BS(6) BSD Games Manual BS(6)NAMEbs — battleships game
SYNOPSISbs [-bsc]
DESCRIPTION
This program allows you to play the familiar Battleships game against the
computer on a 10x10 board. The interface is visual and largely self-
explanatory; you place your ships and pick your shots by moving the cur‐
sor around the ‘sea’ with the rogue(6) / hack(6) motion keys “hjklyubn”.
Note that when selecting a ship to place, you must type the capital let‐
ter (these are, after all, capital ships). During ship placement, the
`r' command may be used to ignore the current position and randomly place
your currently selected ship. The `R' command will place all remaining
ships randomly. The ^L command (form feed, ASCII 12) will force a screen
redraw).
The command-line arguments control game modes.
-b selects a “blitz” variant
-s selects a “salvo” variant
-c permits ships to be placed adjacently
The “blitz” variant allows a side to shoot for as long as it continues to
score hits.
The “salvo” game allows a player one shot per turn for each of his/her
ships still afloat. This puts a premium scoring hits early and knocking
out some ships and also makes much harder the situation where you face a
superior force with only your PT-boat.
Normally, ships must be separated by at least one square of open water.
The -c option disables this check and allows them to close-pack.
The algorithm the computer uses once it has found a ship to sink is prov‐
ably optimal. The dispersion criterion for the random-fire algorithm may
not be.
AUTHORS
Originally written by one Bruce Holloway in 1986. Salvo mode added by
Chuck A. DeGaul ⟨cbosgd!cad⟩. Visual user interface, ‘closepack’ option,
code rewrite and manual page by Eric S. Raymond ⟨esr@snark.thyrsus.com⟩
August 1989.
BSD August 23, 1989 BSD
