The History of Battleship

The board game Battleship was introduced by Milton Bradley in 1967. It featured two plastic trays along with pegs, ships, and printed instructions, and quickly became a fan favorite. However, the concept behind the game wasn’t created by Milton Bradley. Battleship’s origins are often traced to Russia around the time of World War I. However, there is evidence that the concept may be even older and hail from France. The French game L’Attaque was a paper-based grid contest very similar to Battleship. In 1962, Milton Bradley released their own version of L'Attaque. Called Broadside, it was themed around the War of 1812. It featured a loose grid system marked out on an illustrated board and came with different types of plastic sailing ships and artillery cannons. Then in 1967, Milton Bradley introduced the first version of the Battleship game that we know and love today. Several design changes have been made from that original version, including the color and style of the gameplay boxes, but the gameplay remains more or less unchanged. Specialized versions of Battleship have also been released over the years, including a Star Wars version. Today, Battleship is still available on store shelves and remains a beloved classic in the board game collections of many families.