How to Play: Battleship: Evolved
Two fleets. One ocean. Every hull carries a secret. This is not your grandfather's Battleship — here, the ships are alive, and each one wields a weapon of its own. Hide your fleet, read the enemy, and sink all five of theirs before they send yours to the deep.
The Objective
Locate and destroy every one of your opponent's five ships. You win the moment the last enemy hull slips beneath the waves. Until then, the war is very much on.
Setting the Stage
Each player commands a private grid — your own hidden waters. Place your five ships before the battle begins. Choose their berths wisely, because the enemy sees nothing of your arrangement until their shells land.
- No touching: Ships may never touch — not edge-to-edge, not even corner-to-corner. Keep clear water between every hull.
- Straight lines only: Each ship lies horizontally or vertically. No diagonals, no bends.
- Drag to place: Drag a ship from the yard onto your board. Tap or click a ship in the yard or on the board to rotate it. Drag a placed ship to move it, or drag it back to the yard to return it. Use Random Layout to let fate scatter your fleet.
The Rhythm of War
Play alternates one action at a time. On your turn you choose exactly one thing to do: fire a plain shot, or unleash a ship's ability. There is no bonus turn for a hit — every shot, hit or miss, hands the initiative to your foe. On a big ocean, wasted moves are costly; make each one count.
Your Fleet & Their Gifts
Carrier (5 cells) — Airstrike
Call down a strike on a single cell, then let the blast wash over two random neighboring cells. A hammer blow that punishes clustered fleets.
Battleship (4 cells) — Broadside
Rake three contiguous cells in a straight line — horizontal or vertical, your choice. A wall of iron that carves a trench through the enemy's waters.
Cruiser (3 cells) — Sonar Ping
Send a pulse through a 3×3 area and read the echoes. It reveals which cells hold a ship and which are empty — but it deals no damage. Knowledge, not firepower: scout where to strike next.
Submarine (3 cells) — Torpedo Run
Launch a torpedo down a straight line of up to four cells. It runs silent and deep until it strikes the first hull in its path, then detonates. A hunter that punishes careless placement.
Destroyer (2 cells) — Double Tap
Fire two separate single-cell shots in the same turn. Twice the probing, one turn's tempo — ideal for finishing off a wounded ship.
The Basic Strike
One cell, one shell. Always available, no cooldown, no ceremony. When every ability is recharging and every hint is spent, the plain shot remains your most honest weapon.
Cooldowns & the Cost of Power
- Per-ship, per-ability: Each ship's weapon runs on its own cooldown. Spend it and it must rest.
- Countdown on your turns: A cooldown ticks down by one at the end of each of your turns — not your opponent's. A "3-turn" cooldown means you wait three of your own turns before firing it again.
- Watch the badge: A small number on an ability card shows how many of your turns remain before it's ready.
- Sunk means silent: The moment a ship goes down, its ability is gone for good. Protect your ability ships — losing a Carrier isn't just five cells, it's the loss of your Airstrike.
Damage & Sinking
A cell struck by any weapon is marked hit if it holds a ship, or miss if it holds only water. A ship sinks once every one of its cells has been hit. Beware area weapons — Airstrikes and Torpedo Runs can catch ships you weren't even aiming at, revealing your hand as much as theirs.
Reading the Board
- Green — your own ships, safe in your waters.
- Red — a confirmed hit.
- Blue-grey — a miss: nothing but empty sea.
- Yellow — Sonar intel: cells you've scouted but not yet struck.
Your enemy's board is veiled — you see only the shots you've landed and the echoes you've gathered, until the game ends and the fog lifts to reveal all.
Victory
Sink all five enemy ships and the ocean is yours. The battle ends the instant the last hull goes under — no last shots, no consolation turns, just victory and the full enemy board laid bare.