Battleship Live gives classic board game a high-tech update

Board games from when I was a kid seem to have changed dramatically in recent years. Scrabble now comes in the 'Flash' variety, which lets you make words with movable screens. Monopoly involves a credit card. And now, the old stand-by Battleship is being reinvented with a technological twist, too.

I'm not talking Electronic Talking Battleship, either. Hasbro has advanced Battleship by introducing motion-sensor technology into the gameplay. It's not the same sort of motion sensor we've gotten used to seeing in recent years with Kinect for the Xbox; instead, the central tower functions as an all-seeing eye to track what is moved on and off the board. All the game pieces have the same reflective surface, which the tower reads to know where things are. The tower also gives audio instructions and plays sound effects to advance gameplay.

I recently had the chance to get some hands-on time with Battleship Live, and while the game does have a few shortcomings, it is definitely fun to play and an interesting evolution of the Battleship concept.

(By the way, if you're curious as to whether the large tower in the middle of the board is somehow a tie-in to the new Battleship movie trailer, it isn't, at least as far as I was told. Personally, I remain unconvinced.)

The basics of the game seem a little overwhelming at first since Battleship Live looks so radically different from the original, but after a few turns and some careful listening to the tower's instructions, my opponent and I picked it up quickly. You have five units to place on the starting line: PT Boat, Submarine, Destroyer, Battleship and Aircraft Carrier. Once you've both set up your game boards, you get three options for what to do each turn: fire, move, or a 'special' action.

For a basic offensive maneuver, you fire using your cannon. You place the cannon along one of the letters, select 'Fire' with your game peg, and cover both 'Confirm' buttons to fire. The tower tells you how successful the attack was, and what you hit. You can also use your action to move your ships out of the line of fire. Ships can move one square left, right, up or down by placing the captain's peg on 'Move', moving the ship, and confirming.

Finally, the special moves allow you to do some very cool things with the ships. Each ship gets a special move in the game. Without going into too much detail, powers range from attacking a wider area of your opponent's board to moving ships far out of the line of fire. Each power can be used only once in the game, so long as the ship with the corresponding power is still in play. The only exception is the spy plane, which can be used at any time.

The spy plane is a very cool addition to Battleship, and my favourite part, although my opponent couldn't quite get the hang of using it. The plane sits on a plastic track that goes all the way around the board. You line up the plane with your 'Launch Pad', then push the plane around to your opponent's board; the tower then tells you if there are any planes in the zone where it landed.

There was a small hiccup during play with the spy plane, though. Launching the plane the wrong way or too close to ships in the top row can throw off how well it launches onto your opponent's side. On the bright side, if you knock all your ships askew in the process, the tower will remind you where your ships were at the beginning of your turn and helps you reset the board. This also prevents your opponent from secretly moving their ships out of the way and cheating. We've all played that kid, you know what I mean.

Some players might find the game's heavy reliance on audio problematic. When I tested this game out, it was in a busy room and if I stopped to talk to someone or if the noise around me prevented me from hearing what had happened, there was no way to catch up. You can get the tower to repeat instructions of what to do next, but it won't repeat what just happened, like if one of your ships was hit.

There's also no way to track how many times a ship has been hit. With no system to keep track of that or of who shot where, it can be a little confusing. The game could benefit from some kind of tracking system - either electronic or manual - to keep tabs on player moves.

All things considered, if you're a fan of Battleship, Battleship Live could be the update to a favourite board game that you've been looking for. While much of the game has been changed, the basics are still there and your objective is still to obliterate the 'enemy,' because after all, war never changes.

Battleship Live will be released later this month at toy retailers across Canada. It's recommended for ages 8 and up, and will retail for approximately $49.99.