In TapeWorm, you play as Slinky the tapeworm, navigating through a bean patch and eating beans. As you eat beans, your body grows longer, and the bean count decreases. Beans appear randomly in the patch, and your objective is to eat them before the beetle at the bottom moves from the left side to the right side. If the beetle reaches the right side before you eat the bean, two more beans will appear in the patch and the bean count will increase.
Occasionally, Beeky the bird or Spanky the spider will pass through the bean patch, and in later levels, an obstacle will appear in the middle of the patch. You lose a life if your head (yellow square) touches the obstacle, the sides of the patch, your own body, or if Spanky or Beeky touch your head.
In the third patch, it is nighttime, and you can only see the patch for two seconds after eating a bean. Pressing the fire button will give you another two seconds of light at the cost of a bean.
The levels and their point values are as follows:
- Apple (5 points per bean, 50 points for the apple)
- Orange (10 points per bean, 100 points for the orange)
- Grape (15 points per bean, 150 points for the grapes)
- Strawberry (20 points per bean, 200 points for the strawberry)
- Banana (25 points per bean, 250 points for the banana)
You earn a bonus worm for every 1,000 points, with a maximum of four worms in reserve.