Gameplay follows on the earlier games of the series, in which teams of worms take turns to use a variety of weapons and items in order to eliminate the opposing teams.
Worms 3 is the first Worms game to feature card mode, which allows the player to alter the start and end of each turn. There are forty one cards in total, which must be collected first by unlocking in-game rewards and purchasing them. There are also four different worms classes, which first appeared in Worms Revolution, and new weapons.
Multiplayer and online modes are available, along with Bodycount mode, a new mode which challenges the player to beat their friend's score in challenges.