Play Naval Grid strategy game free in your browser. Find and sink the enemy's hidden ships. No download required.
Each player places a fleet of ships on a private grid, positioning them horizontally or vertically without overlap. Players then take turns calling out grid coordinates to attack the opponent's hidden grid. A hit is confirmed when a ship occupies that cell. A ship sinks when all of its cells have been hit. Sink the entire enemy fleet before your own fleet is sunk to win.
An optimal opening strategy is the checkerboard pattern: target alternating cells across the grid. Since the smallest ship spans two cells, this approach guarantees locating every ship with at most half the total cell count as guesses. When you score a hit, switch to hunt mode: probe adjacent cells to determine the ship's orientation, then continue in that direction until the ship sinks. After sinking, return to the checkerboard pattern to continue the search.
Naval Grid began as a pencil-and-paper game played with graph paper, documented in its approximate modern form since at least the 1930s in the United States and United Kingdom. A physical plastic version with grid boards and red and white pegs was released in 1967, which became a household name in North American and British families. The 1967 game format remained largely unchanged through decades of rereleases and remains one of the best-selling two-player games in English-speaking markets.
Each player secretly places their fleet of ships on a 10×10 grid. Players take turns calling out coordinates to attack. If a ship occupies that coordinate, it's a 'hit'. Sink all of the opponent's ships to win.
The standard fleet includes: Carrier (5 spaces), Naval Grid (4 spaces), Cruiser (3 spaces), Submarine (3 spaces), and Destroyer (2 spaces). Ships can be placed horizontally or vertically.
Use a 'checkerboard' pattern for initial shots — since the smallest ship is 2 spaces, you can find all ships by hitting every other square. When you get a hit, systematically check adjacent squares to find the ship's orientation, then sink it.