Woodworm

Woodworm is a grid-based puzzle game about constructing figurines out of blocks of wood. As the titular woodworm, you only have the ability to wriggle along the grid, climb up surfaces, and chomp through wood. In each puzzle, your goal is to construct a particular shape out of the wood, which is surprisingly tricky when you're just a little woodworm!

The game starts with a simple explanation of the gnawing mechanics, then opens up to the level select screen. A hand hovers over different shapes to choose from. You can move the hand to select levels in whatever order you want. In each level, you’ll get a figurine as a reference and a wood block to create a replica.

The worm can move in any direction and eats whatever stands in its way. Worms, of course, can’t fly, so you may need to carve yourself a surface suitable for climbing. The woodworm also can’t go backwards, so when trying to get out of a burrow, you may have to eat the surrounding wood. However you’ll have to be careful not to eat too much, lest you don't have enough to complete the work!

The game's quirky pixel art is a product of the PICO-8 game engine. You can undo any move or reset a level at any time—the difficult part is knowing which intermediary shapes to create so that the full figurine eventually falls into place. Creative solutions will be key to carving these deceptively simple shapes.

Woodworm was first published on itch.io for free on June 15th, 2024, in a version now known as Woodworm Classic. It was re-released on itch.io and Steam on December 9th, 2025, with new visuals, new audio and additional puzzles.

This description was written by Cay Macres & Joseph Mansfield.