Naval Warfare
Overview
Naval Warfare is a classic two-player deduction game. Each player secretly arranges a fleet on a private 10×10 ocean grid, then the two take turns firing at single coordinates on the opponent's waters. After each shot the defender reveals only whether it was a hit or a miss — and announces when a ship is completely destroyed ("sunk"). The first player to sink every ship in the opponent's fleet wins.
Objective
Be the first player to sink all 6 ships in the opponent's fleet.
Setup
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Each player has a private 10×10 grid (columns A–J, rows 1–10).
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Each player secretly places an identical fleet:
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2 battleships — length 3 each
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3 submarines — length 2 each
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Ships are placed horizontally or vertically (never diagonally), occupying a straight run of contiguous cells.
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Spacing rule: ships may not touch one another, not even diagonally — at least one empty cell must separate any two ships on all sides.
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Placement is hidden: a player never sees the opponent's fleet.
Turn Structure
1.
Players place their fleets in turn (with a private hand-off in pass-and-play). Player 1 places all 6 ships, then Player 2 places all 6.
2.
Once both fleets are placed, battle begins. Player 1 fires first.
The opener alternates between games: Player 1 places and fires first in the first game, Player 2 in the next, and so on.
3.
On a turn, the active player chooses a single target coordinate on the opponent's grid.
4.
The shot resolves as miss (empty water), hit (a ship cell), or hit and sunk (last cell of a ship).
5.
Turns strictly alternate — one shot per turn, whether hit or miss.
Valid Moves
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During placement: choose orientation (horizontal or vertical) and a starting cell where the next ship fits without going out of bounds, overlapping, or touching another of your ships.
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During battle: fire at a cell on the opponent's grid that you have not already fired at.
Special Rules
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A ship is sunk only when every one of its cells has been hit. Until then, hits do not reveal which ship was struck.
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The optional "extra shot on a hit" house rule (keep firing until you miss) is not used in this base ruleset; turns always alternate.
Win / Lose
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The first player to sink all 6 of the opponent's ships wins immediately.