Hidden Ships Grid Game

What you need

• Paper, 4 sheets, graph paper if you have it
• Pencil, 1 per player
• Book, 1
• Ruler, 1, if no graph paper (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Check that each player has a sharpened pencil and plenty of paper. Show them how grid squares are named with a letter and a number, like B4.

1. Draw two big grids on your paper, ten squares across and ten down.
2. Label the columns A to J and the rows 1 to 10.
3. Stand the book up between you so nobody can peek.
4. Secretly draw five ships on your first grid, each in a straight line.
5. Take turns calling a square, like C7, to find a ship.
   Ask: Which square will you try first, and why do you think a ship might be there?
6. Mark each answer on your second grid with a cross for a hit or a dot for a miss.
7. Say sunk when every square of a ship has been hit.
   Ask: What clues helped you work out which way that ship was pointing?
8. Swap grids and play again with diagonal ships allowed! How sneaky can you hide your fleet?
   Ask: Where will you hide your fleet this time, and what will you try differently?

Play it again

• Speed round: each turn lasts only ten seconds, so call your square fast.
• Team fleets: two players on each side talk over every guess together.
• Tiny sea: play on a six by six grid for a quick battle.