Battleships rules
Example fleet layout (visible to you)
Overview
Hidden fleets on a 10×10 grid (A1–J10). Place ships, then alternate firing at coordinates. Sink every enemy ship to win.
Objective
Sink all five enemy ships before yours are sunk. Coordinates are labelled A–J across and 1–10 down.
Example fleet: five ships placed on your grid
Game setup
Both players place a fleet before any shots:
- One ship length 5 (Carrier)
- One ship length 4 (Battleship)
- Two ships length 3 (Cruiser and Submarine)
- One ship length 2 (Destroyer)
Ships are straight horizontal or vertical lines, no overlap. You have five minutes to submit, or use random placement. Combat starts when both players submit.
Hits (red) and misses (pale dot) on your target grid
How to make moves
After setup, White fires first. Each turn, pick one coordinate you have not fired at before.
- Hit — enemy ship occupies that cell
- Miss — empty water
Turn passes after every shot. Hits do not grant extra turns.
Visibility
You see your fleet, your shot grid, and enemy ships only when fully sunk.
Edge cases
Repeat shots
Illegal — each coordinate once only.
Setup timeout
Random fleet auto-submitted after five minutes.
Waiting for opponent setup
No shots until both fleets are submitted.