Sea Battle A free sea battle game: hunt a hidden fleet
Hunt a hidden fleet on a 10x10 sea chart against three computer admirals, try the Salvo twist and sink the daily fleet in as few shots as you can.
About Sea Battle
Sea Battle is a free fleet-guessing game that you play in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer. There is nothing to download and no sign-up. Two fleets of five ships hide on two ten by ten sea charts. You cannot see the enemy ships and the enemy cannot see yours, so every turn you call a square, find out whether it is a splash or a hit, and then the admiral calls one back at you. The first fleet to be sunk loses.
Your first game starts at once. A ghost finger shows you where to tap, the sea answers with a ping, and within a few seconds you have your first hit and a column of smoke. When you start later games you place your own fleet. Tap Shuffle for a fresh random layout, or drag each ship where you want it and tap a ship to turn it. The rules keep ships one square apart by default, which makes hiding harder and hunting fairer; switch on Ships may touch if you want tighter formations.
Three admirals sail against you. Ensign Pip fires wild and follows up when he gets lucky. Captain Marlow hunts on a chessboard pattern and finishes every ship he finds. Admiral Voss counts every way the remaining ships could still fit on the chart and always fires at the likeliest square, so he rarely wastes a shot. Beat them in order, or jump straight in against the one you fear.
The Salvo twist changes the rhythm. With Salvo on, each side fires as many shots in a turn as it has ships afloat, so a full fleet fires five times, and every ship you lose takes a shot away from you. It rewards guarding your own fleet as much as hunting theirs.
Every day there is also a Daily Fleet, the same hidden fleet for everyone. Nobody shoots back. You simply sink the whole fleet in as few shots as you can, and your shot count goes on the daily leaderboard. Come back each day to build a streak.
On the big chart the squares are large enough for a thumb. Press on a square to aim, slide to adjust and lift to fire. While the admiral takes his turn the view swings round to your own chart so you can watch your ships being hit, and the enemy chart shrinks into a small map in the corner. Ships that go down are revealed with an outline, the screen shakes, and a fleet-destroyed celebration waits at the end of a win. Your score rewards a win against a harder admiral, quick victories and every ship you bring home.
Tips: spread your shots over a chessboard pattern until you hit something, because the smallest ship covers two squares. After a hit, fire along the line, not around it. Hide a ship against the edge, and do not always keep your ships in a tidy row, because clever admirals look for neat patterns.
How to play
Press a square on the enemy chart to aim, slide to adjust, and lift your finger (or click) to fire. A splash is a miss, a flame is a hit, and a ship goes down when every square of it is hit. Place your own fleet before a battle: drag a ship to move it and tap it to turn it, or press Shuffle. The first fleet sunk loses. On a keyboard use the arrow keys or W A S D to move the cursor, Enter or Space to fire, R to turn the selected ship, Tab to pick the next ship, P to pause and M to mute.
Controls and devices
- Controls: Touch, Mouse, Keyboard
- Works on: phones, tablets and computers
- Screen: portrait orientation
- Price: free, no download or sign-up
FAQ
- Can ships touch each other?
- By default they cannot: ships must have one empty square between them, even diagonally. Turn on Ships may touch in the menu for the looser version. The setting applies to both fleets and to the computer's guessing.
- What is Salvo mode?
- In Salvo each side fires as many shots in a turn as it has ships afloat. A full fleet fires five times, and every ship you lose costs you a shot.
- How strong are the admirals?
- Ensign Pip fires at random and follows hits. Captain Marlow hunts in a chessboard pattern and finishes the ships he finds. Admiral Voss works out the most likely squares from the ships still afloat and rarely wastes a shot.
- How does the Daily Fleet work?
- Everyone gets the same hidden fleet on the same UTC day. Nobody fires back, and your score is the number of shots it takes to sink the whole fleet. Fewer is better. You can replay it, and your best shot count for the day is the one that counts.
- Will my game be saved if I close the page?
- Yes. An unfinished battle is saved after every shot and can be continued from the menu. Your records, streak and achievements are saved on this device, and to your account when you are signed in.
- How is my score worked out?
- A win is worth 200 points, plus 50 for every ship you still have and 6 for every shot you saved under 100, multiplied by 1 for Ensign Pip, 1.5 for Captain Marlow and 2 for Admiral Voss. A loss scores nothing.
Credits
- Game design, code, enemy AI, art and sound: Playora Games