Battleship

Picco Gabellieri

Battleship

• Goal of the game - the basic goal is to sink all of the enemies ships

• Core Mechanic - the core mechanic is the fact that players take turns firing at targeted points of the enemy grid where a ship might be.

• Space of the game - the space of the game is a discrete two-dimensional space, there are two types of space in this game: the grids and the coordinate spaces on them. The ships will be hiding inside of these coordinate spaces.

• Objects, Attributes, States - the objects in the game are the different types of ships one can place on their side of the grids, hidden from the opponent. The ships sizes can range from 2 to 5 squares long. The attributes of the ships are the space on the grid they inhabit. The states of the ships can be: “not hit,” “hit,” or “sunk.”

• Actions -

Operative actions are:

(1) Place ships on your grid

(2) Choose a space on the enemy board and fire

Resultant actions are:

(a) Fire at the enemy board based on the knowledge of where the ships are not from prior shots

(b) If a ship is hit fire at adjacent squares where you may think the direction of the rest of the ship may face

• Rules - Written Rules - The game is played on four grids, two for each player, that are usually 10 x 10 squares that have lettered rows and numbered columns. On one grid a player keeps track of the shots he fires at the opponent and on his own he keeps track of the shots fired at him as well as his ships that he has placed on the board (horizontally or vertically) before the start of the game in spaces unknown to the opponent. The ships can be placed anywhere on the grid except for in another ships squares. Both players have the same type and number of ships and each ship has its own number of squares it occupies. After the ships have been place the game starts. The game is based on the two players taking turns one after the other. Players take their turn choosing a square on the opponents’ grid and telling them they have targeted that position. The other player must then tell whether or not they have hit a ship. Players, after having targeted a ship continue firing at the adjacent spaces until it has been sunk. Players win by sinking all the opponents’ ships.

Aircraft carrier - 5 squares

Battleship - 4 squares

Destroyer - 3 squares

Submarine - 3 squares

Patrol boat - 2 squares

Modes -

Classic - each player gets only one shot per turn

Salvo - each player gets on shot for ever ship they have left

Bonus - each player gets only one shot per turn unless they hit a ship in which case they then continue firing until the enemy ship has been sunk or they miss a shot

• Skills players learn - Players must learn both mental and social skills for battleship.

Mental - While playing the game one must learn to assess the enemy grid and try to place shots on spaces based on the knowledge of where they have missed and where they best think the enemy ships could be or fit between the array of missed shots.

Social - After having played the game for some time or of having known the player you are facing one should learn to read the opponents face for any clues as to where their ships might be. This can be done by viewing whether a shot seems to have momentarily worried them, perhaps you have just barely miss their ship and you should place another shot adjacent to it. Other ways include perhaps calling out your next move so see what reaction they show. There are many other ways to tell but this is a very vital skill when playing Battleship.