Battleship (sea battle) maker

How to play

1. Each player keeps their fleet secret from the other, either on their own grid or on a sheet Paperoom has already filled in.
2. Ships are straight lines of squares. Two ships may not touch, not even at a corner.
3. Take turns calling a square such as B7. The other player answers hit or miss.
4. Mark each shot on your enemy grid: a cross for a hit and a dot for a miss. Tick a box on your fleet list for every square of your own ships that is hit.
5. A ship is sunk when every one of its squares has been hit. The first player to sink the whole fleet wins.

Tips

• For a quick game with younger players, use the 8 × 8 grid with the compact fleet.
• The 12 × 12 grid with the grand fleet makes a longer game for a rainy afternoon.
• Call squares in a pattern, such as every second square, so that a few shots cover more of the grid.
• Print two sheets per page and cut between them to give two players a sheet each.

Where it comes from

Battleship is a guessing game for two players, each hiding a fleet on a grid. It is often said to have been played with pencil and paper in the early twentieth century, before printed pads and later board versions appeared.

Questions