The film with the same name as the game, Battleship inspired the turn-based strategy game. During their training, a group of American soldiers finds themselves encased in a bubble and under attack from alien vessels. They have to engage in combat against the aliens throughout a total of 26 different campaign missions to stay alive. Usually, the objective is to destroy all adversaries, but occasionally, other goals will be, such as retiring or defending a specific ship.
With each turn, the player will maneuver their ships around and utilize them to attack the opposing player. The range of the boat, its size (for navigation), the point of attack (attacking from behind is more effective), the water depth (some vessels are more effective in low or deep water), and the health of the unit are some of the variables that need to be taken into consideration. When a team loses health, it becomes less effective in offense and defense. The commander, who varies from mission to mission, provides a further passive boost to their unit and has a special move (basically a more robust version of the growth) that can be activated when a particular bar is filled up by defeating enemies; however, the alien commander also possesses one of those abilities. The commander of the unknown force also has one of those abilities.
Even though most ships have only two distinguishing characteristics—their size and their range—a few fall into the category of “special units.” Supply vessels are essential for maintaining a constant flow of missiles and fuel (necessary for every maneuver), repair vessels help keep other units alive, and rubber rafts can take over ports. The player can engage in duel mode if two larger ships collide; at this point, they can directly aim and fire missiles. Outside the primary campaign, the player can engage in skirmishes, which involve re-fighting previously completed campaign missions with a chosen commander.
