Short, factual answers to the questions people ask most about BattleTabs.
BattleTabs is a free-to-play turn-based naval combat game — classic Battleship reimagined as a fast 1v1 duel where every ship has a unique ability on a cooldown. You build a fleet of four ships, take turns attacking your opponent's grid, and win by sinking their whole fleet before they sink yours. It is made by Gangbusters Ltd, a UK indie studio, and more than 5 million players have registered.
Yes. BattleTabs is free on web, iOS, Android, Steam, and Discord — there is no purchase or trial period. Battle Club is an optional paid subscription that adds cosmetic perks like premium themes and palettes, and ranked play is not pay-to-win.
BattleTabs runs in any web browser at battletabs.io, and as a native app on iOS and Android, on Steam for Windows and macOS, and as a Discord Activity you can launch inside a voice channel. Your fleet, rank, and cosmetics sync across all of them.
Start a Friendly Battle, then either invite someone from your friends list or share the battle link with anyone. Friendly battles give reduced rewards compared to ranked: gold, trophies, and Research Points are a fraction of ranked, Challenges do not progress, and your BTN skill rating is unaffected.
A friend code is an 8-character code that identifies your account so people can add you without searching for your name. You can find and share yours in-game, enter someone else's to team up — you both get a reward — and turn code-based friend requests off entirely in settings if you would rather not receive them.
No — you can open battletabs.io and start a match in your browser without signing up. Linking an account is what makes progress durable: it syncs your fleet and rank across devices, preserves your score if you uninstall, and lets you add friends.
Yes. Progression is cross-platform — your fleet, rank, and cosmetics sync across Steam, web, iOS, Android, and Discord on the same linked account. You can start a match on your phone and finish it in a browser.
No. BattleTabs starts from the Battleship idea — a hidden fleet on a grid, alternating guesses — and adds ship abilities, which is the part that changes the game. Every ship except the passive ones has a unique ability on a cooldown that scouts, defends, or attacks multiple squares, so matches are a strategy puzzle rather than a guessing game.
BattleTabs is primarily multiplayer — you play real opponents in ranked matches or friendly battles. There is also AI practice for learning the game, though it pays almost nothing in rewards.
BattleTabs is developed and published by Gangbusters Ltd, an indie studio in the United Kingdom. This site (battletabs.com) is the community hub — blog, wiki, and player-submitted cosmetics; the game itself lives at battletabs.io.
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How to Play · Wiki · Blog · About Gangbusters