Play battleship online with friends as soon as this page loads. Each player gets a private 10×10 grid and a fleet of five ships, then you hunt each other's waters until one fleet is gone. Press Create room, send the five-character code or the invite link, and your friend joins from their own phone, tablet or computer. There is nothing to download and no account to create. You can also pass one device back and forth, or press Play vs Computer for a solo game.
How to Play Battleship Online with Friends
- Open a room. Press Create room. Copy the code or the invite link and send it in any chat. Your friend opens the link or types the code under Join room. The host admits them, both players press Ready, and the host starts the match. Local vs and Play vs Computer skip the room and start immediately.
- Set the fleets with Auto-place. The status line says “Place your fleet”. The only setup control is the Auto-place fleet button. It lays down a random legal fleet for you. You do not drag ships onto the grid. In a local game the screen then passes to the other player so they can auto-place in private. Online, each browser shows only that player's ships. The battle starts when both fleets are placed, and the first seat fires first. In an online room that is the host. Against the computer, that is you.
- Fire one cell. On your turn, click or tap an empty cell on the grid labelled Fire here. While fleets are still being placed, that grid reads Enemy waters (locked) and does not accept shots.
- Read the shot. A hit marks the cell and you keep the turn, so you fire again. A miss marks the cell and the turn passes. A cell you have already shot cannot be chosen again.
- Sink the fleet. A ship sinks when every one of its cells has been hit. The names appear under the boards. The first player to sink all five enemy ships wins. From the result screen either player can offer a rematch.
Battleship Rules on This Table
The fleet
| Ship | Size |
|---|---|
| Carrier | 5 cells |
| Battleship | 4 cells |
| Cruiser | 3 cells |
| Submarine | 3 cells |
| Destroyer | 2 cells |
That is 17 cells on a grid of 100. Every match uses this same fleet, including games against the computer. The ships are the classic set, and the board is the familiar ten-by-ten square.
How the ships sit
Each ship is a straight horizontal or vertical line. A diagonal ship is illegal, and two ships cannot share a cell. Ships may touch along an edge or a corner. Auto-place retries until it finds a layout that obeys those rules, and the server rejects any fleet that does not. Because the button is the only setup control, you cannot rotate a ship with the R key, the arrow keys, a right-click or a finger gesture. The screen never hands you a ship to turn.
Shots, hits and the extra turn
Each shot aims at one cell of the enemy grid. A hit does not end your turn. You keep firing until you miss, and only a miss hands the turn over. That is the rule in this game, not a bug. In many boxed sets each player gets one shot and then waits, even after a hit. Here a hit is a bonus shot, so one good guess can finish a ship before your opponent fires back.
A ship sinks only when every cell in it has been hit. The match ends as soon as one player has sunk the whole opposing fleet. There is no draw. Hits and misses stay marked for the rest of the game, on your grid and on the grid you are shooting at, so you never have to remember a call from earlier.
Your opponent's ships are not sent to your browser. You see your own ships, the shots that have landed on you, and the hits and misses you have fired. A spectator sees the shot maps and the names of sunk ships, not where the remaining ships are hiding. That is what keeps a remote game as private as two paper grids.
Controls
Mouse and touch
Press Auto-place fleet, then click or tap a cell under Fire here. Both grids stay on the screen together for the whole match. Your waters shows your ships and the shots that have landed on you. The other grid shows only your hits and misses. There are no Fleet and Enemy tabs to switch, and there is no second screen to open. On a phone the grids stack, and the same taps work in portrait. You do not pinch or twist a ship into place.
Keyboard
There is no shortcut that moves or rotates a ship. Arrow keys do not step a cursor across the grid, and the R key does nothing. The fire cells are ordinary buttons. Once a cell is focused, Enter or Space fires it, the same as a click, and Tab moves between the cells that are still available. Cells that are not your turn, or that you have already shot, are disabled, so a keypress cannot fire them. Right-click does not rotate anything and does not take a shot.
Ways to Play
A room for two devices
This is the way to play when you are not in the same place. The host creates the room, admits the friend, and both press Ready. Each person sees only their own fleet, so you do not have to look away or cover the screen. Room chat is there if you want to talk, and other people can watch without seeing the hidden ships. You can start all of this without signing in. An account is optional and is not a gate on the play button.
Someone who is already online
The arena lists players who are free. Send an invite from there if you would rather not pass a code around. They still sit in a normal room, with the same fleet and the same bonus shot after a hit.
Local vs on one device
Two people share one phone, tablet or computer. During setup the screen shows one fleet at a time, then passes to the other player. In the battle it shows the grid of whoever is about to fire, and the status line names them. Hand the device over when the name changes. The other player's ships are not left on screen between turns.
Play vs Computer
Press Play vs Computer for an instant match. The computer uses the same Auto-place button's rules for its fleet, then answers when it is its turn. It aims from the shots it has already fired and prefers the empty cells next to its hits. It does not get a private rule: a hit lets it shoot again, and a miss gives the turn back to you.
Hunting Tips
You cannot choose where your own ships sit, so the useful decisions are all about the search.
- Search a checkerboard. The smallest ship covers two cells, and any straight ship of two or more cells touches both colours of a checkerboard. Shooting every other cell is enough to find every ship, and it skips half of the empty water.
- Spend the bonus shot. After a hit, try the four neighbouring cells before you do anything else. A second hit tells you the line. Keep going along that line until the ship sinks or the next cell is a miss. Because a hit lets you fire again, you can often finish the ship on the same turn.
- Cross off what cannot fit. Five ships start on the board: 5, 4, 3, 3 and 2. When a name appears under the boards, that size is gone. If only the carrier is left, ignore gaps shorter than five cells.
- Do not re-shoot a mark. Hits and misses stay painted. A disabled cell has already been used.
A Short History of Battleship
Battleship began as a pencil-and-paper game that was widely played in the early 20th century, with each player drawing grids on squared paper. Commercial pad-and-pencil versions such as Salvo followed in the 1930s. In 1967 Milton Bradley released the plastic peg-board edition most people remember, and later electronic and video versions kept the same hunt. The thrill has hardly changed: hidden information, a careful search, and the moment a shot is called a hit. Playing here keeps that privacy, because each screen shows only one fleet, and a hit still earns another shot before the turn changes hands.
Battleship FAQ
Can two people play from different devices?
Yes. Create a room and share the five-character code or the invite link. The host admits your friend, you both press Ready, and the host starts. Each browser shows only that player’s fleet. No account is required.
Do I get another shot after a hit?
Yes. You keep firing while you hit, and the turn passes only after a miss. In many boxed sets you get one shot even after a hit. This table uses the bonus-shot rule instead.
Can I place or rotate the ships myself?
No. Auto-place fleet is the only setup control. It drops a random legal fleet: horizontal or vertical ships that do not overlap. R, the arrow keys, right-click and touch do not rotate a ship, because the screen never gives you a ship to turn.
How many ships are in the fleet?
Five: a carrier (5), a battleship (4), a cruiser (3), a submarine (3) and a destroyer (2). That is 17 cells on the 10×10 grid.
Are the two grids on separate tabs?
No. Your waters and the enemy grid are both on the page. During setup the enemy grid is labelled Enemy waters (locked). During the battle it is labelled Fire here.
Can I play on a phone?
Yes. Tap Auto-place fleet, then tap a cell on Fire here. The grids fit a phone in portrait. There is no app to install and no rotate gesture.
Can I play against the computer?
Yes. Press Play vs Computer. The computer auto-places its fleet and fires back. A hit lets it shoot again, just as a hit does for you.
Is Battleship free?
Yes. It is free in the browser on desktop, tablet and phone, with no download and no account.
More Free 2 Player Games
Battleship is one of 50+ free games on My MP Games. These grid and board games use the same room code when you want another match:
