BattleTabs is a free online Battleship game you play in your browser against real opponents, turn by turn. Hidden fleets on a grid, alternating shots, and one change the board game never had: every ship carries its own ability. More than 5 million captains have registered, and we're Gangbusters Ltd, a UK indie studio. Play Battleship free at battletabs.io.
BattleTabs runs in any web browser at battletabs.io. There's nothing to install and no trial period: it's free on web, iOS, Android, Steam, and Discord. You can start playing without signing up, and linking an account is what makes progress durable, syncing your fleet and rank across devices. Battle Club is an optional $4.99/mo membership that boosts gold and research-point rewards and cuts shop prices. Ranked play isn't pay-to-win: it never touches matchmaking or ship abilities.
Start a Friendly Battle, then either invite someone from your friends list or share the battle link with anyone. Your first 5 full-length friendly battles each day pay full end-of-battle gold and Research Points; after that, a fraction of ranked. Gold picked up mid-battle and trophies are always reduced, Challenges don't progress, and your BTN skill rating is unaffected. To find someone without searching for a name, share your friend code — an 8-character code that identifies your account.
Ranked matchmaking puts you against real opponents 1v1, in real time or asynchronously — queue a move, close the tab, come back when they've replied. Wins push your BTN (BattleTabs Number) rating up and losses push it down, which is what feeds the live leaderboard. There's also AI practice for learning the game, though it pays almost nothing in rewards. See How to Play BattleTabs for the step-by-step version.
Progression is cross-platform: your fleet, rank, and cosmetics sync across every platform below on the same linked account, so you can start a match on your phone and finish it in a browser.
BattleTabs is a Discord Activity — you launch it inside a voice channel and play against the people you're already talking to, without anyone leaving Discord. We built it on the same account as web, mobile, and Steam, so your fleet and rank carry over either way.
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.
| Classic Battleship | BattleTabs | |
|---|---|---|
| Hidden fleet on a grid | Yes | Yes |
| Turns | Alternating guesses | Alternating turns, in real time or asynchronously |
| Ships | A fixed set of ships | Build a fleet of four from a roster of 40+ |
| Ship abilities | None — the twist the board game never had | Every ship except the passive ones has a unique ability on a cooldown |
| A match | A guessing game | A few minutes, and more like a strategy puzzle |
| Opponents | Whoever is in the room with you | Ranked 1v1 matchmaking, or a friend via a battle link |
| Price | Buy the board game | Free to play on web, iOS, Android, Steam, and Discord |
Every ship except the passive ones has a unique ability on a cooldown that scouts, defends, or attacks multiple squares: one-shot a ship you've already located, reveal how far away the nearest enemy is hiding, or steal your opponent's last move and fire it back. The classic shooting heuristics still apply — chase a hit in a line, switch axes when a line dies — but the winner is decided by better reads, not better luck.
Yes. There's no purchase and no trial period. Battle Club, the optional membership, boosts your rewards and cuts shop prices, but it never touches matchmaking or ship abilities.
No. Open the page and you're in a match. The native apps exist if you'd rather have an icon on your home screen, not because you need one.
Yes — start a Friendly Battle and share the link, or pick someone off your friends list. Friendly battles pay less than ranked and leave your rating alone.
Yes. Every match is 1v1 against another person. There's AI practice for learning the ropes, though it pays almost nothing.
Yes, natively on iOS and Android. Because progress follows your account, you can start a match on the bus and finish it at a desk.
Yes. We ship BattleTabs as a Discord Activity, so it runs inside the voice channel you're already sitting in.
No. Linking one is what makes progress stick — it's the difference between a session and a rank.
Play now (web) · How to play · On Steam · Get the app · Answers