Battleship is quite an old game at this point, starting out as a pencil and paper game from the First World War era. The object is to sink your opponent’s ships by calling out grid references, shelling the hidden navy. Hit or miss until total victory.

A typical Battleship pad game on a 10×10 grid.

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Milton-Bradley released the now-familiar plastic ship and peg version in 1967. While Mom and Sis were happy in the kitchen doing the dishes, Dad and Chip made war in the dining room.

Updated packaging came in for the 1970s, and I had this edition as a kid. Mom & Dad no longer wanted anything to do with war after Vietnam, and Sis – now liberated – was kicking Chip’s butt.

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Milton Bradley would produce new versions like Electronic Battleship, Electronic Talking Battleship and Computer Battleship, utilising new circuit boards and interactivity in a bid to remain relevant with the electronic and computer revolution.

Somewhere along the way, Hasbro absorbed Milton-Bradley, and they currently produce Battleship, a small travel version and Electronic Battleship. There have also been computer game versions, and a movie that didn’t do too well.

The current version has a 9×9 grid and four ships only, and tries desperately to look like a futuristic tactical display.

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Download the Free Game

But the best ideas are the simplest, like Milton-Bradley’s original red-and-blue design, or the pencil and paper original.

With that in mind, here’s a paper version you can download and print off, or use over and over again inside a graphics application. Play during chat, over the phone, or through mail and email.

A free download for personal use only.