Play Battleship online

Battleship (also known as Battleships) is a classic strategy board game where the players place their warship fleets in a grid system and then try to find and sink each others ships. Play the Battleship game against the computer with this snazzy interface:

This game opens as a regular web page. There is no login or installation required, and the game works on mobile devices, tablets and desktop PC.

Play Battleship Online:

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Game basics

The game objective is to sink your opponent's fleet of warships befor he sinks yours. When the game starts, the locations of the other player's ships are hidden. You have to try launching rockets and torpedoes to various coordinates on the game map grid to hit an enemy ship. Each ship occupies various numbers of grid coordinates according to their size, so when you hit something you can try hitting neighbouring coordinates to destroy the whole ship.

The gameplay interface

Press the play-button on the startup screen to start a game

The startup screen

Select game mode: 'Classic' or 'Advanced'. The advanced mode includes bomber planes and search radar.

The game mode buttons

Place your fleet on the grid: Pick your ships from the line-up on the left side and place them in the strategy panel. When all the ships are in position, press the play button.

The strategy panel

Start the bombardment: Your goal is to hit your enemy's ships, but you do not know their positions on your opponent's grid. Pick a grid coordinate to launch an attack. Your fleet will launch a rocket or torpedo to the coordinate you have selected. If it's a hit, there will be an explosion.

The attack panel

Rules

You and your opponent will take turns launching an attack. All the squares a ship covers on the grid must be hit in order for it to sink. Each ship can be placed with a horizontal or vertical orientation on the grid. The players can only lanunch one rocket or torpedo for each turn. The player who manages to sink all the opponent ships first, is the winner of the game.

The battlefield grid

Battleship strategy tips

Avoid Predictable Patterns:
Don’t clump your ships together in one area or line them all along the edge. Spread them out to avoid giving away multiple ships when your opponent finds one.
Stagger Large Ships:
Keep your big ships (like the Carrier or Battleship) separated. If your opponent discovers one, they’re less likely to stumble across another right next to it.
Use Both Horizontal and Vertical Orientations:
Mix things up so you’re not too predictable. Don’t place all ships in one orientation.
Be Mindful of Common Guessing Patterns:
Because many players use a checkerboard firing pattern, avoid placing multiple ships in a neat row or column that aligns with this pattern.
Occasional Risky or Deceptive Placement:
Consider placing a small ship near a large one (with required spacing). This can mislead opponents who think they’ve cleared a section after finding just one ship.
Checkerboard (or Parity) System:
Only fire on “black” or “white” squares first (as on a checkerboard). Ships longer than one square will cross both colors, so this method covers more ground efficiently.
Hunt-Then-Destroy Approach:
- Hunt: Use a systematic pattern (like checkerboard) to find a hit.
- Destroy: Once you hit, focus on adjacent squares to find the ship’s orientation and sink it.
- Resume Hunting: After sinking, go back to systematic hunting for remaining ships.
Use Probability Gaps:
As the game progresses, concentrate on the areas least tested where opponents’ ships might still be hiding.
Notice Their Patterns:
Keep track of how the opponent guesses (random, row-by-row, checkerboard). Adapt your defense and placement to exploit their approach.