5 Games Like Battleship

You sunk my battleship!

There is no denying Battleship is the epitome of a classic naval warfare game. Most kids grew up playing this game whose humble beginnings consisted of no more than a meager pen and piece of paper. That is until 1967 when Milton Bradley converted it to the version we know today.

Players go head-to-head in a battle of strategy as they engage in a back-and-forth, attempting to take down each other’s fleet. After announcing which coordinates a player is attacking, they can use the different colored pegs to mark whether the strike was a hit or miss.

Be the first to take down all of your opponent’s vessels to claim your victory.

Battleship is exciting and suspenseful while being simple enough to be played by children as young as 7 years old. It’s a fantastic introduction to strategy and warfare games.

Looking for more of a challenge? Check out these 5 games like Battleship for your next game night.

Games like Battleship

1. Captain Sonar
2. Decrypto
3. Naval Battle
4. The Search for Planet X
5. Forbidden Island

Captain Sonar

Players: 2-8
Playing time: 45-60mins

You’re deep below the surface of the ocean, listening intently to the steady beeping of your submarine’s sonar for any hint of an enemy vessel approaching. War is brutal down here and your crew needs to work together if you’re going to make it out alive.

Every member has a vital role to play from the captain to the engineer. Comradery and communication will be pertinent in this game as you work together to find the enemy before they find you. One player may use deduction skills to determine where your opposition is lurking, while another can prepare to launch an attack.

The game can be played simultaneously or turn by turn with maps available for various levels of difficulty. Think of this game as a more grown-up version of Battleship with a bit of added strategy and extra components thrown into the mix. It’s a great step up for those who love the naval theme.

Decrypto

Players: 3-8
Playing time: 30mins

You’ll be emerging from the sea and back onto land for this one. And while you aren’t trying to gauge where your enemy’s ships are located, you will need to crack the code on their lingo.

Each round, the appointed encryptor is given a top-secret 3-digit code which they need to transmit back to their teammates using clues that relate to their 4 unique keywords. They need to do this without the opposing team catching wind of the code and intercepting it for points. Hints should be clear for your team, yet ambiguous to your opponents.

Players need to be clever and creative if they want to transmit their codes to their teammates without there being any interceptions or miscommunications. The themes of these games may be a little different, but at their core, they’re both all about paying close attention to elicit information from your opponent.

Naval Battle

​​Players: 2
Playing time: 10-20mins

This game is geared more towards children, but if your child loves Battleship, they’ll really enjoy Naval Battle. It adds a bit of a fantasy element to the game as players are transported to a fictional marine world.

It’s a rough sea out there and everyone is looking to control these waters. Players take turns maneuvering their 4 ships throughout the sea, shooting at their enemy in an attempt to sink their entire fleet or capture their base.

The game pieces are adorable miniature ships and the board is double-sided for 2 levels of difficulty.

Although these games seem quite similar, Naval Battle allows kids to be a bit more imaginative, while still keeping an element of strategy. It’s a simple but fun game that should be added to your lineup of nautically themed games.

The Search for Planet X

Players: 1-4
Playing time: 60mins

Take your game night from the bottom trenches of the seas to the outer edges of the galaxy in the Search for Planet X.

As an astronomer, it is your job to investigate the riveting mysteries of space, and this includes searching for a distant planet that you suspect is responsible for some particularly unique orbits. Through extensive observation and the use of your keen deduction skills, you can unearth this planet and successfully find Planet X.

As you slowly locate one object at a time, you can run with your theories and test them out. Similar to Battleship, you’ll need to piece together the clues like a puzzle to locate your target. Will you be the first to locate the enigmatic Planet X?

Forbidden Island

Players: 2-4
Playing time: 30mins

Something is definitely sinking, and it isn’t your battleship.

If you believe the legends surrounding Forbidden Island, then you know of the wonderous artifacts left by the Archeans. Said to be sacred and powerful enough to control the elements of the Earth, these treasures are protected on the sinking island to ensure they don’t end up in the wrong hands.

You and your fellow fearless adventurers will need to work together in this cooperative game to gather the four artifacts and get safely rescued before the whole island becomes completely inundated. As waters continue to rise, you’ll need to make increasingly challenging decisions and sacrifices.

This game is fast-paced and great for beginners. So, if working to uncover objects from battleships to artifacts is your thing, give Forbidden Island a try and add a little fantasy and adventure to your gaming experience.

Wrap-Up

We hope you enjoyed our list of the best 5 games like Battleship! When you’ve sunk as many battleships as you can, it might be time to try something new.

Have you tried any of the games on this list? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.