"Electronic Battleship" uses a programmable computer that stores the players' ship locations and uses sound effects to indicate shots and hits in the game, adding a little more flair to the game. You and your opponent program the game computer with the locations of your five ships--the carrier, battleship, submarine, destroyer and PT boat--and then electronically enter your shots while playing. There are two methods of programming the computer--instant programming and manual programming.
Instant Programming
You need the code book included with the game for instant programming. Flip through the 100 possible setups within the book, choose one and set up your ships on your grid in the positions shown. Turn the white "On/Off" switch to "On," listen for the sonar sound and flip the "Load/Go" switch to "Load." Slide the yellow button to "CM," press it and then press the red "Fire" button. Enter the letter/number code for the layout you chose by sliding the blue button to the correct letter and pressing it and then pressing the yellow button in the correct number location. Press the red "Fire" button and listen for a beep followed by a "whoop" sound to indicate that the code has been successfully programmed.
Manual Programming
To manually program your ship locations, you must enter the coordinates for each section of each ship; this is 17 positions in all. Turn the "On/Off" switch to "On," the "Load/Go" switch to "Go" and the yellow button to "CM." Place your five ships in any locations you want on your grid. Enter the grid locations that each ship occupies by sliding and pressing the blue button in the correct letter spot and the yellow button for the correct number. Press the red "Fire" button after entering each coordinate. You're entering five locations for the carrier, four for the battleship, three each for the submarine and destroyer, and two for the PT boat. Once you have entered all 17 coordinates correctly, a "whoop" sound will confirm it.
Game Play
Slide the "Load/Go" switch to "Go" and decide which player goes first. On your turn, enter a letter/number coordinate with the blue and yellow buttons just like you did during programming and press the "Fire" button. You'll hear the sound of a missile being fired. If your opponent's boat is on that spot, you'll hear an explosion sound and that square will flash on your opponent's bottom grid. Your opponent tells you which boat you hit and places a red peg on the boat in that spot; you'll place a red peg on that spot on your top grid. If you didn't hear an explosion, your shot missed; place a white peg on that location on your top grid. Players alternate turns with one shot each. When one player's ship is sunk from taking hits in all of its spots, that player declares it. The first player to sink all five of his opponent's ships wins.
References
Writer Bio
Chris Moore has been contributing to eHow since 2007 and is a member of the DFW Writers' Workshop. He received a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Texas-Arlington.
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