Battleship - Sink the Fleet
How to play: Both fleets are auto-placed. Your fleet is on the LEFT (with hits/misses from AI shots). Fire at the RIGHT grid to find AI ships. Hit = red X, Miss = blue dot, Sunk = full ship outline. Each fleet has 5 ships (sizes 5,4,3,3,2 = 17 cells). First to sink all 17 enemy cells wins.
About Battleship
Battleship is the timeless guess-and-deduce game where two fleets hide on grids and players take turns calling shots. Originally a paper-and-pencil game from World War I-era trench newspapers, it became a Milton Bradley plastic-peg classic in the 1960s and has been a household name ever since. The rules take 10 seconds to learn; the strategic depth around probability and parity goes much deeper.
Our online version uses the standard 10×10 grid and 5-ship fleet (sizes 5, 4, 3, 3, 2 — 17 cells total). Both fleets are auto-placed at random for fairness. Three AI levels: Easy fires randomly, Medium hunts after hits (checks adjacent cells), Hard adds parity targeting (only fires on cells where row+col is even since the smallest ship is 2 cells — cuts the search space in half).
How to Play Battleship
- Both fleets are auto-placed when the battle starts.
- Your fleet is on the LEFT grid (visible to you, with AI shots marked).
- Click any cell on the RIGHT grid to fire a shot at the AI’s hidden fleet.
- Hit = red X. Miss = blue dot. Sunk = the entire ship outline turns red.
- After your shot, the AI fires back. Hits reveal where AI shots landed on YOUR fleet.
- First to sink all 17 enemy cells wins. Click “New Battle” to redeal.
Strategy Tips
- Parity hunting. Since the smallest ship is 2 cells, you only need to hit every OTHER cell to find every ship. Fire on cells where row+col is even — cuts your search space in half.
- Once you hit, hunt. A hit means a ship is there. Try the 4 adjacent cells next to find the ship’s orientation.
- Trace the line. Two hits in a row tells you the ship’s direction — keep firing along that line until miss or sunk.
- Don’t waste shots near edges. Big ships can’t fit in tiny corner pockets, so probability of larger ships is higher near the center.
- Mark sunk ships mentally. Once a 5 is sunk, you don’t need to hunt for it anywhere else — cross those out.
A Brief History
Battleship’s origins trace back to French naval war games (Jeu de la guerre navale) and Russian games published in the 1890s. American soldiers played versions in trenches during WWI. Milton Bradley released the plastic peg-board version we know in 1967. Mathematicians have studied optimal play extensively — the parity strategy was formalized by computer scientist Nick Berry, who showed it cuts average shot count from ~76 to ~62 to win.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ships are in the fleet?
Standard fleet: Carrier (5), Battleship (4), Cruiser (3), Submarine (3), Destroyer (2). Total = 17 cells. We use this exact lineup.
Why is the AI “parity hunting” smarter?
Every ship is 2+ cells. So if you only fire on cells where row+col is even, you’ll still hit every ship at least once — with half the shots. Once you get a hit, you switch to hunt-and-target on adjacent cells.
Can ships touch each other?
In our auto-placement, ships can sit adjacent to each other (touching corners or sides). Some Battleship variants forbid this; we allow it for variety.
Why is everything auto-placed?
To keep games fast. The strategy is in the targeting, not the hiding. Manual placement adds a phase that’s slow on a single screen — we may add it as an optional mode later.
How does the AI know which cells I’ve shot?
It only knows results of its OWN shots on YOUR fleet. It doesn’t see your shot pattern. Same way you only see results of your shots on its fleet.
Can I undo a shot?
No. Battleship is traditionally played without undo — every shot is committed. Click New Battle to start over.
What’s the average number of shots to win?
For random fire, ~96 shots to clear the board. For parity hunting, ~62 shots. Most games end in 50-80 shots between two competent players.
Can I play on mobile?
Yes. The board scales to your screen and tap targets are large enough to be reliable.