On the polar and southern seas, Along the bends of green swells, Between basalt and pearl rocks The sails of ships rustle. The fast-winged ones are led by captains, discoverers of new lands, for whom hurricanes are not terrible, who have tasted maelstroms and shoals... N. Gumilyov, "Captains" What is the game "Battleship" about?
All children (especially boys different ages)) are attracted to military-themed games, with the most interesting being war games combined with naval romance. Few of the male half of humanity can remain indifferent to the combination of exciting battles and sea adventures. That is why the game with the long-familiar name “Battleship” has never lost its popularity.
Besides traditional "Sea battle" using a ballpoint pen and a sheet of checkered paper, there are a huge number of varieties of this game, many of which are made in desktop version. The Battleship variants have a variety of designs, at different levels complexity, numerous additional features. And, of course, all options differ in size and price, but retain the main idea of this board game - this is a naval battle, a battle, i.e., a battle between two powerful fleets.
Not all boys who are interested in “Battleship” will become sailors or, especially, admirals. But the qualities that they cultivate while fighting the enemy will be useful to them in adult life. The main thing is that they will learn to win and not give up, learn the basics of tactics and psychology, and will rejoice in their achievements, starting with small things - the game.
Game description
The board game “Sea Battle” is designed for two players. Once upon a time, this game was played with a pen and a lined sheet of paper. Despite such modest equipment, the naval battle was still exciting and captivating. The boys could sit at their desks for hours, creating more and more new tactical situations, thinking through the strategy of their attack on the enemy. The goal of the game has never changed. It consists of sinking the entire enemy fleet. This is not as easy as it might seem, since just being a good shooter is not enough to win. It is very important to be able to structure the game in such a way as to hinder the enemy, prevent him from realizing his plans, causing confusion in his ranks, and disrupting the strategy.
How to play (rules of the classic game “Battleship”, game progress)
Two players play. Each of them needs a piece of paper (preferably checkered), a pencil or a pen. The game begins with preparing the field. Two squares of 10×10 cells are drawn on a piece of paper. On one of them they will deploy their ships, in the other they will “fire” on enemy ships. The sides of the squares are signed with letters horizontally and numbers vertically. You need to agree in advance which letters will be written (the main debate arises whether or not to use the letter “Y”). By the way, in some schools, instead of the boring alphabet, they write the word “REPUBLIC” - it just contains 10 non-repeating letters. This is especially useful for those who have never mastered the alphabet.
Ship placement
Next, the deployment of fleets begins. Classic rules naval combat they say that there should be 4 ships of one cell each (“single-deck” or “single-tube”, “boats” or “submarines”), 3 ships of 2 cells each (“destroyers”), 2 ships of 3 cells each (“cruisers” ) and one - a four-deck “battleship”. All ships must be straight; curved or “diagonal” ones are not allowed. The ships are placed on the playing field in such a way that there is always a gap of one square between them, that is, they should not touch each other either with their sides or corners. In this case, ships can touch the edges of the field and occupy corners.
Ship types
The actual game
Before the start of hostilities, players cast lots or agree on who will go first. When the ships are placed, the players take turns firing, naming the squares by their “coordinates”: “A1”, “B6”, etc. If the shot hits a square not occupied by any enemy ship, then the answer is “Past” ! and the shooting player places a dot on someone else’s square in this place. The right to move passes to the opponent. If the shot hits a cell where a multi-deck ship is located (more than 1 cell in size), then the answer is “Wounded!” or “Got it!”, except in one case. The player who shot puts a cross on someone else's field in this cell, and his opponent puts a cross on his field also in this cell. The player who shot is entitled to one more shot. If the shot hits the cell where a single-tube ship or the last unhit cell of a multi-deck ship is located, then the answer is “Killed!” or “Sunk!” Both players mark the sunken ship on the sheet. The player who shot is entitled to one more shot. The game is played until one of the players completely wins, that is, until all the ships are sunk. At the end of the game, the loser can ask the winner to look at his arrangement of ships.
Mastery (Battleship tactics)
If you think that sea battle- a game built solely on luck and fortune, then you are wrong. In fact, it contains both strategy and tactics, which we will talk about in conclusion. So - about tricks and also various honest and not so honest methods of playing sea battle: First of all (and this is the most important thing!), you need to keep your sheet of ships so that the enemy cannot spy on your location;
Be sure to keep a record of your own and other people's moves, marking them with dots. This will prevent shots fired at the same cells;
After sinking an enemy ship, also surround it with points so as not to shoot at places where there are obviously no ships;
You should not place ships in the corners of the field: usually newbies shoot at them first. However, exceptions will be discussed below;
It is necessary to develop a strategy for placement. An uneven distribution of ships gives a good result: gather all the “large” ships into one or two dense groups, and hide the remaining “single-deck” ships separately in secret places playing field. In this case, the enemy will quickly identify and destroy the group of large ships, and then will spend a long time searching for the remaining small ones;
By killing big ship, the enemy surrounds him with dots. This means that, having found a “four-decker”, the enemy immediately opens (4+1+1)*3 = 18 cells (that is, 18% or almost 1/5 of the field). “Three-decker” gives 15 cells (15%), “double-decker” - 12%, and “single-decker” - 9%. If you place the “four-decker” against the wall, then it will allow you to open only 12 cells (10 for a three-decker, 8 for a two-decker). If you place the “four-decker” in a corner, it will allow you to open only 10 cells (8, 6 and 4, respectively). Of course, if the enemy realizes that all the ships are on the edge, he will quickly sink them. Therefore, it is better to use this advice in combination with the previous one.
Shooting tactics can also be different. However, it is best to start destroying enemy ships by looking for a “four-decker”. To do this, you can shoot diagonally, or draw a diamond, or shoot through 3 cells to the fourth. As soon as a four-deck ship is found, we look for three-deck ones, then two... Of course, during the search process we will come across “all sorts of little things” and make adjustments to the plans.
Here’s a dishonest way: arrange all the ships except the last single-deck (it will serve as the Elusive submarine). And he will be placed (and killed) only in the last remaining cell. It's quite easy to combat this: let the players place ships in one color and fire in another. It is possible, for example, for players to have pens or pencils different colors and after arranging the ships, simply change handles.
Game options
Complicated "Battleship"
"Volley"
This complicated version"Sea Battle" requires a more thoughtful approach from players. The fields for your own and foreign fleets remain the same, but the ships used and the principle of the game change somewhat. Each player now has one « battleship » (five squares), one « cruiser » (three cells) and two « destroyer » (two cells). The ships are distributed across the field according to the rules stated above. But, unlike “Naval Battle”, in which you can fire three shots per turn, in the “Valley” game as many as seven are fired: three for the battleship, two for the cruiser and one each for the destroyers. The enemy notes where the shots hit on the field of his fleet, but does not specify which of the shots was effective. Instead, he might say "one hit on the cruiser and one on the destroyer." If the ship was hit more than once, this must also be reported.
After this, the ships of the second player fire a salvo, and at this time the first player must think carefully about which cells he should shoot at on his first move in order to find out which of his first hits were accurate.
A ship is considered sunk when all its cells are damaged, and players must report this immediately. This is very important because the next player's number of shots will be reduced by the number that the lost ship provided. Therefore, if you have lost a battleship, your firepower will decrease by three units and next time you will only have four shots. As in “Battleship,” the winner is the one who sinks all the enemy ships first.
Exist game options, differing in rules (distributed mainly outside of Russia). This mainly concerns the number and size of ships, e.g. version of the Milton Bradley company- five-cell, four-cell, two three-cell and two-cell. There are options where the player can shoot more than once in a row. Also, a very different version is described in the book by Ya. I. Perelman “ Entertaining Problems and experiments."
With a standard field size (10×10) and a standard set of ships (1×4 + 2×3 + 3×2 + 4×1), you can add one mine(or more than one). A mine is indicated by a circle inscribed in one cell. A cell with a mine should not touch ships, and if there is more than one mine, then other cells with mines.
If a player, as a result of his move, hits a mine (an enemy mine), then he must inform the owner of the mine (the enemy) the coordinates of one of his unaffected cells, occupied by any of his ships (a ship can have as many cells as he wants, but only one cell is given out). After this, the owner of the mine has the opportunity to shoot accurately (the given cell does not die when it hits the mine - in order for it to die, it must be shot; in other words, the mine only reports the coordinates of the ship). The owner of the mine is not obliged to hit the given square immediately - he has the right to shoot at it at any time. Since the shot at the given cell is accurate, the owner of the mine after this shot receives the right to take a second turn. A used mine is “extinguished” by placing a dot in the center of the circle (in the center of its cell).
The field size can be increased - for example, the size 16x16 or 18x18 allows you to conveniently use the entire size of a single notebook sheet. In this case, the number of figures can be increased - for example, as suggested by Ya. I. Perelman. Then, due to the increase in the number of armies and the size of the field, you can increase the number of mines (for example, up to three) and add a minesweeper to the game (say, one for each player). A minesweeper is designated by an isosceles triangle inscribed in one cell, so that the base of the isosceles triangle coincides with the bottom side of the cell, and the vertex opposite to the base lies on the top side of the cell, dividing the top side in half.
If a player, after making a move, ends up on a minesweeper, then he must give the enemy (the owner of the minesweeper) the coordinates of one of his mines that have not yet been triggered - so that the owner of the minesweeper knows that these coordinates of the given cell with a mine should not be walked on. A cell with a minesweeper should not touch cells with ships and mines, and also, if there is more than one minesweeper, and cells with other minesweepers. If by the time the minesweeper is triggered, the minesweeper does not have a single mine left, then the opponent of the similar one informs the similar one that he has hit a minesweeper, but the similar one does not give him anything.
Since hitting a mine or a minesweeper is not a success, but is a nuisance for the one who walked, then after such an unsuccessful move, the turn passes to the owner of the triggered mine or the triggered minesweeper. If you hit a mine, you cannot give a cell with a minesweeper instead of the coordinates of a ship cell. Mines and minesweepers are single-celled figures. Mines and minesweepers are not considered significant figures - therefore, if a player has only mines and minesweepers left, but all the ships are lost, and the other player does not have all the ships lost, then the game is considered over, and the first player is a loser.
There is a variant of the game in which mines and minesweepers can touch ships or each other.
Options with a “submarine”
In some versions of the game there is a so-called "submarine". On the playing field it is indicated by a diamond inscribed in a cell and always occupies one cell, that is, it is “single-deck”. A "submarine" can be in contact with any ship in its fleet, but not be "under" it, that is, not in the same cell. When one player hits the “submarine” of the second player, the “submarine” sinks, but fires a dying shot at its own coordinate of the first player’s field. Thus, the game becomes more complicated, since there may be a “submarine” in the single-cell halo of a sunken ship.
Option "Flying Dutchman"
Unlike many other variants of "Sea Battle", here each player has only one ship, with the number of decks from 5 to 8 (their exact number is discussed before the game). The game is played on a field of 20 × 20 cells. The ship itself can occupy cells vertically, horizontally and diagonally at the same time. If the ship of one of the players is hit by another player, then the first has the right to move his “Flying Dutchman” to any other place on the field, but he loses the damaged deck. All other rules are the same as in the classic version of sea battle.
Hmm...did someone say "The Flying Dutchman"?
"Spaceships"
Large-scale naval battles are a heritage of a bygone century, so many children will prefer to play “ Spaceships" - disguised "Battleship". Replace the battleship with an intergalactic rocket ship, the cruiser with a laser frigate, the destroyer with a space infantry transport, and the boat with a fighter, or let the kids come up with their own names - and here's a new game for you.
Tabletop versions of "Sea Battle"
As we have already said, a number of companies have implemented “Battleship” in the format of a board game. The following most successful options should be mentioned.
"Battleship" by Stellar. Classical board game“Battleship” from Stellar is made of safe plastic. The items are small, but well packaged and brightly colored. If a chip suddenly rolls somewhere, it is easy to find. Game boxes are very similar to laptops. Children really like this because it creates the illusion of playing on the computer - the most favorite pastime of gamers of all ages.
Many travelers take board games with them on the road, and Battleship is no exception. Travel version from Hasbro Games convenient, compact, helps pass the time and make new friends and acquaintances while traveling. After all, everyone loves to play! Of course, no one will miss the opportunity to fight with you in a sea battle if this beautiful and original box is on the table.
The original Battleship game set is offered by DJECO, who developed the original bright design of game cards for this board game aimed at primary schoolchildren.
Electronic game "Sea Battle". In addition to the colorful mechanical version, there is an equally attractive model - the electronic board game “Battleship”. Here, too, the task is to be the first to destroy the enemy fleet. Only for this you need to indicate the coordinates for the “shelling”. If the point on the map that the player names coincides with the location of the ship, then the ship is considered shot down. To make it easier to follow the progress of the game, a special field records all shots, including those that did not reach the target. This set includes two game boards, the covers of which are used to count shots. Each player receives a set of ships, which he places at his discretion on the playing field provided to him. The set also contains multi-colored chips. They serve to record attacks on the enemy: hits are marked with one color, and misses with the other.
Battery powered sea battle. Many children like board games with sound signals. The battery-powered board game “Battleship” will delight you with good sound and various effects that create the illusion of the operation of real military equipment.
Special mention should be made of the game "Sea battle" with balls. The destruction of ships of the enemy flotilla can be carried out with small balls that roll out onto the playing field of the board game “Sea Battle”. This version of the game is suitable even for the youngest children, since it does not require the ability to read coordinates and think through the location of ships. The mechanical design allows you to shoot accurately and send shells at the enemy flotilla, which knock out ship figures. Even a child preschool age, and it is recommended for children from five years old, will easily cope with such a task and will play the board game “Battleship” along with older children.
Who is this game for?
This board game is recommended for children from seven years old, because battles in a certain coordinate system can be played by children with a well-developed abstract thinking, who imagine the enemy’s playing field in their minds and think through their own strategy.
Sea battle for every taste
The board game “Battleship” for two is entertainment not only for children. Adults also enjoy spending their leisure time in fights. So, desktop version with balls allows grandfather and grandson to play at the same table, and their chances of winning are equal. This adds excitement and brings generations closer together in emotional experiences.
If a child loves gadgets, then “Battleship” (board game) - electronic version with interesting sounds will captivate him more than a mobile phone.
Similar games
In addition to "Battleship" there are similar games on paper, most of which are also aimed at children aged six years and older.
1. Tic-tac-toe
This is the most famous of similar games. A playing field of 3 by 3 cells is drawn (9 cells in total). Players take turns making moves, placing a cross or a zero in an empty cell. The goal of the game is to build a line of 3 crosses or toes horizontally, vertically or diagonally. It is extremely difficult to win in this game; basically the game comes down to a draw and more than one game is played.
2. Tanks
To play, you need an A4 piece of paper, folded in half (you can take any notebook sheet). Two players draw 10 tanks, each on their own half of the sheet. Having finished the alignment of forces, the players begin to “fire” at each other in this way: a shot is drawn on their half of the field, then the sheet is folded in the middle and the shot, visible through the light, is marked on the second half of the field. If a shot hits a tank, it is considered “knocked out” and another additional shot is needed to destroy it. If the player hits the tank directly, then one shot is enough.
Each successful shot entitles the player to the next shot. To make the game more difficult, you can introduce a ban on the next shot at a tank that has just been knocked out.
3. Palms
This game can be played even with young children who are already familiar with numbers.
It will help you learn to quickly navigate numbers and concentrate.
To play, you will need two sheets of checkered paper; on each sheet, the player traces his palm. Now, in the space limited by the picture, numbers from 1 to... Here you need to agree in advance. Then the game begins. One player calls an arbitrary number, the other at this time tries to find this number on his palm, and the first, meanwhile, quickly puts crosses in the cells on his sheet, starting from the top left cell. The winner is the one who fills all the cells of his field with crosses faster.
4. Points and segments
The conditions of this game on paper are simple: put several dots on a piece of paper (at least 8, and preferably at least 15). Two players play, alternately connecting any two points with a segment. It is impossible to capture the 3rd point, and each point can be the end of only one segment. The segments must not intersect. The one who cannot make a move loses.
5. Points
We played this game at the institute during boring lectures. It develops tactical and strategic thinking.
The playing field is an ordinary sheet of checkered paper; if you have a lot of time and patience, you can play on an entire notebook spread. The playing field can be outlined with a line and the rules prohibit placing dots on this border. Each player should have a pen or pencil of their own color. Players take turns placing dots in random places at the intersection of cells.
The goal of the game is to capture as many paper possessions as possible. A territory is considered captured if it is surrounded by dots of its own color. The points should be located one cell apart from each other horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The captured territory is painted over with its own color or a fortress wall is drawn around it (thick line). If you managed to encircle the enemy’s territory or points with dots, they are yours. After such a capture, the player is given the right to make an extraordinary move. In some variants of the game, you can only capture those territories where there are already enemy fortifications. In others, any land is available to you, including free ones. Choose what you like best. At the end of the game, the size of the captured lands is calculated and the winner is declared. Most often, there is no need to specifically count anything - the result is obvious.
You can also play with children younger age. In this case, you should make the playing field very small - a quarter of a notebook page or even less, and use paper with large cells.
6. Numbers
Did you play this game on a checkered notebook at school or college? It was called differently: numbers, numbers, seeds, 19, but the meaning did not change. You write down numbers from 1 to 19 in a row, on a line up to 9, and then start the next line, with 1 number in each cell. Then you cross out the paired numbers or those that add up to 10. One condition is that the pairs must be next to or across the crossed out numbers horizontally or vertically. And after you have crossed out all possible pairs, you rewrite the remaining numbers at the end. The goal is to completely cross out all the numbers.
7. Gallows
A little inhumane game, but still. As children, we combined the yard game of Cossack Robbers with “Gallows!” The point of this game is to guess a word by letter in a certain number of moves. One player thinks of a word (simple and short to begin with). Writes its first and last letter, and instead of the missing letters we put dashes. The second player's task is to guess the hidden word. He names the letter. If this letter is in the word, write it in its place. If not, then write the letter to the side so as not to repeat it, and begin to draw a “gallows” - a vertical line. With the next error - horizontal (it turns out something like the letter g). Then the rope, the loop, the man’s head, torso, arms and legs are completed. During these several attempts, the player must guess the word. If it doesn't work out, you lose. If he has time, it’s his turn to think of a word.
8. Balda
Another game with words. Here you can play with two, three or even one.
A square playing field with 5x5 cells, for example, is drawn on a sheet of paper. In the middle row we write a word of five letters. Players take turns making moves. In one move, a letter is written into an empty cell in such a way that a new word is formed each time. Words can be read in any direction except diagonal. For each word the player receives as many points as there are letters in the word. Words are written on the side of the field so that other players do not repeat them. The game ends when all the cells are filled with letters or none of the players can come up with a new word. After this, the number of points is calculated. The one with the most wins.
9. Dots and squares
Game for two players. You will need a sheet of paper, preferably in a checkered pattern, and a couple of pens of different colors.
A playing field with a size of 3*3 squares or more (up to 9*9) is drawn on a sheet of paper, depending on the level of the players.
The essence of the game: players take turns drawing lines one cell long, trying to create 1 by 1 squares inside the field. If your line ends up in a square, place your sign in it and get the right to an additional move. The moves continue until you place a line that does not close any square. The game ends when the entire field is filled. After this, the number of squares that each player has closed is counted and the winner is announced.
For all its simplicity, the game has a twist. Here you can calculate your moves ahead and try to put your opponent at a disadvantage by forcing him to make an awkward move.
It is rare that any adult is not familiar with exciting and simple fun on paper. Whether you play together or in a team, the trip will be fun, breaks will not be boring and waiting in line will not be tiring. By introducing a child or friend to the rules, the lesson will help where communication does not reach.
No institutional knowledge or expensive equipment is required. Two checkered pieces of paper and two pens are enough. Of course the kids like it computer game, but a paper “battle”, although with a live opponent is much more attractive. In addition, Naval battles develop strategic thinking and intuitive qualities.
Classic Battleship
On the playing field, players draw squares with sides of 10 cells so that the opponent does not see. Two playing fields are numbered: letters are written on top (by agreement), and numbers are written on the left side of the square from top to bottom. IN Soviet time The children did not write the alphabet, but a word in which the letters were not repeated. For example, “Snow Maiden” or “republic”. On the first field they have their own fleet.
The opponent's field is needed to adjust battle tactics and to remember moves. In the second square - the sea with the enemy fleet, used for reconnaissance, marking moves and hitting enemy ships.
Deployment of a fleet of 10 units. The names of the ships depend on the number of decks or pipes, and occupied cells.
Flotilla composition:
- four-deck (pipe) battleship, occupies 4 cells - 1 pc.;
— three-deck cruiser, 3-cell – 2 pcs.;
— two-cell destroyers – 3 pcs.;
— torpedo boats, in 1 cell – 4 pcs.
According to the rules, the figures cannot touch each other even at an angle. Ships are positioned only vertically or horizontally. It cannot be placed at an angle or diagonally. Drawing is allowed at the edge of the field.
By agreement, an arrangement with the corners touching and placement in the form of the letter L, square or zigzag is allowed, but with the sides of the cells touching and not the corners in a 4-deck battleship. In other options there is a different set of ships.
It's easier to find a large ship, but it's faster to sink, although difficult to find, a single-celled boat.
Progress of the game. The right to make the first move in a Naval Battle is determined by lot. The one who starts first says the letter and number where the shot is intended, and marks it on another, blank square.
Moves are marked with a dot, and hits with a cross.
- The attacked player must respond “by” if the cell is empty. Places a dot at the location of the shot and names the coordinates of his shot.
- The answer is “wounded” if the hit was on a battleship, cruiser or destroyer and is marked with a cross. The shooter fires until he misses and the answer is “missing”.
- If it hits all the cells of the ship, it is considered killed. The attack continues until the attacker misses.
The first one to knock out the enemy fleet will win.
At the end of the battle, players exchange sheets of paper to verify correctness and fairness. If the winner is found to have a violation, he is deprived of the victory, which goes to the second participant. The match may not be finished if one of the players breaks the rules.
Possible violations:
— incorrect formatting of fields;
— more or less than 10 vessels;
— touching ships;
— the field is not 10 cells;
- the writing of numbers and letters is impaired;
— completing the drawing of missing ships during the game;
— marks other than dots and crosses;
- peeping;
- skipping a move.
Winning tactics.
Knowing the preferences of your opponent, if he is a familiar person, will help determine the fleet layout.
Knowing that the ships cannot touch each other, do not fire at the area around the killed figures at a distance of one cell. Experienced players outline this space.
Occupy one corner of the field with multi-deck ships, gaining space. Distribute the boats in the remaining space. Single-celled vessels are harder to find and take longer to find. 
The multicellular fleet is not located at the edges of the field.
Another method is to divide the opponent's square into parts using shots, shooting sequentially from corner to corner of the field. Or into two parts horizontally and also vertically. To search for multicellular ships, shoot through the cage.
By dishonest means. Draw one single-deck ship towards the end of the battle in a cell missed by the enemy.
Rules of the game Sea battle abroad
Foreign players are proposing an increase in the number and size of ships.
For example, 1 ship is 5 cells, one is 4 cells, 2 are three-deck and 1 is 2 cells.
It's more difficult to play Battleship when the entire fleet consists of only single-cell boats.
By agreement, they shoot 2-3 times at once.
Russian and Soviet mathematician, physicist, teacher, who developed the genre entertaining sciences, Ya. I. Perelman, describes a case with the addition of 1-2 minutes to the classic Battleship. The circle occupies one cell that does not touch ships or other mines. When hit by a projectile, the shooter tells the opponent 1 cell of his own unhit fleet unit or chooses to skip a turn. The opponent has the right to shoot immediately or shoot later.
It is proposed to increase the size of the squares to 16 and 18 cells with the addition of ships, mines and a minesweeper. This isosceles triangle in one cell. When an enemy minesweeper is hit, the coordinates of its own field mine are given, if they have not yet been detonated. The placement rules are the same as when drawing the rest of the fleet. The next player moves. Mines and minesweepers are not the main ships and, even if they are not knocked out, the battle ends when the main flotilla is destroyed.
In another version, mines and minesweepers are in contact with each other and with the main figures.
An exciting game with a single-cell submarine, symbol - diamond. The submarine can be placed close to the ship, but not in the same cell as it. The player who is hit by the submarine gives the turn of the turn to the next one for the dying shot. The owner of the lost submarine is obliged to shoot at a place with the same coordinates.
Cons of a computer game
When playing Battleship with a robot, you don’t feel the reaction of your opponent when his ships are sunk. There is also no one to express the joy of victory to. The chance of peeking is also eliminated, which makes the game on paper unique and lively.
Conclusion
Having become familiar with the entertainment Battleship and the rules, you can not get bored at a meeting, at a lecture and have fun with friends.
Type: a game.
Applicability: multiple.
What is needed: two pens and two pieces of checkered paper.
How many people is it designed for?: 2 people.
Dynamism: average.
Location: anywhere.
Description: Each player draws on his sheet of paper (sheets cannot be shown to each other) two 8x8 squares, numbering the columns from a to k, and the rows from 1 to 10:
The first field is your own field, and the second is the enemy’s field, where the player will hit with his blows. On the first field the player places ships: 1 four-cell, 2 three-cell, 3 two-cell, 4 one-cell. For example, like this: 
In this case, ships cannot touch or touch each other. But they can rotate 90 degrees. The placement of ships is at the discretion of the player.
Purpose of the game– be the first to destroy all enemy ships.
After the ships are placed, they decide by lot who will start. The player who has been chosen places a point on his sheet of paper on the opponent’s field in some cell and names its coordinates, for example, d7. The second player places a point on his field where his ships are located, with these coordinates. If this cell belongs to a ship, then the player says “hit” if the ship still has undamaged cells, and “killed” if it was the last intact cell of the ship. If this cell is empty and does not contain a ship, then the player says “by.” If there was a ship there, then the dot turns into a cross for both players. If a player hits a ship, then he has the right to an additional shot, if he also hits it, then the right to an additional shot appears again, and so on. After a move, the other player shoots at the opponent's field. And so on until victory. Shown below are two moves: player one and player two. 
Do you play naval battle but don't always win? Then you are probably interested in learning how to significantly increase your chances of winning, how to place your ships correctly, how to quickly destroy enemy ships and, of course, how to win the game Battleship!
Rules of the game "Sea Battle"
There are many options for naval combat, but we will consider the most common option with the following set of ships:
All listed ships must be placed on a square field of 10 by 10 cells, and the ships cannot touch either the corners or sides. The playing field itself is numbered from top to bottom, and the verticals are marked with Russian letters from “A” to “K” (the letters “Y” and “Y” are skipped).
An enemy field of similar size is drawn nearby. If there is a successful shot at the enemy ship, a cross is placed on the corresponding cell of the enemy field and a second shot is fired; if the shot is unsuccessful, a dot is placed in the corresponding cell and the turn goes to the enemy. Optimal strategy
How to win the game Sea Battle
There is always an element of randomness in a naval battle game, but it can be kept to a minimum. Before moving directly to the search for the optimal strategy, it is necessary to state one obvious thing: the probability of hitting an enemy ship is higher, the fewer unchecked cells are left on his field, similarly, the probability of hitting your ships is lower, the more unchecked cells are left on your field. Thus, to play effectively, you need to learn two things at once: optimal shooting at the enemy and optimal placement of your ships.
In the following explanation the following notation will be used:
How to shoot at enemy ships
The first and most obvious rule for optimal shooting is next rule: Do not shoot at cells directly surrounding the destroyed enemy ship.
In accordance with the notations adopted above, in the figure those cells on which unsuccessful shots have already been fired are marked in yellow, cells on which shots ended in hits are marked in red, and cells on which were not fired were marked in green, but it can be guaranteed that the ships there are no ships in them (there cannot be ships there, because according to the rules of the game, ships cannot touch).
The second rule immediately follows from the first rule: if you manage to knock out an enemy ship, you must immediately finish it off in order to get a list of guaranteed free cells as early as possible.
The third rule follows from the first two: you must first try to knock out the largest enemy ships. This rule may not be obvious to you, but if you think a little, you can easily notice that by destroying an enemy battleship, at best, we will immediately receive information about 14 guaranteed free cells, and by destroying a cruiser, only about 12.
Optimal shooting strategy
That. The optimal shooting strategy can be reduced to a targeted search and destruction of the largest enemy ships. Unfortunately, it is not enough to formulate a strategy; it is necessary to propose a way to implement it.
First, let's look at a section of the playing field measuring 4 by 4 cells. If there is an enemy battleship in the area in question, then it is guaranteed to be knocked out in no more than 4 shots. To do this, you need to shoot so that there is exactly one checked cell on each horizontal and vertical line. All variants of such shooting are presented below (without taking into account reflections and rotations).
Among all these options, only the first two options are optimal on a 10 by 10 square field, guaranteeing a hit to the battleship in a maximum of 24 shots.
After the enemy battleship is destroyed, it is necessary to begin the search for cruisers, and then destroyers. In this case, as you already guessed, you can use a similar technique. Only now it is necessary to divide the field into squares with a side of 3 and 2 cells, respectively.
If you used the second strategy when searching for a battleship, then to search for cruisers and destroyers you need to shoot at the following fields (fields that you have already shot at when searching for a battleship are marked in green):
There is no optimal strategy for finding boats, so at the end of the game you have to rely mainly on luck.
Sequence of the best moves to start the game
If you turn to mathematical theory, then we can build a map of the probability of ship deployment:
Based on this map, sequence of “best moves” with constant misses it looks like this (see picture):
C1, J8, A8, H1, A4, J4, D10, G10, E1, D2, B3, A2, C9, B10, H9, I10, I7, J6, I5, H6, J2, I3, H4, G5, G2, F3, E4, B7, A6, B5, C6, C3, D4, D5, F6.
How to arrange ships
The optimal ship placement strategy is in some ways the inverse of the optimal shooting strategy. When shooting, we tried to find the largest ships in order to reduce the number of cells that needed to be checked by guaranteeing free cells. This means that when placing ships, they must be placed in such a way that in case of their loss, the number of guaranteed free cells is minimized. As you remember, a battleship in the center of the field opens 14 fields for the enemy at once, but a battleship standing in the corner opens only 6 fields for the enemy:
Likewise, a cruiser standing in the corner opens only 6 instead of 12 fields. Thus, by placing large ships along the border of the field, you leave more space for boats. Because There is no strategy for finding boats, the enemy will have to shoot at random, and the more free fields you have left by the time you catch the boats, the harder it will be for the enemy to win.
And again Battleship, but this time about the classic school game, which is played on notebook paper. History has not preserved information about who and when invented this amazing game, but the fact that many generations of schoolchildren played it Soviet Union, it is a fact. Legends were made up about this game, poems were written, different variants battles and new rules. It is not surprising that the boom in Naval combat continues and even gains new momentum; now you can play not only with an opponent, but also with a computer, tablet and even with a phone...
Most recently, on our website, we described, and today we’ll talk about the classic rules of the game Sea Battle on paper. The classic version of the sea battle game is played by two people. To play, you will need two squared notebook pages and two pencils or pens. The players each take a piece of paper and a pen and sit down so that they cannot see each other’s pieces of paper - this is a real military secret and fate depends on the secrecy of the fleet’s positions the whole company. Next, players draw two squares measuring 10 by 10 cells and number the vertical side, and write the letters of the alphabet on the horizontal side. You should pay attention to the spelling of the same letters by two players, otherwise the game will be ruined. Of course, you can change the arrangement of letters and numbers, you can increase or decrease the size of the playing field, but prerequisite is that this must be done the same way for two players.
After the squares for future military operations have been drawn, you should hide them well from the eyes of your opponent and begin to arrange your fleet, but before that, carefully read the following rules:
- in the classic rules of the game “Sea Battle”, ships are positioned only horizontally or vertically and cannot be curved;
- in the classic game “Battleship”, ships cannot touch each other either at their sides or at their corners, there must be a distance of at least one cell between ships;
- In the classic game "Battleship", each player places ten (10) ships of different sizes:
- 1 (one) four-cell battleship;
- 2 (two) three-cell cruisers;
- 3 (three) two-cell destroyers;
- 4 (four) single-cell submarines or torpedo boats (as you like).
Ships should be placed on the left square, and the right one will be used to mark your shooting, analyze the situation and fire at enemy ships. The figure shows an example of the arrangement of ships. Attention, if you decide to change the rules of the game to increase the number of ships, then you must also increase the size of the game squares, otherwise there simply will not be enough space to arrange the ships.
When the ships are positioned, the time comes to begin the naval battle and one of the admirals, according to the lot, fires his first shot. This is done like this: the player looks at the right square and selects any place available for a shot and names it out loud. For example: “e2” or “i9”. The second participant in the naval battle looks at his left square, where his ships are located, finds the indicated point and reports the result of the shot:
- by (miss) - if this point is empty, in this case both players mark a point at this place, which means that they have already shot at these coordinates and there is no ship there;
- wounded - if this is one of the places where the ship stands and this ship still has whole fragments of the hull, in this case a mark is made with a cross with the beginning of the lines in the corners of the square;
- killed (sank) - if in this place there is a one-cell submarine or another ship, in which all fragments of the hull are already damaged, in this case a cross is placed and the entire ship is surrounded by dots, because the ship is sunk, its coordinates are completely determined, and according to the rules of naval combat, no other ships can be located on adjacent cells. In this way, a mark is made and fire will no longer be fired at these coordinates.
Please note that according to the rules of the classic game of sea battle, the player who fired an effective shot and wounded or killed the enemy ship continues the game and fires another shot. He continues to fire until he misses. The game continues until all the ships of one of the fleets go to the bottom, that is, until one of the fleets is completely destroyed.
Attention, if you wish, you can change the rules of the game and add your own elements. For example, some people introduce one or two sea mines. When hit by such a mine, the shooting player must name the coordinates of any of his unsunk ships. In addition, you can play with three players, then the players draw three squares and fire at one squadron at once, and then at the other. In addition, you should mark not only your own shots, but also those of your opponents when they shoot at each other. The introduction of new rules into the game will diversify it and make it more exciting, but these rules need to be carefully thought out and tested in practice.
In the following articles, we will definitely analyze tactical techniques for deploying fleets and the correct strategy for firing at an enemy squadron. Have a nice time.
On our website you can find others that you can play with your friends.