Hasbro Gaming
Hasbro Gaming Battleship Board Game
Hidden ships, called-out coordinates, and the exact moment a 'hit' lands. Built for exactly 2 players with folding privacy screens, so it doesn't need a group to come off the shelf.
See current price on AmazonAbout Battleship
Battleship started life as a pencil-and-paper game, with roots that trace back to World War I and games like the French L'Attaque. The first commercial version, called Salvo, was published in the United States in 1931, printed as pads of paper with a grid instead of the plastic set sold today. Milton Bradley (now part of Hasbro) introduced the version most people picture, with folding boards, plastic ships, and colored pegs, in 1967. Ed Hutchins is credited with the pegboard design that turned a paper grid game into a physical set.
The rules haven't changed much since then. Each player secretly arranges a five-ship fleet, a carrier, a destroyer, a submarine, a patrol boat, and a battleship, on their own grid, hidden from their opponent behind a folding privacy screen. Players alternate calling out grid coordinates to guess where the other fleet is hiding; a hit gets marked with a red peg, a miss with a white one. The first player to sink every ship in the opposing fleet wins. This particular set also includes an optional advanced rule called Salvo, which lets more experienced players fire more than one shot per turn once each side has lost a ship, a nod to the game's own pre-plastic history.
For a parent sizing this up as a gift, the appeal is that it's built for exactly 2 players and doesn't need a table full of people to be worth opening, the folding cases and privacy screens are part of the actual game mechanic, not just packaging. It shows up on our best 2-player board games list for that reason.
The Honest Take
What We Like and What We Don't
What we like
- A genuine head-to-head strategy game, real buyers across a wide age range describe it as a classic that stays fun on repeat play, not just a nostalgia buy
- Rules a new player picks up in one round, but reading an opponent's guessing pattern gives it real replay depth once both players get competitive
- Two portable folding battle cases keep ships and pegs contained, several reviewers specifically call it a good travel or car-trip game
- Sturdy ships and boards that hold up to repeat play, per multiple reviewers
What holds it back
- The most common complaint across reviewers: the pegs pop out of their slots easily and are simple to lose track of over time, worth budgeting for occasional peg replacements or a small storage bag
- A careful, evenly matched 2-player game can run long, one reviewer called it a genuinely slow burn and added a house rule (a 3x3 area attack) just to speed it up
Is This For You?
Who Should (and Shouldn't) Buy This
Get it if…
you want a real 2-player strategy game that doesn't need a group, works for a wide age range from kids through adults, and you like the idea of an unplugged, no-screen head-to-head game night. It's also a solid travel pick since both fleets fold into their own portable case.
Skip it if…
you have young kids who tend to lose or scatter small pieces, the pegs are the one part of this set that reviewers consistently flag as easy to misplace. It's also not the right pick if you want a game for more than 2 players at once, in that case a party version like Battleship Royale, built for 2 to 6 players, is the closer fit.
The verdict
Battleship earns its spot as a real classic rather than just a familiar name: the coordinate-guessing, hidden-ship mechanic still works exactly as advertised, and it's one of the few games built specifically for 2 players rather than adapted down from a bigger group count, which is why it's on our best 2-player board games list. The one real, recurring gap is the pegs, they're small, there are a lot of them, and more than one buyer reports losing enough over time to affect play. Budget for that and this is a genuinely durable pick for family game night or travel.
What Real Buyers Say
“Battleship is a true classic that never gets old, and this version delivers exactly what you expect. The game is well-made, easy to set up, and perfect for family game nights. The pieces feel sturdy, and the boards snap together nicely so everything stays in place during play. Kids pick up the rules quickly, but it's still fun for adults, making it a great all-ages game.”
United States · January 1, 2026
“Chances are you know about this classic game already. A two-player game, you lay out your five ships on a grid and then try to guess where the other person's ships are. Negatives: first, it's a wicked-long game. Takes forever to find each other's ships. We do a thing where you can use 'nukes' that take out a 3x3 grid to speed things up. Another negative is the sheer number of pieces, when enough of them go missing, you're left with the inability to play. My kid loves it, but I myself am not that big of a fan.”
United States · July 3, 2026
“I bought this game and it was super fun, hands down. However, the pegs fell out of the slots very easily and it messed up our games. But I found out that if you put your boats in the target area and put the pegs in the ocean, it works WAY better.”
United States · November 19, 2025
“I bought the Hasbro Battleship Classic Board Game, and it's still just as fun as I remember. It's easy to learn, quick to set up, and perfect for both kids and adults. The pieces are sturdy, and everything fits nicely back in the case for storage.”
United States · February 10, 2026
“Battleship is a fun board game for both children and adults. This version is easy to carry, it doesn't take up a lot of space.”
United States · July 4, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is this Battleship set actually good for?
The box lists ages 7 and up. Real reviewers back that up, describing kids around that age picking up the rules in a single round, though the small pegs mean younger siblings should be supervised.
Is Battleship really only for 2 players?
Yes, this classic version is built exclusively for 2 players, each with their own folding battle case and grid. For a bigger group, Hasbro sells a separate Battleship Royale set built for 2 to 6 players.
What's included in the box?
Two portable folding battle cases, 10 plastic ships, 73 red 'hit' pegs, 168 white pegs for tracking misses, and printed instructions.
Do the pegs get lost easily?
This is the most consistent complaint from real buyers: the pegs can pop out of their slots and are easy to misplace over time, especially with younger or rougher play. It's worth keeping the cases closed between games and expecting to eventually replace a few pegs.
How is this different from Connect 4 or Guess Who?
All three are Hasbro 2-player classics, but the mechanic is different: Battleship is a hidden-information guessing game played on a coordinate grid, Connect 4 is a visible-board strategy game about getting 4 discs in a row, and Guess Who? is a yes-or-no elimination game using character cards.
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