Battleships (also known as Battleship, Sea Battle, or Naval Combat) is the classic strategy game of naval warfare. Each player secretly places their fleet of ships on a grid, then takes turns firing shots to locate and sink the opponent's vessels. The game combines logical deduction (narrowing down ship positions based on hits and misses), probability assessment (choosing shots that maximize information gain), and strategic thinking (planning sequences of shots to efficiently sink discovered ships). Originally played with pen and paper during World War I, Battleships became a hugely popular board game in 1967 and has been a beloved strategy classic ever since.
Parity/checkerboard pattern: Since the smallest ship occupies 2 cells, you only need to shoot every other cell to detect all ships. This "checkerboard" pattern halves the number of shots needed for initial detection. Hunt and target: Switch between "hunt mode" (searching for ships with the checkerboard pattern) and "target mode" (firing adjacent cells after a hit to determine ship orientation, then following the line to sink it). Probability density: Some cells have a higher probability of containing a ship based on remaining ship sizes and positions. Center cells are statistically more likely to contain ships than edge cells. Ship placement: Spread your ships across the board. Avoid clustering (a single hit reveals your fleet's area). Place ships touching edges and corners — human opponents disproportionately target center areas first.
Battleships has been extensively studied in game theory and mathematics. The optimal strategy involves computing a probability density map for each cell, considering all possible arrangements of remaining ships that are consistent with known hits and misses. The cell with the highest probability of containing a ship segment is the mathematically optimal next shot. Computer algorithms that use this approach win in an average of about 42 shots on a 10x10 grid (out of 100 possible cells). Research by Alex Alemi and colleagues at Cornell University used Bayesian inference to create near-optimal Battleships AI, demonstrating that systematic probability-based play dramatically outperforms random or intuition-based strategies.
Under 50 shots to win — Excellent. You're using efficient search patterns and effective targeting. 50-65 shots — Good. Solid strategy with room for optimization. 65-80 shots — Average. You find ships but could improve search efficiency. 80+ shots — Below Average. Consider using the checkerboard pattern and systematic targeting approach.