Battleship Rules: How to Play the Classic Pencil-and-Paper Game

What is the goal of Battleship?

The goal of Battleship is to be the first player to find and sink all of your opponent's hidden ships by guessing their locations on a grid.

You can't see where the enemy fleet is, so the game is a battle of deduction: you fire shots, gather information from hits and misses, and use logic to hunt down every ship before your opponent destroys yours.

What do you need to play Battleship on paper?

All you need is paper, a pencil for each player, and a way to keep your grids hidden from each other.

Each player draws two identical grids, usually 10 squares by 10 squares:

• Label the columns A–J across the top and the rows 1–10 down the side, so every square has a coordinate like "C7."
• The first grid ("your ocean") is where you secretly place your own fleet and record the enemy's shots.
• The second grid ("your radar/target grid") is where you track the shots you fire at the enemy, marking hits and misses.

Keep your grids out of your opponent's sight — a propped-up book or folder works perfectly.

What ships are in a Battleship fleet?

Each player has a fleet of five ships of different lengths, occupying a set number of connected squares.

(Some older or regional versions use slightly different fleets, but this five-ship lineup is the most widely used standard.)

How do you set up the game?

Draw your grids, place your fleet secretly, and keep it hidden.

1. Draw your grids and label the coordinates A–J and 1–10.
2. Secretly place your fleet on your ocean grid. Each ship occupies its number of connected squares in a straight line — horizontally or vertically, never diagonally.
3. Follow placement rules: ships cannot overlap, and (in the standard rules) cannot extend off the grid. Most rules also forbid ships touching, but the common version simply requires no overlapping.
4. Don't show your grid to your opponent. Once both players have placed all five ships, you're ready to begin.

How do you play a turn in Battleship?

Players take turns firing one shot at a time by calling out a coordinate, and the opponent reports whether it's a hit or a miss.

1. Fire a shot. On your turn, call out a grid coordinate, such as "G4."
2. The opponent responds "hit" or "miss" by checking their ocean grid.
3. Mark the result on your target grid. Use one mark for a miss (often a dot or "O") and another for a hit (often an "X").
4. The defender marks the shot on their own ocean grid too, so they know which of their ships have been struck.
5. Play passes to the other player, who fires their own shot.

You alternate firing one shot per turn until someone's fleet is destroyed.

How does a ship sink, and how do you win?

A ship is "sunk" when every square it occupies has been hit, and the player whose ship sank must announce it.

For example, once all 3 squares of a Cruiser have been struck, its owner says, "You sank my Cruiser."

You win the moment you sink your opponent's entire fleet — all five ships. The first player to destroy every enemy ship is the winner.

What are the best strategies to win at Battleship?

Battleship looks like a guessing game, but skilled players win far more often than random shooters.

Placement strategy

• Spread your ships out rather than clustering them, so a lucky hit doesn't lead the enemy straight to your next ship.
• Use the edges and corners — many players instinctively fire toward the center, so the border squares can hide ships longer.
• Avoid predictable patterns. Don't line all your ships up along one edge or in an obvious row.

Hunting strategy (when searching for ships)

• Fire in a checkerboard / parity pattern. Because the smallest ship covers 2 squares, you can shoot every other square (like the black squares of a checkerboard) and still be guaranteed to eventually hit every ship. This roughly halves the shots needed to find ships.
• Don't fire randomly when logic points somewhere — be systematic about covering the grid.

Targeting strategy (after a hit)

• Once you score a hit, focus fire around it. Shoot the squares directly above, below, left, and right of the hit to find the ship's orientation.
• Follow the line. After two hits in a row, you know the ship's direction — keep firing along that line until it sinks.
• Remember ship lengths. Once you sink a ship, you know which sizes remain, which helps you interpret future hits.

The combination of smart placement, parity-based hunting, and disciplined targeting is what separates a Battleship expert from a lucky guesser.

Can you play Battleship with more than two players or different grids?

Yes — Battleship is flexible.

The classic game is for two players, but variations exist: larger grids for longer games, bigger or smaller fleets, "Salvo" rules where you fire multiple shots per turn (one for each surviving ship), and team play. Because it only needs paper and pencils, you can adjust the grid size and fleet to suit your group.

Frequently asked questions about Battleship rules

This is an educational guide to the rules of the classic pencil-and-paper grid game commonly known as Battleship. "Battleship" is also a registered trademark of its respective board-game publisher; this guide describes the public-domain pencil-and-paper game, not any specific branded product.