Battleship Ship Placement Strategy
Good placement does not make your fleet invisible. It makes the opponent's search slower and less predictable, forcing them to spend more shots before they lock onto a ship.
Spread the fleet across the board
Do not cluster all five ships in one corner. Cover different quadrants so a single hit does not lead directly to a neighbouring ship.
Mix horizontal and vertical ships
If every ship points the same way, an opponent who finds the axis can sweep the whole fleet quickly. Alternate orientations and avoid placing every long ship on the same edge.
Protect the small ships
The two-cell destroyer is the easiest ship to expose with a parity scan. Place it away from obvious checkerboard lines, or use it to break the pattern created by your larger ships.
No perfect layout
There is no unbeatable formation. The practical goal is to create more uncertainty along the opponent's most likely search paths, not to hide in a single corner.