How to Play Paper Battleships: Rules & Setup
Learn setup, ship placement, rules, and winning strategies for the classic pen and paper game.
What You'll Need
- Paper (two sheets, or one sheet with two grids)
- Pen or pencil (one per player)
Paper Battleships is a two-player strategy game played on 10x10 grids. Each player secretly places a fleet of ships on their own grid, then takes turns guessing coordinates to locate and sink the opponent's ships. The first to sink all enemy ships wins.
Draw the Grids
Each player draws two 10x10 grids on their paper. Label columns A–J across the top and rows 1–10 down the left side. Mark one grid 'MY SHIPS' and the other 'OPPONENT'S SHIPS'.
Know Your Fleet
The standard fleet has five ships: Carrier (5 squares), Battleship (4 squares), Cruiser (3 squares), Submarine (3 squares), and Destroyer (2 squares).
Place Your Ships
Secretly place all five ships on your 'MY SHIPS' grid. Ships can be horizontal or vertical, never diagonal. They must not overlap, and each ship must fit entirely within the grid.
Take Turns Firing
Players alternate calling out a coordinate (e.g., B4). If the opponent has a ship part there, they say 'hit' and mark that square on their own grid; otherwise, they say 'miss'. The shooter marks hits and misses on the 'OPPONENT'S SHIPS' grid.
Sink Ships and Win
When all squares of a ship are hit, the ship is sunk. The player announces 'You sank my [ship name]'. The first player to sink all five of the opponent's ships wins.
Strategy Tips
Spread your ships to avoid clusters. After a hit, fire around the hit square to find the ship's orientation. Use a checkerboard pattern for early shots to cover more area.
Important Rules
Ships cannot overlap or touch diagonally. All ship parts must be within the 10x10 grid. Do not change ship positions after the game starts.
