Battleships Calling – Live ESL Sea Battle Game (Zoom Teacher + Student, Offline Modes, Printable Boards)

Answer it, fire it, sink the ships! Battleships Calling is a classic sea battle game with an English quiz: answer a multiple-choice or spelling question to fire (2 tries). Your guide is Bill the Bus, a talking red London bus. Teacher and student can play LIVE on their own devices during a Zoom lesson, or play offline against Bill, with a friend, or on a shared screen.

Live online play includes a 1-year license for the teacher (students join free). Offline modes work forever, straight from the zip, with no internet.

It opens in any web browser on computers, tablets and phones. No app store, no student accounts and nothing to install. You can also play online at https://battleships-calling.pages.dev.

4 ways to play

• Play Online – teacher and student each use their own device. The teacher shares a 4-letter room code; the student types it to join. Perfect for Zoom and Google Meet
• Play vs Bill – one player against Bill the Bus (Easy or Normal). Works offline
• Pass & Play – two players on one device, with a cover screen between turns. Works offline
• Teacher Screen-Share – one device. Share your screen on Zoom. The student says the answer and a square, and the teacher taps them. Works offline

281 questions (A1–A2)

• Easy, Medium and Hard, or Mixed
• Multiple choice or spelling (or a mix of both)
• 2 tries: a wrong answer gets one more try; wrong again and the turn passes with no shot
• 8 × 8 board with 5 ships, or 6 × 6 with 3 ships for younger kids

Mega Blast and game features

• After a player's 6th turn, Mega Blast unlocks once per game: hit a 2 × 2 block (4 squares)
• Drag-and-drop or tap to place ships, with rotate, random and clear
• Hit and miss effects, sunk ships, turn banner and scores
• Sound and voice toggles: turn off all sound, or just Bill's voice
• Bill the Bus – a talking red London bus. He gives a short instruction on every screen

Built for online ESL lessons

• Each player answers on their own screen – the hidden ships stay on the game server
• The teacher can press "New question" on either player's turn
• Watch mode for screen sharing (ships stay hidden)
• Reconnects by itself after a refresh or a dropped connection
• No chat – a safe, kid-friendly design

Teacher guide (PDF, US Letter, 18 pages)

Zoom step-by-step, room codes, teaching tips, printable paper boards and an answer key.

Your teacher license

• You'll receive your personal license code by email after purchase (usually within 24 hours)
• Starts on first use, lasts 1 year, works on up to 3 of your own devices
• Students never need a code
• Offline modes and printable boards work forever

Please note

This is a digital download. Nothing will be shipped. Live play needs internet on both devices. Offline modes need no internet.

Works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, iPhone and Android.

An original classic sea battle game for language learning, not affiliated with any toy or game company.

For personal and single-classroom use. Please do not share the files or your license code.

You can also open the web version at https://battleships-calling.pages.dev.

Richard Sim ©