Electronic Battleship Game

I cannot tell you how badly I wanted an Electronic Battleship game when I was growing up. Well, at the time it was the Electronic Talking Battleship, but we're just going to pretend I'm not that old.

The new Electronic Battleship game takes the old version and really spices it up. You can play the classic game, but why not add a few tomahawk missiles to the mix? Or maybe a few torpedoes from the submarine that travel all the way across the game board? The game board itself is also much larger than the classic version, which I like. I feel it adds more depth to the game than there was before. Besides... it's Electronic Battleship!

Game Specifics

Ages: 8 and higher
# of Players: 1 or 2 (yes, you can play the computer!)
Required: 4 AA Batteries (which are not included)

The game comes with the same bits and pieces as the other Battleship games with a few additions. For example, each side now gets three airplanes that can be used to scout and shoot at ships. You also get some blue pegs to use with the special weapons that are available.

How to Play

The Electronic Battleship game has some differences when it comes to the type of games you can play. If you've never played any of the Battleship games before, I'd click on that link and read up on the standard rules. While Electronic Battleship is based on those rules, it does add some new things to the mix, and that's what we'll be covering here.

First, let's cover the mission modes.

• Territorial Waters - This one is what we're all familiar with. Each player gets one shot, and whether you hit or miss, your turn is over.
• Salvo - I like this one! You get one shot for each one of your ships that are still afloat. So at the beginning, you get five shots. As you lose ships, you also lose shots. If you don't have a lot of time, this is a much faster game than the Territorial Waters mission.
• Target Plus One - In this mode, you get an extra turn each time you either hit an enemy ship or detect them in a scan (more on scans later). You keep getting extra turns until you miss, at which point your turn is over.

Once you decide on which mission you want, it's time to place your ships just like in the classic version. Except the Electronic Battleship game does it with a new technological twist!

When it comes to ship placement, you have two choices. The game has over 100 ship formations that you can just let it randomly select from. If you choose this option, it'll tell you where to place the ships. If you'd rather place them yourself, you can choose the custom fleet formation option. It will then ask you to enter the coordinates for your ship (no more cheating!) and once you've done so for all of your fleet, those coordinates are locked in.

Once the ships are placed, it's time to play the game! Remember calling out your coordinates? That's soooo 1990! With the Electronic Battleship game, you actually enter the coordinates and then press the "Fire" button. The computer then tells you if you make a hit or a miss. How cool is that? If you change your mind or hit the wrong button, you can always change the coordinates as long as you haven't already pressed the "Fire" button.

While we're talking about firing weapons, let's discuss the new Advanced Weapons that are part of Electronic Battleship. For the record, you can decide whether or not to play with Advanced Weapons when you start the game.

• Attack Squadrons - Each player gets two attack squadrons that can be placed on their aircraft carrier. These planes can scan for targets and then attack them.
• AA Battery - As a defensive mechanism, you can deploy an Anti-Aircraft Battery to defend against marauding attack squadrons.
• Tomahawk Missile - Your battleship gets a tomahawk missile that can hit a 9 peg square of area on the board. Any ship inside that area gets hit.
• Harpoon Missiles - You get two harpoon missiles with your missile boat (the old destroyer).
• Torpedoes - Your submarine now comes with two torpedoes that can launch all the way across the board. The sub can also scan for enemies using its sonar.

Pretty cool, isn't it? These Special Weapons can really be game changers during the battle. If your ships are grouped too closely together, one tomahawk missile can put a serious hurting on your fleet! If you're playing the Salvo mission, each lost ship is also a lost chance to strike back! I love the possibilities!

It should come as no surprise that I love this version of the Battleship games. Though the original version in 2003 was horrible, the updated 2006 version has received nothing but acclaim. Though it took 20 years, I finally got my Electronic Talking Battleship! ;)

Remember to have fun!