.\" $FreeBSD: src/games/bs/bs.6,v 1.1.1.1.12.1 2001/07/22 11:32:10 dd Exp $
.\" $DragonFly: src/games/bs/bs.6,v 1.3 2007/03/11 19:05:31 swildner Exp $
.Dd August 23, 1989
.Dt BS 6
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm bs
.Nd battleships game
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Op Fl bsc
.Sh 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
cursor around the
.Sq sea
with the
.Xr rogue 6 /
.Xr hack 6
motion keys
.Dq hjklyubn .
.Pp
Note that when selecting a ship to place, you must type the capital letter
(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).
.Pp
The command-line arguments control game modes.
.Pp
.Bl -tag -width ".Fl b"
.It Fl b
selects a
.Dq blitz
variant
.It Fl s
selects a
.Dq salvo
variant
.It Fl c
permits ships to be placed adjacently
.El
.Pp
The
.Dq blitz
variant allows a side to shoot for as long as it continues to score hits.
.Pp
The
.Dq 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.
.Pp
Normally, ships must be separated by at least one square of open water.
The
.Fl c
option disables this check and allows them to close-pack.
.Pp
The algorithm the computer uses once it has found a ship to sink is provably
optimal.
The dispersion criterion for the random-fire algorithm may not be.
.Sh AUTHORS
.An -nosplit
Originally written by one
.An Bruce Holloway
in 1986.
Salvo mode added by
.An Chuck A. DeGaul Aq cbosgd!cad .
Visual user interface,
.Sq closepack
option, code rewrite and manual page by
.An Eric S. Raymond Aq esr@snark.thyrsus.com
August 1989.