Battleship (game review)

We recently added Battleship to our game library, and I have to admit I was excited. I remembered playing as a kid and loving the game, so I figured it would be a great addition to help change up what we play with Bobble. It said ages 7+ on the box, but I figured Bobble would probably catch on well, so why not try?

The game comes with two separate fold-open boards, 5 ships for each board, and more white and red pegs than seems necessary because the boards are hard to close when you have them divided up and in their respective holding areas.

The one thing that instantly comes up as a negative for this game (aside from all the small pieces and having a toddler) is that you can’t really play this comfortably if you aren’t at a table. This might not be a con for you, but we tend to just pull out games and play on the living room floor. This is hard for me to do with Battleship because I’m tall enough that I would see the other person’s set up, so I have to stretch out across the floor to play. Again, might not seem like a negative, but it’s a lot more uncomfortable after a while (and much harder to get up from) now that I’m in my 30s than it was two decades ago!

If you’ve never played Battleship, the premise is quite simple: set up your ships on the horizontal part of the board however you want (so long as it isn’t diagonal), and try to guess where your opponent has set theirs up. The game board is a grid with letters along the Y axis (top-bottom) and numbers along the X axis (left-right). You use red pegs to symbolize hits on the ships, and the white pegs to show misses. You use the upper part of the game board (the grid that your ships aren’t on) to mark your missed and hit calls against your opponent. You only need to mark hits on your actual ships on the bottom part to show you where your opponent has hit a ship.

To play, you call out a coordinate like B3, and the other player will tell you if it was a miss or a hit. If it’s a hit, they will tell you which ship you hit so you know how many places it should be taking up in the area (the carrier, for example, takes up 5 spaces so has 5 places to hit before you sink it). The first person to sink all of their opponent’s ships wins.

This is a much slower game than some of our other games that we’ve reviewed so far, but that’s due to the vast possibilities to call out if you’re really unlucky and can’t seem to find a ship. Alternatively, it could go pretty quickly if you get lucky with your calls.

The hardest part of this game with Bobble was getting him to remember to mark his hits and misses on his board. He would remember to mark the ships that we hit of his, but he’d just get so excited if he hit a ship that he’d bounce for a minute and then forget to peg. On the other hand, he’d get frustrated if he didn’t hit and complain for a second before the next person went, and still forget to peg.

After the first few times of playing with him, he got really good at “seeing” the board. At first he was just guessing and it was a shot in the dark. If he had a hit at B3, the next call he made might be H8. He wasn’t understanding the game to where he could visualize the hit means there is another spot right near there that would also be part of the boat. To help with this, hubby took a board (after a game ended) and left all the pegs on it. He showed him the hit and then nothing around it, then held up the boat that he hit to his upper board to show him that it would fill spaces immediately around there.

It helped, because now Bobble is really good and wins a lot. I’d be irritated with how good he got so quickly, but I’m too proud to really be legitimately upset.

Squiggle wanting to play... she tried, anyway!

This is a great game for encouraging strategizing and helping to learn a bit of rudimentary geometry skills (coordinates, anyone?). No reading is required for this game (if you can teach the child the rules), but they will need to know numbers, letters, and be able to memorize the name of the ships to tell you which one they sunk. (Admittedly, I never remember what they are called… I tend to say, “You hit the 3-holed one!”) Just make sure you have a bit of time to play, as it can go on quite a bit. If your child is younger, like Bobble, I would recommend playing with another adult (or older child) on their side to make sure they are not moving ships around or missing pegs their first few times they play. Definitely a game worth having in your collection, though!

They also make a travel version, though I honestly cannot see any car ride ever being smooth enough to make those little pegs (or ships) not get lost in or under seats… regardless of the person’s age. Hit a pothole or something and boom. Pegs would likely rain everywhere! (My husband says he never had an issue, but he also used the travel version to take places and then play there, not in the car.) There is also an electronic version, but I was hoping the electronic version would involve a red light showing where you got hit (or got a hit) when you touch the square on the grid, thus eliminating the pegs. The reality of it is that it makes sounds, but you still have pegs. I guess I'll just stick to the original, then!

You can buy Battleship for between $12 and $16 at most retail stores.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. Hasbro did not sponsor this post in any way. The game was received as a gift from a friend.

Connect 4 (Game Review)

While looking for something in the basement, I noticed our games that we set aside. Games like Scrabble, Boggle, and other games we had played before having children. We don't have the time for Scrabble much these days, and Boggle will likely come back out as Bobble learns to spell. One game caught my eye though: Connect 4.

 I cannot believe I forgot we had Connect 4! Not a board game, and not a card game, I thought it would be a great option to introduce to Bobble. It was something different, it involved strategizing, and it was fairly quick. He had recently learned how to play tic-tac-toe, so I thought he'd grasp the concept fairly simply.

He is quite smitten with the game. Well, to be fair, he is quite smitten with any game right now. Still, he loves this game, and I love how quickly we can play it.

The newest version of Connect 4 apparently has red and yellow discs/checkers. The base is also slightly different, just containing the legs on the side (like the original version had). I prefer our version, as it prevents the discs from going all over when you release them. I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old, I don't need help losing pieces!



The game comes with 21 of each colour disc, the slider bar, the grid, and the two legs. It's easy to just put it together, and this is made quite apparent by the fact Bobble does it himself every time.

We are not the kind of parents who are going to go easy on their children and let them win, so a skill game, like this, is not an easy win for Bobble. That's not to say that we are mean about it. Especially while teaching the game, we will explain our move, and what we are hoping to accomplish. I'll say that I put a piece in this place because I only need one more piece over in this spot and I will have four in a row and win. This helps him see the logic. He frequently loses to me via the two-way trap where if he blocks me from winning, I play atop that disc and still win. It's totally a set up.

Playing against his uncle

You might think that sounds mean, but it's taking longer and longer for me to win because he's getting better and better. He's also beaten me with that exact same strategy. He learns quickly!

Playing against his uncle

Connect 4 is a great game, but it is only a 2 player game. This is not a big deal for us since it's so quick, we just take turns. It's great for those times where there is only one other person to play with him, as some games aren't much fun with only two people. This is a great alternative. It says it's for children age 6 and up, though that is obviously not a necessity if your child isn't going to put the pieces in their mouth and they understand counting.

Beaming after the first time he beat his daddy.

You can find Connect 4 at any general retailer for around $10. There is also a travel version (which I've never played) that runs about $7. I imagine Bobble would love a travel version, but I cannot foresee the pieces not getting jammed into seats and lost. Maybe if they were older.

No reading is required for this game, though being able to count to four is required.

Disclaimer: Thoughts of Fluff is responsible for the content of this post. Connect 4 was purchased by me and all opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.