Just like the old MB game, this activity is a lot of fun. It takes a while to explain/demonstrate but once the students start, they really get into it.

Basic Info

Time: 20 minutes
Level: Junior high grade 1
Works with: Can you ...?
Class size: 2+

You will need:

Lesson Description

This is like the old Milton Bradley game, but where MB gives two grids, one to keep your boats and one to track your opponents shots, this version is condensed down to one grid.

  1. The class should be organised into pairs, with one of the pair receiving the A sheet, the other the B sheet. (The difference isn't that great...)
  2. The attacking person "shoots" by using the grid. The rows are names/pronouns and the columns are verbs. They should be put in the "Can insert pronoun insert verb?". A miss will be answered in the negative, a hit in the positive - "Yes(No) he can('t)."
  3. Shots fired by yourself should be recorded, shots fired by your opponent don't need to be, unless it is a hit. The following method is the best I can come up with:
    • Misses fired are recorded as a black X
    • Hits fired are recorded as a black O
    • Hits received are recorded as a red Δ (these are only hits to your own vessels)
  4. The game finishes for a pair when both of one players vessels are sunk.

This is a bit of a tricky game, but it went down really well in the couple of classes I tried it in, despite both my and the JTE apprehension.


  • If you have time, playing this game quickly with your JTE sometime before the class will give you a good idea of what kind of explanation you will need to give
  • Print out an A3 version of the A and B sheet to demonstrate.


  • Be sure you understand the method of hits and misses before you try to explain it.
Liked it? Please share!
# H.J. 2017-07-31 01:47
Does anyone have/is able to provide and Japanese version of these instructions? I want to try this, but it seems like it would take me a while to try and explain at my current level.
Reply | Reply with quote | Quote
# TheALT 2019-04-10 01:56
The worksheet has a typo, btw, no biggie but 's is possessive so "Can you play Battleship's?" is ungrammatical. Battleship's what? Should read "Can you play Battleships?"
Reply | Reply with quote | Quote
# ALTWiki.net 2019-04-10 02:13
Thanks very much for the heads up! I made that worksheet a long time ago and obviously didn't check it very thoroughly at the time.

I will sort it out as soon as possible. Cheers!
Reply | Reply with quote | Quote
Add comment