Elementary Math Games: Cartesian Battleships

Elementary Math Games: build strong basic skills.

Number of players: 2

Materials required: A labeled grid as show. This can be downloaded for free at the bottom of the scren (in PDF format).

How to Play:

This is a variation on the classic Battleships game. As shown to the right, the game is set up in exactly the same way as ordinary battleships except that the grid is labeled A to J along the bottom of the grid and the numbers 1 to 10 go upwards from the bottom left corner.

As usual, the players place their ships on the grid. Note that in this version of the game the ship parts are placed inside the squares and not on the gridline intersections as in the upgraded version of the game. I have only shown vertical and horizontal placements here but you can use diagonal placements if both players agree. To start with, use one each of 2, 3, 4 and 5-length ships. More can be added for a longer game.

Each player takes it in turns firing shots. To fire a shot, the player calls out the grid location using the LETTER FIRST, THEN THE NUMBER. It is essential it is done in that order, not the other way around.

If the square the firing player has called contains part of a ship, the defending player must call out "HIT!". Otherwise they call "MISS!". Play then alternates until one player has lost all parts of all of her ships.

What is being learned? By playing this game, your child is learning to find her way around on the Cartesian (x - y) grid using an across then up method. This is the exact same method used for plotting points in basic linear graphing. Played regularly, this game will give your child a predisposition to doing well in graphing equations. Note also that the x and y values are called from the bottom left corner which becomes the centre of the Cartesian grid in later work.

This working from the bottom left corner is also important for all standard graphing skills needed in math and science subjects.

How to extend or shorten the game: This game can be extended by adding more ships or by making the playing grid larger. It can be shortened by making the playing grid smaller or by using less ships.

Get the free game grid here for this most entertaining of elementary math games.