You probably played Battleship in school using a self-made grid on a piece of paper. The classic board game dates from World War I, and it's still popular today. However, maybe you want to do away with the piece of paper and play Battleship online instead.

It's easy to dismiss Battleship as too simplistic. But the straightforward rules can help lay the base for logical thinking and strategy. Plus, you don't have to hunt around for gaming partners thanks to these Battleship games you can play online, either alone or with others.

1. Battleship Games

Battleship Games Arcade

The online Battleship games site offers you many variations of the classic Battleship game for free. The games are also sourced from other websites like MiniClip.

For instance, the Battleship Advanced Mission is a full scale sea war with voiceovers and ship tonnage details. The Torpedo Attack game is a variation of the Battleship scenario. You have to guess and attack the computer’s fleet with torpedoes.

The games are presented in Adobe Flash, so you can still play them until web browsers stop supporting Flash at the end of 2020.

Thankfully, none of the sites listed below rely on Flash, so the rest of these online Battleship games should continue working long into the future.

2. Battleship

Play Battleship on Chrome

The interface of the game is a simple grid of 10 x 10 cells where you place rectangular selections for your ships. This is the closest you can come to the feel of the classic paper game in your browser.

A maximum of two players can play from anywhere in the world. Select the type of opponent---a friend or a random player from the pool that is online. Arrange your ships and go for it. You can even chat with your opponent while you destroy or evade the salvos.

The simple game is multilingual and you can also install it as a Chrome extension if you find yourself playing it often.

3. Battleship War

Battleship War

You will find the Flash version of Battleship War in many game galleries. But this is the HTML5 version which you can continue to enjoy after support for Flash ends.

There are two game modes---Classic and Advanced. In the advanced mode, you also get to use aircrafts and a radar to pinpoint and bomb your enemy.

The 3D-like perspective of the game is more entertaining than the ones played on paper grids. Watch the missiles launch with a whoosh and hit the exploding targets or splash down on the water.

4. BoomBoomBoat

BoomBoomBoat Battleship game

This free Battleship game can be started as a private game with a friend, a random stranger, or against the AI running the game. The clean visuals and the fast pace are the main draws of this one.

You can play BoomBoomBoat on any operating system with a browser.

The game is in beta right now, but the gameplay is already smooth enough to recommend it. You can look forward to options such as more boats and complete keyboard support in future iterations.

5. Papergames Battleship

Play Papergames Battleship online

The Battleship game from Papergames is one of the more colorful options on this list. The site wants to bring back the classic pencil and paper games from our childhood. Battleship is one of them.

Take part in daily Battleship games against players from across the world. The leaderboard racks up your wins and losses and you can see yourself progress through the global rankings. Log in with an online alias to preserve your ranking and levels.

Play every day and win game coins. These enable you to customize your account with funny avatars and emojis which you can use while playing.

You can also set up your own private tournaments and share it with your friends via a link. This could be the perfect cure for boredom when you are stuck indoors.

6. Sea Battleship

Sea Battleship

Sea Battleship is a free HTML5 game that is designed to give you the old feel of the pen and paper game. You can see that right down to the rough drawings of the ships.

The rules stay the same. You can play against a friend or the computer. The background audio of lapping waves is the only calming thing about this game as the shells come thick and fast.

Playing with a friend will involve both of you on the same computer with the two playing grids arranged side by side (but with the ships hidden). However, you cannot play this game when both of you are in different locations.

7. Intergalactic Battleship

Intergalactic Battleship game online

Ditch the water and head to the cosmos. Intergalactic Battleships changes the milieu, but the rules of engagement stay the same. You get to choose three difficulty modes before you click Play and get attacked by a "Death Star".

There are subtle differences in the grid positions because the galactic ships are designed differently. You will find that one of them looks like the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.

Intergalactic Battleship is a game you might enjoy because of its space angle. Unfortunately, you can only play against the computer as there is no multiplayer mode.

8. Battleship Printable

Battleship Printable

So far, we have talked about free Battleship games you can play online. While a game on paper isn't the same thing, you can play it over a video chat. There are free printable templates of board games which make it easy to play with anyone, anywhere in the world.

Download this free Battleship template and print it out. Fill in your aircraft carrier, destroyer, submarine, and battleship. Then, just face off over video chat.

More Games You Can Play With Friends Online

There are other ways to play Battleship too, as this is one of the classic board games available on Android, iOS, and game consoles. However, Battleship is so elegant in its simplicity that you really don't need to whip out your wallet to enjoy playing it.

Once you've tried all of these online versions of Battleship, it may be time to expand your horizons. So be sure to check out our list of free two-player games you can play in your browser.