Battleships is one of those classic games of all times. Courtesy of
IslandLabs.com it is also available for the Zaurus PDA, who have named their software, Reef War.
In Reef War, you have the choice of playing against the computer or against another
human.
The purpose of this game is simple: destroy your opponent's
fleet before he sinks yours! The game takes place on a 10x10 board. At the start of the game
you decide where you wish to place your fleet, which consists of
Carrier (takes up 5 squares)
Battleship (4 squares)
Submarine (3 squares)
Destroyer (3 squares)
PT Cruiser (2 squares)
Placing your fleet wisely around the board is an important element to the game. In the screenshots
on the left, you can see that I've placed my fleet widely apart. This isn't always an effective strategy.
Sometimes it's better to place two ships close together, hoping that your opponent will disperse their shots
over a wide area. Outwitting your opponent is what makes this game fun.
The Zaurus played a strong game, and looks to have an effective dispersion
strategy, although on one occasion the computer had only partial sunk my submarine, but never finished the job off.
The game only offers the "salvo" option (when you hit a ship, the
turn automatically passes back to the opponent). It would be better if the blitz variant was catered
for (where you continue to fire until you miss a ship). Maybe it hasn't been included because a game may be over
too quickly on just a 10x10 board.
Another minor change I'd like would be to display your opponent's fleet, when all your
ships have been sunk. It's nice to know just how close you were to his ships. A 10x10 board also takes a little
of the fun out of the game.
Reef War is an enjoyable game to play, and complements the suite of
games that come with the Zaurus. It's not the most addictive game for this PDA, but it easily justifies the modest
fee.
Thinking of switching to Linux? Check out our Linux Equivalents to
Windows Software section, highlighting popular Linux equivalents to Windows software.
