How to start
- Open bigboard.games on every device and tap Start a table on one of them.
- The others join by themselves on the same Wi-Fi; elsewhere, scan the QR code or type the four-letter code.
- Lay the devices edge to edge, screens up, as the drawing shows, and pick the game.
Four fleets at one table
With four players, waiting for turns would leave three people idle, so the table fires in volleys, the default from three fleets up. Each volley, everyone picks a target and taps Fire; the shots land together, fleet by fleet a beat apart, once all four have aimed or the 25 seconds are up.
Each phone shows the waters you are aiming at, large, with your own beside or under them. A tap on another player's badge switches boards, and the strip across the top keeps the whole table in view: each fleet's face, name and ships still afloat. A fleet that has aimed gets a tick, so nobody has to ask who is holding things up.
Alliances that last one volley
Four fleets make sea battle social. Three players can gang up on whoever is ahead, then turn on each other once that fleet sinks. Hits pay, but not too much: any hit gives one extra shot in the next volley and never more, so a good round helps without running away with the game.
Because each shot is judged against the sea as the volley began, two players aiming at the same cell both hit, and a ship can go down to two fleets at once. The last fleet afloat wins, and the end reveals every fleet, so the table sees how close each shot came. The other 4 player games here are faster and louder.
Mines and salvos for four
With four fleets the twists add up. Mines make every guess a gamble: a shot on another player's mine hits your own largest ship, and the burst shows in its owner's colour on every screen. Salvo gives each fleet as many shots a turn as it has ships afloat, up to four, so a fleet that loses ships loses firepower too, and the leader pulls further ahead.
Short of devices? People can share one, each fleet behind its own cover, or a bot can take a seat: sea battle vs the computer has four levels. With three, 3 player sea battle leaves a device free for the big screen. Just two of you? Sea battle on two phones is the classic duel.
4 players: questions and answers
Can you play Battleship with 4 players?
Yes, here four players each hide a fleet on their own device and fire volleys at once.
Do we need four phones?
No, people can share a device, each fleet behind its own cover, or bots can fill seats.
Can four players take turns instead?
Yes, set Turns to Take turns, and a hit or a sink shoots again.