Naval Battle: Diamonds vs. Clubs on the sea lanes

About Naval Battle

Diamonds and Clubs are fighting over the sea lanes in the world of the Queen of Hearts. Each captain has five ships on a 10-by-10 sea: the carrack (5 squares), the galley (4), the cog (3), the caravel (3) and the barque (2). You set up your fleet so no ship touches another, not even corner to corner, and choose whether each one sits upright or sideways: upright ships fire from the bow, sideways ships fire broadside. In battle, you take turns firing at a square on the other side. A miss ends your turn; a hit lets you fire again; whoever sinks the whole enemy fleet wins. Every shot comes from a real cannon: the crew fetches the ball, loads it, rolls the gun out, aims and fires, and the ball arcs all the way to the square you picked. A ship that takes a hit catches fire, and the crew runs for the buckets. When one goes down, it shows up in flames and sinks up close, each type in its own way. Against the computer, you face the other kingdom's commander: the Jack fires more or less at random, the Ace searches in a checkerboard and chases any ship it hits, and the King works out where every ship could still be. With a friend, create a room, send the link and each of you plays on your own device; every fleet stays secret on the site.

In Selminha's words

“Naval battle is the graph-paper game: two friends, two sheets and plenty of "miss!". I wanted to take it out onto the Queen of Hearts' sea, with real ships, cannons that have to be loaded and a crew that runs for the buckets when the ship catches fire.”

How to play Naval Battle and tips for sinking the whole fleet

1. Set up your fleet: pick a ship and tap or click the sea where it goes (your tap marks the middle of the ship). The SIDEWAYS/UPRIGHT button turns the ship; AUTO places the whole fleet for you.
2. Ships can't touch each other, not even corner to corner. Upright ships fire from the bow; sideways ships fire broadside.
3. In battle, tap a square on their side to aim, then tap it again (or FIRE!) to shoot. On a computer, the arrow keys move your aim and Enter fires; on a controller, use the D-pad and A.
4. A miss ends your turn; a hit lets you fire again. When a ship sinks, every square around it is marked as open water.
5. With a friend: tap WITH A FRIEND, type your name, pick your kingdom and send the link. Whoever opens it joins as the other kingdom, and the room is saved on the site.
6. Tip: after a hit, try the squares next to it until you find the end of the ship.

More games to play with friends by link

The rules

The fleet

Carrack (5 squares), galley (4), cog (3), caravel (3) and barque (2), on a 10-by-10 sea.

Setting up

Each ship sits upright or sideways, inside the board, without touching another ship, not even corner to corner.

Firing

Each player fires at a square on the other side. A miss ends your turn; a hit lets you fire again.

Sunk

When every square of a ship has been hit, it sinks and shows up; the squares around it are open water.

Winning

The first to sink the whole enemy fleet wins.

The three opponents

Jack (easy)

Fires more or less at random and sometimes checks around a hit.

Ace (medium)

Searches in a checkerboard and, after a hit, follows the ship down the line until it sinks.

King (hard)

Counts, for every square, how many positions of the remaining ships still fit there and fires at the likeliest one.

Controls on phone and computer

Computer

Tap or click a square to aim and again to fire · arrow keys move your aim · Enter fires · R turns the ship during setup · P or Esc pauses · M sound · F full screen · compatible controller: D-pad aims, A fires, Start pauses, Back sound.

Touch

On a phone, play upright; on a tablet, the game follows however you're holding it; on a computer, sideways. Tap the sea to place ships and to aim; tap again to fire. To invite someone, use COPY THE LINK and paste it into a chat or anywhere you like.

With a friend

Invite

Whoever creates the room picks a kingdom and sends the link; whoever opens it joins as the other kingdom. Each of you plays on your own device.

Secret fleets

Each fleet is kept on the site: the other player only finds out where a ship was when it sinks, or at the end.

Rematch

At the end, you both decide whether to play again in the same room; who goes first switches every game.

Leaving and inactivity

Leaving in the middle of a battle counts as a loss, and the game asks first. If someone disappears for more than 2 days on their turn, the battle can be closed for inactivity.