Battleship (game)
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Image:Schiffeversenk.jpg The game Battleship is a guessing game played by two people. Although popularized in the United States as a commercial board game, first published by the Milton Bradley Company in 1931, it is known throughout the world as a pencil and paper game and predates the First World War in this form.
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Description
The game is played on four square grids, two for each player. The grids are typically square—often 10×10—and the individual squares in the grid are identified by letter and number. On one grid the player arranges his own ships and records the shots by the opponent. On the other grid, the player records his own shots.
Before play begins, each player arranges a number of ships secretly on the grid for that player. Each ship occupies a number of consecutive squares on the grid, arranged either horizontally or vertically. The number of squares for each ship are determined by the type of the ship. The ships cannot overlap (i.e., at most one ship can occupy any given square in the grid). The types and numbers of ships allowed are the same for each player. These may vary depending on the rules.
Here is a typical complement of ships:
| Number | Type of ship | Size |
|---|---|---|
1 | aircraft carrier | |
1 | battleship | |
1 | destroyer | |
2 | cruiser | |
1 | submarine |
Another common complement (MB commercial version) is:
| Number | Type of ship | Size |
|---|---|---|
1 | aircraft carrier | |
1 | battleship | |
1 | destroyer | |
1 | submarine | |
1 | patrol boat |
Yet another common complement is:
| Number | Type of ship | Size |
|---|---|---|
1 | battleship | |
2 | cruiser | |
3 | destroyer | |
4 | submarine |
After the ships have been positioned, the game proceeds in a series of rounds. In each round, each player has a turn. During a turn, the player announces a list of target squares in the opponents' grid which are to be shot at. If a ship occupies one of the squares, then it takes a hit. When all of the squares of a ship have been hit, the ship is sunk. After the target list has been given, the opponent then announces which of his ships have been hit. If at the end of a round all of one player's ships have been sunk, the game ends and the other player wins. If all of both players ships are sunk, the game ends in a tie.
The number of target squares that a player may shoot at in a given turn is determined by the condition of the players' own ships at the beginning of the round. Each player has many shots as he or she has vessels afloat in each turn. Thus each time a player's ship is entirely destroyed, that player has one fewer shot on all subsequent turns.
Variations
Many variations in the basic rules are possible, including the sizes of the grids, the numbers and sizes of the ships, the numbers of shots allowed, and when hits are announced. Some of the variants simplify the game, which is useful for younger players.
Variant rules for shots
One variation requires the opponent to announce a hit after each individual target square is given, rather than only giving a summary at the end of the turn: this substantially reduces the challenge of guessing the locations of the ships. Another is to reduce the number of shots allowed by each individual hit, rather than by ships sunk: this reduces the benefit for locating ships precisely.
In the simplest variation of all in this respect, players alternate turns to attack just one target square of their choice, with the result announced immediately. This rule is popular for its simplicity but minimizes the strategic aspect of the game. (Optionally, the rules may allow an additional shot to be fired after each successful hit. This makes it possible, though very unlikely, for a player to win without the opponent firing a single shot.)
Variant rules for ship placement
Sometimes ships are permitted to be oriented diagonally. Sometimes ships are not even required to be straight: some or all ships may be permitted to have angles in, may be required to have the shape of a particular polyomino (e.g. L-tromino or T-tetromino) or may be allowed to be completely freeform of a given number of squares (e.g. one freeform 8-square aircraft carrier per player).
Sometimes the ships are allowed to touch at corners. This permits more ships to be fitted within the same size of playing area, but also affects the guessing strategy for placing shots.
Commercial versions
Some commercial implementations of the game—designed for use with the simpler "one shot at a time" rules variant—feature electronic gameboards. A player enters a row letter and column number and is rewarded with a particular sound, indicating either a hit or miss. In this way, the built-in circuitry acts as a referee, preventing a player from cheating by moving ships midgame.
"You sunk my battleship..."
The above line, a quote from the original Milton Bradley commercial for Electronic Battleship, has become a notable line in pop culture. It was featured in the movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, where the excellent protagonists win their freedom from Hell by challenging the Grim Reaper to the board game. The game and line were also used in the television show Newsradio by actor Stephen Root. The phrase can be used in any capacity to indicate imminent, unpreventable defeat, despite the battleship not being a key piece strategy-wise (like the submarine) or prestige-wise (like the carrier).
"Advanced Mission Selected..."
Milton Bradley has also released a more advanced version of the game appropriately titled Electronic Battleship: Advanced Mission. In it, players have access to special missiles which can hit more spaces in one shot, allowing for the faster destruction of enemy fleets, as well as sonar scanning (via the submarine) and recon jets (lauched from the carrier).
Logic puzzle
Template:Main A logical variation of Battleship in which guessing is not required is more common in puzzle magazines. There will be some form of clues, either as row or column tallies or neighboring ship segment tallies in such a way that no guesses are needed to solve the puzzle.
External links
- Sea Battle—free Windows version with user playing against computer (also in Klingon).
- Battleships - General Headquarters II—Play Battleship online (Flash)
- Jonathon Rossi BattleShips—Play single or multiplayer battleships with this free gamede:Schiffe Versenken
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