Battleship, Crittergator Style! (Blue Edition)

It was a photo shoot I have been plotting and scheming about for . . . well, it seems like almost forever! When I was a child, I grew up with a brother and many sisters, and several cousins, and we played Battleship and quite a few other games. I thought I owned a copy of Battleship, but it turns out I didn't.

So this past week, I bought my very own copy (the "retro" version), on sale for just $13 at Target. I ordered it online on Tuesday and it arrived on Thursday. Friday, we opened it up to check and make sure all of the pieces and parts were present. In the afternoon, the Crittergators and friends played their first game.

First, we set up Team Blue, and the four fast friends started the game. Then assorted friends joined in. We invited an alligator (or maybe it's a crocodile?) for added peril, just like in Peter Pan. Tick-tock! Tick-tock!

Nobody really wanted to blow up anybody else's battleship, as we are at heart peace-loving creatures (and trying to stay that way, thanks very much). But we did think it would be fun to ride around the ocean on those tiny little ships.

I kept adding and moving around creatures, so there is really no specific "canonical source" of this photo. What is above is merely one iteration of the hilarity that took place on this afternoon.

By the end of it, the board was so crowded that we couldn't add even one more creature. (Two dragonflies and a starfish took to the display above the main playing board.) All apologies to those critters who didn't get to play this round; we'll have to do it again soon.

And then, Dexter had to jump up on the counter and check things out, of course. He sniffed a green critter, and knocked it off its boat - oh no, into the deep blue sea! (A close-up detail of the photo above and a shot of Battleship game, as viewed through a Tabbycat's feet, may be found in the extras.)

The little critters didn't understand why we couldn't put ALL the boats upon the waters, both those for Team Red and Team Blue. And I guess there's no reason why we can't bend the rules and try that next time, maybe in a Team Red photo shoot, as we are all quite anxious to play the game again!

The song to accompany this bizarre game of Battleship is a favorite tune from childhood: Johnny Horton, with Sink the Bismarck.

Possibly related:
The Great Halloween Chess Match!
The Monopoly Game
Here Comes Trouble!