Sea Battle: Diamonds vs. Clubs on the high seas

About Sea 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 to place each one vertically or horizontally: vertical ships fire from the bow; horizontal 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 pattern 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. Once the room is full, anyone who opens the link can watch, up to 50 people: they see the shots and the ships going down, never the fleets.

In Selminha's words

“Sea Battle is the classic graph-paper game: two friends, two sheets of paper and plenty of shouts 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 Sea 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 HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL button rotates the ship; AUTO places the whole fleet for you.
2. Ships can't touch each other, not even corner to corner. Vertical ships fire from the bow; horizontal 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.

Full rules for Sea Battle
More games to play with friends online

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 is placed vertically or horizontally, fully on 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 pattern 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 in portrait; on a tablet, the game follows however you're holding it; on a computer, in landscape. 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; players take turns going first.

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.

Spectators

Once the room is full, anyone who opens the link gets to watch (up to 50 people), and the captains see how many are watching. Spectators see the shots and the ships going down; the fleets only at the end.