Battleships by Thomas Snyder
or solve online (using our beta test of Penpa-Edit tools; use tab to alternate between ship placement and shading modes. In ship placement mode, right click gives sea, left click gives circle/square, left click and drag for rounded ships.)
Theme: Symmetry and Even Clues
Author/Opus: This is the 189th puzzle from Thomas Snyder, aka Dr. Sudoku.
Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.
Answer String: For each row from top to bottom, enter the number of the first column from the left where a ship segment appears (enter both digits if a two-digit number). If the row is empty, enter 0. Enter these numbers as a single string with no separators.
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 1:30, Master = 3:00, Expert = 6:00
Solution: PDF
Note: Follow this link for other classic Battleships. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on.
11:21
Believe it or not, one can place the two cruisers (three-segment ships) immediately. From there, the solution follows quickly.
After filling in the obvious waters we have the following board (‘_’ is water, ‘.’ is empty):
1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
+---------------------
A | . . . _ . . _ . . . 2
B | . . . _ . . _ _ . . 4
C | . _ . _ . _ _ . . . 2
D | . . _ _ . . _ . . . 2
E | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 0
F | . . . _ . . _ . . . 2
G | . . . _ . . _ _ . . 4
H | . . . _ _ . _ . _ . 2
I | . . _ _ . . _ . . . 2
J | _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 0
2 4 2 0 2 2 0 2 4 2
The trick is to attempt to place the three (3) virtual cruisers> (i.e., the battleship and the two cruisers).
There are 2 ways to place 3 virtual cruisers on the board at the same time:
1> (A9-C9), (B1-B3), (G1-G3)
2> (B1-B3), (B9-D9), (G1-G3)
A virtual cruiser at:
B1-B3
G1-G3
is common to all placements.
The rest is relatively simple.
02:05.
Nice opening trick with the three large ships, with a nice finishing with many submarines already known.