Classic “Battleship” Board Game Transformed into 3D Printed “Battleshots” Drinking Game

“You sunk my battleship.” You may remember that classic commercial advertising the board game that has each player guessing the exact grid location of the other’s ships. Milton Bradley released a plastic version of the game–using pegboards and mini ships–in 1967, but the game is said to date all the way back to World War I as a pencil and paper game. In 1977, Electronic Battleship was released, and in 1979, the game became the inspiration for a computer game, too. But what about Battleship as a 3D printed drinking game called Battleshots? This is probably a game variation that will catch and keep your attention, right?

As you can see, the game has certainly morphed to fit the times, going from a pen and pencil game to a computer game. What exactly does it say about our times that there is now a 3D printed drinking version of the game? In the Milton Bradley board game, your ships would span several grid locations unbeknownst to the other player. Players would guess grid locations, and if your ship was located on that spot, you had to put a peg in the ship. Once all of a ship’s pegs were filled, the ship was sunk, hence the infamous commercial line: “You sunk my battleship!”

Given the ways we have refreshed the original game idea, what do you think about a version where players take shots when their opponent sinks their ships? Yes, that’s the idea here, and if you are a fan of innovative drinking games, or the classic Battleship plotline, this project should really catch your attention!

The Battleshots game designer, Portugal-based Rui Costa e Silva of 3Dois1 3D Printing, brings us a delightful interpretation of Battleship as a large scale drinking game requiring a table top board with squares, small cups, and something to mark the missed ships–like bottle caps. For the ship fleet, we have files for 2 3D printed war cargo ships with 2 and 3 cups respectively, 1 battleship with 2 cups, and 1 nuclear submarine with 3 cups.

Silva recommends printing 2 sets of the files so you end up with 8 ships altogether–enough to play a very robust version of the Battleshots game. The ships were 3D printed at 3Dois1 3D Printing using a Prusa i3 Hephestos XL, PLA bq, and supports, and they are really a sight to behold. Whether they are holding shots of your favorite alcoholic beverage or not, the ships’ designs could easily captivate the imaginations of those 3D printing fans among us who have not hit the legal drinking age.

If you are a fan of drinking games, but have grown tired of playing beer pong, this game of skill, strategy, luck, and now drinking might just be for you. Obviously you’ll have to bend some traditional rules, because the grid is not hidden from opponents in this table top version. But, while you are all still sober, you and your friends can agree on the Battleshots rules, right?

If you are a 3D printing fan, you should also be sure to check out Silva’s (Portuguese language) website and (English language) Facebook page to see his other impressive work. From reading the comments on the Battleshots Reddit page, Silva definitely has a new following of 3D printed drinking game/Battleship fans.