Gridiron battleship, explained
The squares board, weaponized. Park a ship, pray for weird scores.
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How does football battleship work?
It starts like squares: a 10×10 grid, one axis for each team, random 0–9 digits drawn when the board locks. But instead of claiming single squares, every player places one ship — four squares in a straight line — anywhere on the open water.
Then the real game plays the artillery. Every time the score changes, the new score fires a cannonball at one square: where the last digit of the home score crosses the last digit of the away score. A 14–7 score fires at (4, 7). Kick a field goal to make it 17–7, and the next shell lands at (7, 7).
How do you score points?
- Hit — a shot lands on one of your ship's squares: 1 point. The same square can be struck more than once; busy digits stay dangerous all game.
- Sunk — all four of your squares have been hit at least once: +3 bonus, a skull on the board, and the respect of the group chat.
Most points when the game ends wins. Yes, that means getting sunk is usually how you win — in this game you want the shells raining on you.
Where should I put my ship?
Scores end in some digits far more than others — 0, 7, 3, and 4 do most of the work, because touchdowns and field goals move scores in 3s, 6s, 7s, and 8s. A ship through the busy digits gets shot at more. But so does everyone else's; a contrarian line can win on one safety. That's the argument, and the argument is the game.
When do ships lock?
The commissioner locks the board before kickoff, which draws the digits — until then you can move or remove your ship. After lock, ships are anchored and the scoreboard takes over. Overtime counts; every score change in the final box score fires exactly one shot.
What do winners get?
Bragging rights and a skull emoji. KickoffPools never collects, holds, or pays out money and never awards prizes — it keeps score, that's it.
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