Printable Battleship Game

By the Iron Tide team · Last reviewed October 9, 2026

Battleship was a paper game long before it was a board game, and it still works with nothing but a pencil. Print one sheet per player, fold it so your opponent cannot see, and you are ready.

Printing gives you two identical sheets, one for each player. The rest of this page is left out.

Battleship

Iron Tide · battleship-game.com
CaptainOpponentDate

Enemy waters Record your shots here.

Enemy ships · tick when sunk

  • Carrier 5 Sunk
  • Battleship 4 Sunk
  • Cruiser 3 Sunk
  • Submarine 3 Sunk
  • Destroyer 2 Sunk

My fleet Draw your ships here, then mark your opponent’s shots.

My ships · tick each hit

  • Carrier 5
  • Battleship 4
  • Cruiser 3
  • Submarine 3
  • Destroyer 2
Marks: ✕ hit · ● missTake turns calling a square such as C5. Answer “hit” or “miss”, and say “sunk” when a ship’s last square is hit. Sink all five to win.

How to play Battleship on paper

  1. Each player takes a sheet and sits where the other cannot see it.
  2. On “My fleet”, draw your five ships by outlining squares in a row: lengths 5, 4, 3, 3 and 2. Horizontal or vertical only, no overlapping.
  3. Take turns calling a square, such as “C5”. The other player answers “hit” or “miss”.
  4. Mark your own shots on “Enemy waters”, and mark your opponent’s shots on “My fleet”.
  5. When every square of a ship has been hit, say which ship sank. Tick it off on the checklist.
  6. The first player to sink all five ships wins.

No printer? Any squared paper works: draw two 10×10 boxes and label them A–J across the top and 1–10 down the side. The full rules are here, or skip the paper and play online.