How to play Battleships
Here’s how to play Battleships: hide a fleet of five ships on a ten-by-ten grid, then take turns firing at your opponent’s waters, trying to find and sink every ship before they sink yours. It’s free to play online in your browser.
You can place your ships by hand or press Shuffle, and you fire one shot a turn, just like the board game. Take on ten computer captains, from beginner to Pete, or challenge a friend.
The basics
You and your opponent each hide a fleet on a 10 × 10 grid, then take turns firing at each other’s. Sink all five of their ships before they sink yours.
Your fleet
- Carrier 5 squares, Battleship 4, Cruiser 3, Submarine 3 and Destroyer 2.
- Drag each ship onto your grid and tap it to turn it round — or tap a ship in the dock, then a square. Shuffle places the lot for you.
- Ships go across or down, never diagonally. As in the board game, ships may sit right next to each other.
Firing
- A coin toss decides who fires first. On your turn, tap a square in enemy waters.
- A splash is a miss; an explosion is a hit. Hit every square of a ship and it’s sunk — you’ll be told which one.
- One shot a turn, just like the board game.
The Beat Pete ladder
- Level 1 is open. Beat an opponent to unlock the next one; once unlocked, you can play them any time.
- The good ones hunt on a chequerboard, work out where your ships are most likely to be, and hide their own where you won’t look. Pete never fires a careless shot.
- It’s all fair: the computer’s fleet and every shot it fires are fixed by the game’s seed from our server, which replays your win shot by shot before it goes on the leaderboard.
Controls
- Keyboard: arrow keys move round a grid, Enter or Space fires (or places a ship). Placing: R turns the ship round, S shuffles, Delete returns a ship to the dock. F fires a salvo, V swaps the boards, N new game.
Beginner tips
- Hunt on a chequerboard. Every ship is at least two squares long, so firing at every other square will find them with about half the shots.
- When you score a hit, fire at the squares next to it (above, below and either side) to work out which way the ship runs, then follow it until it sinks.
- Don’t hide your ships in predictable places, like neatly lined up or all round the edge. The better computer captains work out where your ships are most likely to be.
Frequently asked questions
How many ships are there in Battleships?
Five: the Carrier (5 squares), Battleship (4), Cruiser (3), Submarine (3) and Destroyer (2). Ships go across or down, never diagonally.
Who goes first in Battleships?
A coin toss decides who fires first. After that you take turns, tapping a square in enemy waters.
Can ships touch in Battleships?
Yes. As in the board game, ships can sit right next to each other. They just can’t overlap, and they go across or down, never diagonally.
How many shots do you get each turn in Battleships?
One. You and your opponent take turns firing a single shot, just like the board game.
Is it free to play Battleships against the computer?
Yes. Battleships is free to play in your browser, with nothing to download. Guests can play the first computer opponent, Trevor, and a free account unlocks the rest of the ten-level ladder up to Pete. You can also play a friend online.
Ready to play Battleships?
It’s free and works in your browser — no download. Start against Trevor, the friendliest opponent, and sign up free to climb the ladder of ten computer players all the way to Pete.
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