on the player's part.

Finally, the last mistake beginning Uncle Worm players make is to play too quickly. There is no bonus for finishing a level quickly, so when one misses a dot (sometimes experts do this on purpose, to avoid growing and to give themselves time to regroup), it's best not to rush after it, but to patiently wind around and try again. Using proper fingering, doubling back on oneself constantly, and remembering to be patient, one can become an Uncle Worm juggernaut in no time at all, earning one the adulation of one's peers.

Bugs

It is possible to send the game into an infinite loop, essentially stalling it, if the game has no room to draw a new dot. This usually occurs only on Level 6, the last level, and even then occurs rarely. Sometimes this may even result in the calculator's RAM being cleared.

High Scores

In order to achieve a truly extraordinary score in Uncle Worm, it is essential not only to have played a great game, but also to have gotten lucky by having eaten a lot of 8-point and 7-point dots in levels one, two, and three. This provides the extra boost over scores that are merely "great".

Beating Uncle Worm / Score Record

On "Medium" Speed, Michael Cardace of Roseland, New Jersey under the witness of 5 fellow colleagues beat Uncle Worm and set a high score record of 674 on September 14, 2006. Benjamin also proved the theory that there existed only 6 levels to the Uncle Worm World, upon completion and receiving the 96 point bonus the game returns to main screen after hitting the '2nd' key. This event has been recorded for Proof on 2 Camera Cell phones.

The highest known score on "Fast" Speed is 592, set by Dallas Simons of Nashville, Tennessee in October, 2006. He also holds the record for the highest known total score in four consecutive games on "Fast," accumulating 2212 points in four games.

The Legacy of Michael Cardace

Upon successfully completing the game Dirty Dace's two year devotion to Uncle Worm finally paid off. The 2 years prior had been spent entirely playing Uncle Worm through every class period at West Essex Regional High School despite this Michal Cardace still mantained a 2.46 GPA and excelled in all his classes. Currently, Ben is working on mathematically proving the probability of beating Level 6 by compiling algorithmic methods to graphically solve the problem by pixelating the screen and then calculating the size of each dot versus the size in pixels of level 6. His works will be published on his upcoming website that's name has yet to be announced.