How to start
- Open bigboard.games on one phone or tablet and tap Start a table.
- Pick the game; the players at this device are set before the match.
- Lay the device flat between you and play.
Passing the phone without peeking
Sea battle is a game of secrets, and one screen can't keep two of them. So whenever the person who has to act on the device changes, it covers everything: a card that says Pass to, then their name, in their colour and with their face, and a big button only they should tap. Until they do, nobody's ships show.
Placing works the same way. The first person arranges their fleet, dragging ships and tapping them to turn, taps Ready, and the cover asks for the next. The placing clock is 60 seconds plus 45 for each extra person on the device, so everyone fits in it, and it keeps running under the cover, which shows the time left.
A beat to see your shot land
When you take turns, you aim at your opponent's waters, fire and watch: the cover waits a beat after each shot, so you see the splash or the hit before it comes down. A hit shoots again, and a run of hits stays behind one cover, so the device changes hands only when you miss.
Fire All at once instead, and each of you aims in turn, in a fixed order, behind the cover; the volley lands when both have aimed. Each volley's clock gets 15 seconds more per extra person on the device, so the passing doesn't rush anyone. What each of you sees is always your own view: your waters, and the fleet you are hunting.
More people, a big screen or a bot
The same device seats more than two, each person with a fleet of their own, and three or more fire volleys by default. If another device is around, a laptop, a tablet or a TV's browser, make it the big screen: the whole battle in large type for the room, whose shot it is and the clock, never where anyone's ships are. How it works shows how a table forms.
On your own? Put a bot in the second seat: sea battle vs the computer plays at four levels. When a second phone turns up, sea battle on two phones gives each player a screen and no passing at all. Chess and checkers share one screen too, among the 2 player games on one phone.
Pass and play: questions and answers
Can the other player see my ships?
No, a cover hides the board each time the device changes hands, until the next person taps their own name.
Is pass and play the same as hotseat?
Yes, both mean players taking turns on one device; here a cover keeps each fleet secret.
Does the clock stop while we pass the phone?
No, it keeps running under the cover, which shows the time left, and placing and volleys get extra time per person on the device.
Can three people share one tablet?
Yes, everyone on the device gets a fleet and a turn behind the cover.