What are the Pieces in the Game "Battleship"?

The guessing game of "Battleship" predates World War I. The idea is to guess where your opponent's five ships are located on a grid and to take them out via pegs. The pegs represent "strikes" and have to be inserted into a letter and number system on the grid. Electronic versions include sound effects and spoken phrases such as "Battleship sunk."

Large Game Pieces

The large pieces are the two plastic battle station grids. In older versions, these grids were often two different colors, such as red and blue. As of 2011, the game features battle stations of similar colors. The battle station consists of two grids with letters and numbers, set up back-to-back. The player sets up his battleships on one grid, while the other is used to mark the strikes seeking the opponent's ships.

Small Game Pieces

The smaller pieces are the five plastic ships of assorted sizes as well as 84 red pegs and 168 white pegs. The red pegs mark "hits" on the player grid while the white pegs mark "misses." They also help a player keep up with missed shots so it is easier to determine where the enemy ships might be. The ship pieces represent patrol boats, destroyers, submarines, battleships and aircraft carriers. Each one is represented by a peg of a different size. The smallest ship covers one grid square while the largest covers five.

References

• Hasbro: Battleship Game
• Central Connector: Battleship

Resources

• SuperKids Educational Resources: Battleship
• Learn 4 Good: Free Battleship Game Online