Last updated: March 2026
What Is Battleship?
Battleship is one of the most beloved strategy games in history, dating back to a pencil-and-paper game from World War I before Milton Bradley turned it into the iconic plastic board game in 1967. Two players secretly arrange warships on a grid, then take turns calling out coordinates to fire shots and try to sink the opponent's entire fleet.
The game is a fascinating blend of probability, deduction, and pattern recognition. Each shot gives you information that narrows down where the remaining ships could be. Skilled players use mathematical strategies like checkerboard firing patterns and probability density maps to minimize the number of shots needed to win.
Our online version features three AI difficulty levels so you can enjoy a casual game or challenge yourself against a smart opponent. The AI on Hard difficulty uses the same checkerboard hunting strategy that top players employ, making it a genuine challenge to beat consistently.
How It Works
Place your ships on the 10x10 grid during the setup phase. Click cells to position each ship, use the orientation toggle or click a placed ship to rotate it. You can also hit Randomize for a quick random layout. Ships cannot overlap or extend beyond the grid edges.
Fire shots by clicking cells on the enemy grid. Red marks a hit, gray marks a miss. When all cells of a ship are hit, the entire ship is highlighted and marked as sunk. The ship tracking panel shows which enemy ships remain afloat so you know what sizes to look for.
Win the game by sinking all five enemy ships before the AI sinks yours. After each game, your stats are saved including total games, win rate, best game (fewest shots), and your current win streak.
Key Features
Three AI difficulty levels provide different challenges. Easy fires randomly, Medium switches to hunting adjacent cells after scoring a hit, and Hard uses a checkerboard search pattern combined with hunt mode and tracks remaining ship sizes to optimize its search.
Full ship management during setup lets you place ships manually with click-to-place and click-to-rotate, or use Randomize for instant placement. The visual preview shows exactly where your ship will land before you commit.
Persistent stats tracking records your games played, wins, losses, win rate, best game by shot count, and current/longest win streaks. Stats are saved in your browser so they persist across sessions.
The game is fully responsive and works on any device. On mobile, the two grids stack vertically with touch-friendly cell sizes. No download, no signup, no ads — just open and play.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many ships are in Battleship?
There are 5 ships in a standard Battleship game: Carrier (5 squares), Battleship (4 squares), Cruiser (3 squares), Submarine (3 squares), and Destroyer (2 squares). That is 17 total squares across both fleets, and you need to find and sink all 17 of your opponent's squares to win.
What's the best Battleship strategy?
Fire in a checkerboard or diagonal pattern to maximize coverage with the fewest shots. Since the smallest ship is 2 squares long, a checkerboard pattern guarantees you will hit every ship. Once you score a hit, fire at all four adjacent cells (up, down, left, right) to determine the ship's orientation, then continue along that line until the ship is sunk.
Is this game free to play?
Yes, completely free with no signup, no ads, and no download required. The game runs entirely in your browser and works on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Your stats are saved locally so you can track your progress over time.