Battleship

BATTLESHIP
A Two Player Game. Ages 8 and up

A little history:
The game Battleship (also known as Battleships) is a guessing game played by two people. It is known throughout the world as a pencil and paper game and predates World War I in this form. It was invented by Clifford Von Wickler in the early 1900s, but he never patented the game and it was soon published by Milton Bradley Company in 1943 as the pad-and-pencil game "Broadsides, the Game of Naval Strategy".

BATTLESHIP is the old favorite Navy Game where two players try to sink each other's hidden ships. It is conveniently packaged in self-contained sturdy plastic game kits, complete with storage compartments for the small ships and marker pegs. If can be set up, ready for play, in minutes and quickly stored away when not in use. In this modern, compact form, BATTLESHIP will provide pleasant entertainment for the whole family.

Players place their "fleet" of 5 ships on their "ocean", hidden from the opponent's view. Taking turns, players call out their "shots" attempting to get "hits" on the opponent's ships in order to sink them. Strategy and some luck must be combined to be the first to locate and sink all 5 opponent's ships to win the game.


TO PREPARE THE KITS
The two plastic game kits (I red and I blue) are used for playing the game and storing of the small parts. The diagram below of an OPEN KIT shows the various parts.


The lid of the box acts as a BARRIER SCREEN to block the view of the opponent and contains the TARGET GRID for marking a player's shots. The bottom of the box contains the OCEAN GRID for placement of a player's fleet. It also contains bins for storage of the SHIPS and MARKER PEGS.

The SHIPS and PEGS are supplied on "runners". Remove these by carefully TWISTING until they break off. Each kit should have FIVE SHIPS as follows:
"Carrier" (5 holes), "Battleship" (4 holes), "Cruiser" (3 holes), "Submarine" (3 holes), and "Destroyer" (2 holes). Each kit should have 2 runners of WHITE pegs (84 pegs) and I runner of RED pegs (42 pegs). Each player has a kit.

THE OBJECT OF THE GAME is to be the first player to sink all five of his opponent's ships.


RULES FOR THE BASIC GAME
(one shot in a turn)

SET UP THE FLEET
I. Two players sit FACING EACH OTHER, each with his kit on the fable in front of him. They open their BARRIER LIDS so they cannot see the OCEAN GRID of their opponent's kit. The lids are kept open all during the playing of the game.
2. Each player SECRETLY places his fleet of 5 ships on his OCEAN GRID. The BOTTOM of each ship has two "anchoring pegs" which must be pushed THROUGH the holes in the OCEAN GRID for placing them, Ships may be placed in ANY HORIZONTAL (back and forth) or VERTICAL (up and down) position - but NOT DIAGONALLY. The ship's "anchoring pegs" will NOT fit in the grid holes if placed diagonally. All holes on the TOP of the SHIPS must be lined up over holes on the OCEAN GRID. DO NOT place a ship so that a part of it is overhanging the grid holes or over letters and numbers.
3. When both players have placed their 5 ships as desired, they announce "READY." From then on, during the game, they MAY NOT change the position of any ship. To do so would be cheating!

CALL OUT THE SHOTS
In this BASIC Game, the players call out ONE shot each turn to try to hit an opponent's ship.
I. The player with the RED kit fakes the first shot. Players then alternate, taking one shot at a time (red, blue, red, etc.).
2. A shot is made by calling a LETTER and a NUMBER to locate which hole in the opponent's OCEAN GRID that shot is to be placed. That hole is located by going straight across, horizontally, from the called LETTER (printed on the side) and down, vertically, from the called NUMBER (printed across the top). The diagrams below show examples of how shots are located. The black dot shows where the shot is placed.

3. When a shot is called, the opponent immediately tells, the player whether it s a "hit" or "miss". If is a "hit" if the called hole on his OCEANGRID is covered by a ship; and a "miss" if no ship occupies that hole. If the shot is a "hit", the opponent fells the player what KIND of SHIP was "hit" (cruiser, carrier, etc.)

MARK SHOTS WITH PEGS
1.After a player has called his shot and found out whether it s a "hit" or "miss," he places a marker peg in his TARGET GRID (the one in the lid) -a WHITE peg for a "miss" and a RED peg for a "hit", to mark the location of that shot. This will guide him in placing future shots and prevent him from calling the same holes more than once.
2. A player does not have to mark his opponent's "misses" with white pegs, but, he MUST MARK any 'hits" that the opponent makes on his ships with a RED peg. When a hit has been made on a player's ship, he places a RED peg in the SHIP at that location on his OCEAN GRID.
Examples of marking the shots -

a. John calls "F-44' to Harry. Harry. announces f as a "miss". John places a WHITE PEG at "F.4" on his TARGET GRID. Harry does not place a peg in his kit.
b. Harry calls "H-6" to John. John announces if as a "ht" - "on a Destroyer." Harry places a RED PEG at "H-6" in his TARGET GRID. John places a RED PEG in a hole of his Destroyer at "H-6" on his OCEAN GRID.

SINK THE FLEET
1. Players continue taking turns, Calling shots and marking them.

2. Whenever a ship has received enough "hits" to fill all of ifs holes with RED PEGS, if is SUNK and is removed from the OCEAN GRID. The player whose ship is sunk must announce if to his opponent.

3. The number of "hits" each ship must receive to be SUNK is as follows: Carrier - 5 hits, Battleship - 4 hits, Cruiser - 3 hits, Submarine - 3 hits, Destroyer - 2 hits.
4. It is expected that players will be HONEST in announcing "hits" when they are made. Occasionally players may make a mistake in calling a hole they didn't mean or in locating the correct hole called. If a player feels an error has been made, he may call a TRUCE - and stop the game temporarily to review shots he has made in past turns. He can easily do this by calling out the location of the pegs he has placed on his TARGET GRID and asking the opponent to verify the "hits" and "misses" he has marked.

WIN THE GAME
The first player to sink all 5 of his opponent's ships is the WINNER.

Plan Your Game Night

Why is family game night such a good idea? First of all, it’s a fun way for families to spend time together. Games allow you to compete, show off skills and learn sportsmanship. They encourage family communication. Family game night is like a mini-vacation where everyone can enjoy each other’s company -- and make memories that will last forever.

Here’s how to make your game night something you look forward to all week:

Clear the books. Make this an important date. This sends a good message about family priorities, and it gives everyone something to anticipate.

Keep it to the family. You may want to make other game evenings when you invite guests, but for this night, make sure it’s all about your immediate family. This fosters communication, comfort and helps everyone build a strong sense of family identity.

No interruptions. Let the machine get phone calls, turn off your cell and PDA, and make sure all homework is done beforehand.

Choose the right game. Make sure that everyone can enjoy playing the game, and let different family members choose the game. In fact, you might share the duties of being “in charge” of the night so that everyone gets a turn to create the event. (Of course mom and dad can assist the youngest players.)

Vary the games you play. It doesn’t really matter what you play, as long as everyone can feel like a participant. But balance games of skill with games of luck so that everyone gets a chance to do something they’re good at -- and improve the odds of having a winning night.

Use this as a teaching time. Family game night is a great time to reinforce things like manners, being a good sport, taking turns and other social skills that children will need as they grow up and go out in the world. This can all be done with good humor in the context of the game play and the family, and it gives kids a chance to practice these positive behaviors.

Different Options for Different Ages
Well, the sky’s the limit. Bear in mind that all good games have a few things in common: they’re easy to understand, they’re different every time they’re played, and they take an appropriate amount of time. For younger kids, games that you can play several times in an evening are ideal. Older kids may enjoy a game of Monopoly that can take the whole evening. In all cases, make sure that everyone feels involved and engaged in the process. If you’re trying out a new game, you might want to have an old favorite as a back-up in case the new one isn’t right for your family.

Game Types for Every Family

Now, the fun part: playing! With over 5,000 games on the market at any time, the choice can by dizzying, but here are some ideas:

Classics The advantage to these is that everyone knows them, or almost -- and they’ve stood the test of time. Check age gradings, but some suggestions are: Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, Othello, Battleship, Boggle, Parcheesi, Operation, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Trouble, Sorry, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit. Many of these have special interest editions now.

Strategy Games These games are great for families that like a little more substance to their games. Often story-based, one of the best we’ve seen this year is Parthenon from Z-Man Games where players race to build their civilizations.

Multi-Faceted Games These are games that combine different kinds of skills. Great for diverse families where everyone gets a chance to shine. For older kids and adults, check out Cranium. Cranium Family Fun, Hoopla and Whonu? work for the whole family.


DVD Games Definitely one of the hottest trends in the whole game business Our favorite is Scene It? from Mattel in different versions that cover movies, TV, music, sports and Harry Potter. Pop in the DVD and you simply play along. Choose the version that’s right for the group you’re playing with.

Skill and Action Games For when you just want to have some silly fun. Try Captain Bones Gold from Spin Master, and Ker-Plunk from Mattel. These are great for kids with tons of energy, and the different outcomes keep families engaged.


Have a fun and relaxing time together!