Iron Tide · free naval strategy
Play Battleship Online
Play battleship online for free. Fight the computer in a 20-mission naval campaign, climb the arena ladder, or play a 2 player battleship game online with friends. No download, no signup.
How to play battleship online
1. Deploy
Drag your five ships onto the grid, horizontally or vertically. Ships can’t touch, not even at a corner. Your opponent cannot see them.
2. Fire
Choose a square on the enemy grid. Hit, and you fire again; miss, and it’s your opponent’s turn.
3. Sink
Hit every square of a ship to sink it, and the water around it is marked for you. The first commander to sink the whole enemy fleet wins.
New to the game? Read the full battleship rules, learn the ships and their sizes, or pick up a few habits from the strategy guide.
The fleet
- Carrier5 squares
- Battleship4 squares
- Cruiser3 squares
- Submarine3 squares
- Destroyer2 squares
Battleship guides
- Battleship Rules: How to PlayThe complete rules of Battleship in plain English: setting up the grid, placing ships, taking turns, calling hits and misses, and the Salvo variation.
- The Ships in Battleship: Names and SizesThere are five ships in Battleship covering 17 squares. See each ship’s name and size, how the names changed between editions, and what that means for strategy.
- Battleship Strategy: How to Win More OftenPractical Battleship strategy with real numbers. We simulated 65,000 games to compare random firing, hunt and target, checkerboard search and probability targeting.
- When Was Battleship Invented? A Short HistoryBattleship began as a pencil-and-paper game around World War I, was first sold as Salvo in 1931, and became the plastic board game in 1967. Here is the full timeline.
- Printable Battleship GamePrint a free Battleship game sheet with two 10×10 grids and a ship checklist. Includes instructions for playing Battleship on paper with any pencil.
Frequently asked questions
Is this battleship game free?
Yes. Every mode is free to play in your browser, with no download and no account.
Can I play battleship online with a friend?
Yes. Choose Play with Friends, create a private room and send the link. Your friend joins from any modern browser, on a computer or a phone, and the match starts when you have both placed your ships.
Can I play battleship against the computer?
Yes. Versus Computer has three difficulty levels, and the campaign is 20 single-player missions with a story.
How many ships are there and how big is the grid?
Classic games use a 10×10 grid and five ships per player: a carrier (5 squares), battleship (4), cruiser (3), submarine (3) and destroyer (2).
What is the difference between Classic and Tactical?
Classic is pure deduction with ordinary shots. Tactical adds abilities such as sonar, torpedoes and airstrikes, each tied to a ship, so losing a ship also costs you its ability. Attacking abilities end your turn, so they are best used while you search.
Do you get another shot after a hit?
Yes. In every Iron Tide mode, a hit, including one that sinks a ship, lets you fire again. A miss passes the turn. Ships never touch, so when one sinks, the squares around it are marked as clear water.
How does the weekly tournament work?
Arena matches played while signed in count toward a weekly ladder that resets every Monday at 00:00 UTC. Whoever is in first place when the week ends is added to the Hall of Fame. Guests can play the same matches, but their results are not ranked.
Do I need an account?
No. You can play every mode as a guest under a random ID. Signing in with Google is only needed to appear on the weekly ladder, and we do not store your email, name or photo.
Is Iron Tide the official Battleship game?
No. Battleship is a trademark of Hasbro. Iron Tide is an independent game based on the traditional pencil-and-paper naval guessing game.