Battleships by Takeya Saikachi
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: 0 to 3
Author/Opus: This is the 14th puzzle from guest contributor Takeya Saikachi.
Rules: Standard Battleships rules. Use the indicated fleet.
Difficulty: 3 stars
Time Standards (highlight to view): Grandmaster = 2:45, Master = 5:45, Expert = 11:30
Solution: PDF; a solution video is also available here.
Note: Follow this link for classic Battleships and this link for Battleships variations. If you are new to this puzzle type, here are our easiest Battleships to get started on. More Battleships puzzles can be found in Battleships and Variations, in The Art of Puzzles, and in our beginner-friendly collection Intro to GMPuzzles by Serkan Yürekli.
Wow, that was incredible!
I was not aware of the 2×2 strategy shown in your solving video, and instead I used a much harder strategy: (rot13) Abgvpvat gung gur fuvc cvrprf va gur hapyhrq gjb zvqqyr pbyhzaf (juvpu unq gb nqq hc gb rvtug), pbhyq abg or cynprq fbyryl jvguva gur PYHRQ ubevmbagny ebjf, naq jbhyq arrq gb gnxr ng yrnfg gjb bhgfvqr bs gurz, juvpu jbhyq gurersber or gur bayl gjb cvrprf va gur hapyhrq ebjf npebff gur ragver chmmyr. (In hindsight, this could have been another interesting use of the 2×2 rule, but I didn’t spot it that way and instead went through all possibilities exhaustively.) I was thinking to myself that the way I was doing things seemed way harder than a 3-star puzzle, but after watching the solve, I think I have a really good handle on harder battleships strategies, so thanks!
Thanks Leo for sharing — that is another interesting deduction about the clues that helps mark off some spaces for ships/seas.
When you click on the PDF there is a little line that says 0 to 3 between the fleet and the bottom row of numbers. Not a big deal, but it doesn’t seem like it should be there.
Thanks Kris. That is the puzzle title (the 0 to 3 in italics) and is expected.