Battleship is one of the most recognizable two-player strategy games in the world. Whether you picked up a plastic peg-board set at a yard sale or you are about to play online for the first time, the rules are simple to learn and the gameplay is endlessly replayable. This guide walks you through every rule you need to know, from setting up your grid to calling the winning shot.

What You Need to Play

In a physical Battleship game you get two folding boards — one per player — each containing an ocean grid (where you place your own ships) and a target grid (where you record your shots against the opponent). You also receive:

  • 5 ship pegs of different lengths
  • White pegs to mark misses
  • Red pegs to mark hits

When playing online, the interface handles pegs and grids for you, but the underlying logic is identical.

The Grid

Each grid is a 10×10 square labeled like a spreadsheet. Columns run A through J from left to right, and rows run 1 through 10 from top to bottom. Every cell can be referenced by its column letter and row number — for example, B-7 or F-3.

Column A B C D E F G H I J
Row 1
Row 2
…
Row 10

You will use one grid to hide your fleet and the second grid to track where you have fired at your opponent.

The Ships

A standard game includes five ships of different lengths:

Ship Length (squares)
Carrier 5
Battleship 4
Cruiser 3
Submarine 3
Destroyer 2

Together these ships occupy 17 of the 100 squares on your ocean grid.

Ship Placement Rules

Before the game starts, each player secretly places all five ships on their own ocean grid. The placement rules are straightforward:

  1. Horizontal or vertical only. Ships cannot be placed diagonally.
  2. No overlapping. Two ships cannot share the same square.
  3. Stay on the grid. No part of any ship may extend beyond the 10×10 boundary.
  4. No moving after placement. Once both players confirm they are ready, ships stay where they are for the entire game.

Take your time during placement. Where you position your ships has a large impact on how difficult they are for your opponent to find.

How a Turn Works

Battleship is a turn-based game. Players alternate turns, and each turn follows the same sequence:

  1. Call a shot. Announce a coordinate — for example, “D-5.”
  2. Opponent checks. Your opponent looks at their ocean grid to see whether any ship occupies that square.
  3. Announce the result.
    • If a ship occupies the square, the opponent says “Hit!” and the attacking player places a red peg on their target grid.
    • If the square is empty, the opponent says “Miss!” and the attacking player places a white peg.
  4. Check for a sunk ship. If the hit was the last remaining square of a ship, the opponent announces “You sunk my [ship name]!”

That’s it — play passes to the other player and the cycle repeats.

Hits, Misses, and Tracking

Accurate tracking is critical. On your target grid, use red pegs (or red markers online) for hits and white pegs for misses. On your ocean grid, mark each square of your own ships that has been hit so you can report sinkings correctly.

A common beginner mistake is forgetting to track misses. Recording misses is just as important as recording hits because it tells you where ships are not, helping you narrow down the search area.

Sinking a Ship

A ship is sunk when every square it occupies has been hit. The defending player must announce the sinking immediately — withholding this information is against the rules. Knowing which ship was sunk gives the attacker useful information about how many squares remain to find.

For example, if you learn that the Destroyer (2 squares) has been sunk, you know the remaining unsunk ships are all 3 squares or longer, which changes how you search.

Winning the Game

The first player to sink all five of their opponent’s ships wins. There is no draw condition in standard Battleship. Because both players start with the same fleet on identically sized grids, the game is balanced, and victory comes down to placement skill, shot selection, and a bit of luck.

Quick-Reference Rule Summary

Rule Detail
Grid size 10 × 10 (A–J columns, 1–10 rows)
Number of ships 5 per player
Ship orientation Horizontal or vertical only
Shots per turn 1
Hit announcement “Hit!” from the defender
Miss announcement “Miss!” from the defender
Sunk announcement “You sunk my [ship name]!” from the defender
Win condition Sink all 5 opponent ships

Tips for Your First Game

  • Spread your ships out. Clustering them together makes it easier for your opponent to chain hits.
  • Don’t shoot randomly forever. Once you get a hit, fire at adjacent squares to find the rest of the ship.
  • Track everything. Mark every shot — hits and misses — so you always know which squares remain.
  • Stay calm. Getting hit feels bad, but the game is far from over until the last ship goes down.

Now that you understand the rules, grab a board or open an online game and start playing. The best way to internalize these rules is to put them into practice.