Sea Battle Variations and House Rules

Because Sea Battle began as a pencil-and-paper game, every family, schoolyard and summer camp seems to have its own version. The heart of it never changes: hide your ships, call your shots, sink the other fleet first. What changes is how many shots you get, how the ships may be placed, and how much the answers give away. Three of the most popular house rules can be switched on in Settings in our online game; the rest are here so you know what to expect at other tables.

Rules You Can Change in Our Game

A hit earns another shot

In the standard game, players simply alternate: one shot each, hit or miss. A very common house rule rewards a hit with another turn, so you keep firing until you miss. Children love it, because a good streak can sink a whole ship at once, and it makes games shorter and more exciting, with bigger swings.

Switch on A hit earns another shot in Settings and it applies to both you and the computer. The status box tells you plainly when you have earned another shot. In a salvo game, any hit in your salvo earns you another whole salvo.

The salvo game

The salvo game is one of the oldest variations and a favorite of serious players. Instead of one shot per turn, you fire one shot for each of your ships still afloat: five at the start. You call all your shots first, and only then does the other player give all the answers, so you can't adjust your aim halfway through a salvo. Every time one of your ships sinks, your salvo gets one shot smaller.

This makes the game much more about protecting your own fleet: losing ships costs you firepower, so the side that falls behind tends to fall further behind. In our game, tap as many squares as you have shots (each gets a numbered crosshair), then press Fire. Tap an aimed square again to take it back.

Ships touching

The usual rule says only that ships may not overlap, so two ships may lie side by side or end to end. Many families add a stricter rule: ships may not touch at all, not even corner to corner. There has to be at least one square of water around every ship.

The rule changes the game more than you might think. Placing a fleet becomes a little puzzle, and searching becomes easier, because the moment a ship sinks, every square around it is known to be empty. Our Hard computer uses that, and so does the Hint. When the rule is on, it applies to both fleets, and the game tells you if a ship you are placing would touch another one.

One tap to fire

This is a play aid rather than a rule. By default, the first tap on a square only aims (a crosshair appears) and a second tap, or the Fire button, takes the shot. That protects you from a slip of the finger. If you find the second tap slow, switch on One tap to fire. Salvos are always aimed first, so you can check all your shots before you send them.

Other Variations You May Meet

Naming the ship on every hit

Some players answer "hit, destroyer" instead of just "hit". That makes the hunt much easier, since you know at once how long the damaged ship is. It's a kind rule for young children. Our game uses the standard rule: you learn a ship's name only when it sinks.

Different fleets

The five-ship fleet of 5, 4, 3, 3 and 2 squares is the most common today, but older paper versions often used more, smaller ships: for example one ship of four squares, two of three, three of two and four single-square ships. Single-square ships make the search far harder, because a checkerboard pattern no longer guarantees you will find them. The ship names vary too, so don't be surprised to hear "frigate", "corvette" or "minesweeper".

Bigger or smaller grids

A ten-by-ten grid is standard. Quick games use eight by eight with a smaller fleet, and some families play on twelve by twelve for a longer hunt. The bigger the sea, the more the searching skills in our strategy guide pay off.

Islands and mines

Inventive players sometimes draw a few "islands" on the grid where no ship may go, which both players can see, or hide a "mine" that costs the shooter a turn when hit. These make for fun one-off games but are rarely played regularly.

Playing in teams

With four players, two teams can share a fleet and take turns calling shots, discussing each one in whispers. It's a lovely way to play with grandchildren: the older player explains the thinking, and the younger one gets to call the shot.

Ready to play? Head back to Sea Battle, or read the full rules first. If you enjoy two-player board games, you might also like Reversi or Checkers.