Christmas Sea Battle: sink the festive fleet on a winter sea

How to play

• Each side hides a fleet of five ships on a sea of 10 × 10 squares (A–J, 1–10): 5, 4, 3, 3 and 2 squares long, straight, and never touching – not even at a corner.
• The sides take turns firing at one square of the other sea: a miss is a splash, a hit is a spark – and after a hit the same side fires again.
• A ship is sunk when every one of its squares is hit; then its whole picture shows, and the squares around it are marked as empty water.
• Whoever sinks the whole fleet of the other side first wins.

Why play? Sea battle has been played for generations, once with a pencil on squared paper, and the rules take a minute to explain. Two can play on one tablet at the Christmas table: a curtain hides each fleet while the device is passed across.

Also useful

• Christmas Reversi: gingerbread cookies against snowballs
• Christmas Checkers: red baubles against white snowballs
• Christmas Chess: Santa, reindeer and trees on the board
• Christmas Four in a Row: red baubles against gold
• Christmas Minesweeper: dodge the lumps of coal in the snow
• Christmas Tic Tac Toe: Snowman vs Tree

More on santa.haus

• Christmas quizzesTrivia and emoji puzzles, checked as you play, with sheets to print for teams.
• Christmas bingoa card of its own on each phone, a caller that draws the words, or up to 40 different cards to print.
• Party gamesCharades, “Who am I?” and fifteen one-minute games – played in teams on one phone.
• Advent calendarMake one online and send it: a door a day until Christmas Eve.
• Online Christmas cardPick a picture, write your wishes and send the card as a link. Free, no account.
• Christmas printablesColoring pages, cards, gift wrapping and decorations to cut out – print them at home, free.

Drawing names for gifts too? Secret Santa on santa.haus.