How to Win at Sea Battle: Hunting Strategy
Sea Battle feels like guessing, but good players find ships in far fewer shots. Each side hides five ships on a 10 by 10 grid, 5, 4, 3, 3 and 2 squares long, and you win by sinking all of them first. This guide covers searching efficiently, finishing ships quickly and placing your fleet so the computer struggles.
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Search in a checkerboard
Every ship covers at least two squares, so you only need to fire at every second square to be sure of finding them all. Fire in a checkerboard pattern across the grid. Once the small ship is sunk, the smallest remaining ship is three long, so you can space your shots even wider, every third square, which saves many shots.
Hunt, then finish
After a hit, try the four squares around it. When you get a second hit, you know the direction, so keep firing along that line until the ship sinks, then check the other end if it does not. Do not wander off to search elsewhere while a damaged ship is still afloat, because those squares are your best odds.
Use the empty space
The computer's ships never touch each other, not even at the corners. When you sink a ship, every square around it is empty, so you can rule those out. This often clears big areas of the board, and it tells you that any remaining ship must fit in the gaps that are left.
Think about what fits
Look at the open areas of the enemy grid and ask which remaining ships could still fit there. A gap of two squares between misses cannot hold a three-long ship. Fire at the areas where the most ship positions are still possible, which is exactly how the Hard computer hunts. When only one ship is left, list the places it could still fit and fire at the square shared by most of them.
Place your own fleet
Drag your ships into place, tap to rotate, or shuffle for a random layout. The Hard computer fires where ships are most likely to fit, which tends to be the middle of the board, so placing some ships along the edges can slow it down. Avoid obvious patterns like lining all ships up in one row.
Questions
- Can my ships touch each other?
- Yes. When you place them by hand your ships can sit next to each other. The computer always spaces its own ships apart.
- How is my accuracy shown?
- The panel shows your total shots and the percentage that hit. Winning in 45 shots or fewer earns an achievement.
- How do I rotate or move my ships?
- During setup, drag a ship to move it and tap or click it to rotate. Press Shuffle, or R on a keyboard, for a random layout.
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