Battleship Over GMRS

Battleship is one of the best radio games you can play - it's turn-based, requires no real-time coordination, and translates perfectly to voice communication. Each player transmits a single grid coordinate, waits for a hit or miss call, then the other player takes their shot. Short transmissions, clear protocol, and a game that can last 30 minutes or several hours depending on luck.

Why it works on radio

Battleship has a natural call-and-response structure that fits radio procedure. Each turn is one short transmission followed by one short reply. There's no ambiguity about who's talking or what they said. The phonetic alphabet was practically invented for this kind of thing.

Equipment needed

• Two GMRS radios (one per player)
• Paper and pencil for each player
• Two 10x10 grids drawn on paper - columns A through J, rows 1 through 10

Draw two grids per player: one for your own fleet (mark your ship placements) and one to track your shots on the opponent's grid. Five ships total per fleet:

• Carrier: 5 squares
• Battleship: 4 squares
• Cruiser: 3 squares
• Submarine: 3 squares
• Destroyer: 2 squares

Setup

1. Both players draw their grids off the air before the game begins.
2. Place all five ships on your fleet grid - ships can be placed horizontally or vertically, but not diagonally. Ships cannot overlap.
3. Decide who goes first. A coin flip works, or the player who initiated the radio contact goes first.
4. Agree on a channel - simplex is preferred for a long game so you don't tie up a repeater.

Turn structure

Use the NATO phonetic alphabet for column letters - say "Bravo-7" not "B-7." This eliminates any ambiguity between similar-sounding letters like B, D, E, G, P, and T.

Example transmissions

Player 1 opens:

"WRYW364, this is WRZX891. My shot: Bravo-7. Over."

Player 2 looks at their fleet grid, checks B7, and replies:

"WRZX891, this is WRYW364. Bravo-7 is a miss. My shot: Golf-8. Over."

Player 1 marks G8 as a hit or miss on their tracking grid and replies:

"WRYW364, Golf-8 is a hit. Your shot. Over."

When a ship is fully sunk, announce it:

"WRYW364, that's a hit. You sunk my destroyer. My shot: Delta-3. Over."

Game ends when one player's entire fleet is sunk:

"WRYW364, that's a hit - you sunk my carrier. All ships sunk, you win. Good game. WRZX891 clear."

Tracking hits and misses

On your tracking grid (the one for your opponent's fleet), mark hits with an X and misses with a dot or circle. On your fleet grid, mark squares that have been hit so you know when a ship is sunk. A ship is sunk only when all of its squares have been hit - you don't have to announce which ship a hit landed on until it's completely sunk.

Tips for a smooth game

• Write down each shot you call and each shot your opponent calls - paper records prevent disputes.
• If a transmission is unclear, ask for a repeat before marking anything: "Say again your coordinate. Over."
• Keep a consistent format: coordinate first, then hit/miss, then your shot. Don't vary the structure mid-game.
• Long games are fine on simplex. If you're on a repeater, consider moving to a simplex channel after the first few turns.