Shots this game
Samphire Salvo is the sea battle game people have played on squared paper for about a hundred years. Hide your fleet, call your shots across the water, and sink every ship they have before they sink yours. We drew the sea, the ships and every splash in code, and added house players that range from a happy-go-lucky puffin to an owl who works out the real odds on every square.
The pencil and paper sea battle goes back to the years around the First World War, when it was played with two grids drawn on squared paper. Each player marks a hidden fleet on one grid and uses the other to keep track of shots at the enemy. It has gone by plenty of names since: salvo, broadsides, sea battle, hunt the fleet.
The rules take a minute to learn, but there's real skill in where you fire and where you hide. We built Samphire Salvo so you can enjoy both: a quick, friendly game with satisfying splashes and blasts, and hints that show you the odds on every square. It's free, it runs in your browser and there's nothing to download.
In the classic fleet, on a 10 by 10 sea, each side has a Flagship (5 squares), a Cruiser (4), a Frigate (3), a Submarine (3) and a Patrol boat (2). The quick fleet uses a 7 by 7 sea with four ships, and the big fleet a 12 by 12 sea with seven, adding a Destroyer and a Launch.
Read the full Samphire Salvo guide
Yes. It's free to play in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with no ads and nothing to download.
In a salvo you fire one shot for every ship you still have afloat, all at once, and then hear the answers. Losing ships means fewer shots, so it rewards keeping your fleet alive.
Free on Airscape Works. Browse all games