How to play Battleships
Battleships is a logic puzzle in which a fleet of ships lies hidden in a grid. The numbers beside and below the grid tell you how many ship segments are in each row and column. Ships never touch one another, not even diagonally. Using only those numbers and a few given squares, you work out exactly where every ship lies.
Battleships rules
- A fleet of ships is hidden in the grid. Each ship lies in a straight line, across or down.
- The number beside each row says how many ship segments are in that row.
- The number below each column says how many ship segments are in that column.
- Ships never touch, not even at the corners. There is always water between them.
- Squares with a red mark are given at the start.
- The puzzle can be reasoned out completely; you never need to guess.
How to solve a Battleships puzzle
Rows and columns with a 0 are all water
Start with the easy part. Any row or column with a 0 contains no ships at all, so mark every square in it as water. On a busy grid this can clear a surprising amount of space in a few taps.
Diagonal squares around a ship are always water
Because ships may never touch, not even at the corners, the four diagonal squares around any ship segment are always water. Mark them as soon as you find a segment. Once you know which way a ship runs, the squares at its ends and along its sides turn to water as well.
When the number matches the open squares, it's all ship
Count the squares in a row that are still open (not yet water). If that count equals the number for the row, minus any ship segments already placed, every open square must be a ship segment. The same goes for columns. This trick often finishes off long rows in one go.
Playing Battleships in Vellara
In Vellara you tap a square once to mark it as water, twice for a ship segment and a third time to empty it again. The squares with a red mark are given to you. Check shows how you are doing, and you can make the grid smaller or larger, or fit it to your screen.
There are five levels. The easiest is a 6×6 grid with four ships and plenty given; the hardest is a 10×10 grid with the classic fleet and nothing for free. Every puzzle is built so that it can be reasoned out completely.
A clock runs while you play, but there is no time pressure. Take as long as you like.
Battleships puzzle FAQ
Is this the same as the two-player game Battleships?
It uses the same idea of a hidden fleet, but it is a solo logic puzzle. Instead of calling out shots, you use the numbers to deduce where every ship lies.
What do the numbers around the grid mean?
Each number tells you how many ship segments are in that row or column. A 0 means the whole line is water.
Can ships touch each other?
No. Ships never touch, not even diagonally, so there is always at least one square of water between them.
Do I have to guess in a Battleships puzzle?
No. Every puzzle in Vellara is built so that it can be solved completely by reasoning.
Is Battleships free in Vellara?
Yes. Vellara is free to download and play, and you don't need an account.
Download Vellara
Vellara is free for iOS and Android, needs no account, works offline and never sends you notifications.
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