Iterating Battleships

• What challenges do the players face, what actions do they take to overcome them?

In battleships, the main challenge arises when attempting to discover where the opponents ships are located. This can become frantic if you are losing the game and they are close to finding your last ship. The only method a player has to overcome this is in the method of placement with the ships, or by tactically placing your shots in order to discover the locations of the opponents ships faster.

• how do players affect each other?

Players affect each other by calling out the shots. The main struggle that is found in battleships is the other players choices as to where they will shoot. This choice can change the number of ships you have or narrow down the locations in which you will choose to shoot.

• is the game perceived by the players as fair?

I believe battleships is a brutally fair game which incorporates chance and skill into discovering your opponents ships whilst also having to combat the opponents chances of hitting your own ships.

• is the game re-playable? if so why?

The game is re-playable because it allows you to reorder your pieces in a near infinite combinations and allows you to work on strategies at discovering your opponents ships. The game would be replayed more as a tool of fun than as a dedicated game.

• what is the games intended audience?

I believe that the audience of the game is not dedicated gamers similar to those found on a PC or console. The age is very diverse and varied, such as children and adults alike would play this game for fun. Also their are variations of the game that can affect the audience, such as Battleshots in which the ships are made up of alcoholic drinks in shot glasses would be for an audience of over 18's.

• what is the core of the game, second by second, minute by minute, the things you do over and over, that represent the 'fun' part?

The core mechanic of the game involves defeating your opponent by shooting his ships. The main mechanic that helps add tension and the ability to enjoy the game is by taking random shots at your opponents board in order to hit and sink their ships.

When playing Battleships we incorporated two changes into the game. Our first iteration was to incorporate a bonus shot when a ship is sunk, this shot can be taken or stockpiled for later use. This helps add an extra chance to discover where the opponents ship is located or perhaps use the extra shot to quickly sink an opponents ship when it is found.

Our second iteration was to incorporate new shapes of ships, with an inclusion of the original ship shapes, which enabled more variety to the strategic placement of the ships for the players. With the use of more varied types of ships it forces players to rethink their strategies for attacking, especially when one of the new ship designs consists of three blocks in a triangle formation.

In conclusion, this session has enabled me to discover how simple it can be to change original games and include my own rules and iterations and also focus on how the core mechanics can be changed when necessary to change the way the game is played out.