Sea Battle · History
A game on squared paper
Calling coordinates to find hidden ships is usually traced back to the early twentieth century as a pencil-and-paper game. Two players drew grids out of each other’s sight, marked their ships and called out squares, answering “hit” or “miss” — no special equipment needed.
Printed game pads
In the 1930s pads with pre-printed grids were sold under various names. The “salvo” variant, in which you fire one shot for every ship you still have afloat, became a well-known rule around the same time.
Pegs, beeps and screens
From the mid-twentieth century the game appeared as plastic peg boards and electronic toys, and it was adapted for computers from the earliest days of home computing. Its simple rules and clear logic also make it a favourite programming exercise.
A game of probability
It looks like pure luck, but counting the possible positions of the remaining ships — a “probability map” — cuts the average number of shots dramatically. That is why the game is a popular classroom example for probability and search algorithms.