Sea battle online
Place your 5 ships on the grid and find out where the computer hid its own. One shot per turn: the first to sink the other's whole fleet wins.
How do you play sea battle?
In sea battle, each player hides 5 ships on a grid of 10 by 10 squares: one of 5 squares, one of 4, two of 3 and one of 2. Players take turns, one shot at a time: each shot is a hit or a miss. The first player to sink all 5 rival ships, 17 squares in all, wins.
How to play
- Each side has a grid of 10 by 10 squares and a fleet of 5 ships: one of 5 squares, one of 4, two of 3 and one of 2. That makes 17 squares in all.
- Place your fleet. Tap Shuffle the fleet to let the game place the ships, or drag a ship to move it and tap it to turn it.
- Ships lie in a straight line, across or down. They may touch each other, but two ships never share a square.
- Tap Start the battle. The computer hides its fleet on the large grid.
- You go first. Tap a square on the rival's sea to shoot. It is one shot per turn, hit or miss.
- A hit becomes a pink disc. A miss becomes a small dot. A square that was already shot cannot be picked again.
- When every square of a ship is hit, the ship sinks and shows up whole on the grid.
- After your shot, the computer shoots at your sea. The small grid shows your ships and the shots they took.
- The first player to sink all 5 ships of the other side wins.
- On a keyboard, the arrow keys move across the squares and Enter or the space bar shoots. While you place the fleet, the arrow keys move the ship and Enter turns it.
Tips to play better
- Spread your first shots in a checkerboard pattern, every other square. The smallest ship covers 2 squares and cannot slip through.
- After a hit, shoot the squares next to it: above, below and to the sides. Never on the diagonal.
- With two hits in a row, keep going along the same line until the ship sinks.
- Check the list of the rival's fleet. The sizes of the ships still afloat show where a ship can still fit.
- Do not put all your ships together or all along the edge. A spread-out fleet takes longer to find.
- Remember that ships may touch. If a ship sank and a hit is left over next to it, another ship is there.
Computer levels
- Easy: the computer shoots at random squares.
- Hard: the computer hunts in a checkerboard pattern and, after a hit, closes in on the ship until it sinks. It uses only what a player would see: the shots made and the ships already sunk.
Frequently asked questions
How many ships are there in sea battle?
The classic fleet has 5 ships that cover 17 squares: one of 5, one of 4, two of 3 and one of 2. Other fleets exist, but both sides always use the same one.
Can ships touch each other?
In the classic rule, used here, they can. Two ships just cannot share a square. In some pen-and-paper versions, players agree that ships do not touch.
Can ships be placed diagonally?
No. Each ship lies in a straight line, across or down.
Does a hit give you another shot?
Not in the classic rule: it is one shot per turn, hit or miss. Shooting again after a hit is a variant that makes the game faster.
What is the best way to find the ships?
Shoot in a checkerboard pattern, skipping one square, until you get a hit. Then test the squares next to the hit and follow the line of the ship until it sinks.
