iMessage games are great because you don’t need to be online at the same time as your opponent to play. You can take your turn when it suits you, and the game will wait for the other player to jump back in.
Arcade games are always popular, and iMessage is no different. Being able to play a quick game while chatting is really convenient, and you can fit a few moves in whenever you have a spare moment.
Sea Battle is a classic choice, and if you’re looking to get started, here’s how to play it.
Installing Sea Battle Using the iMessage App Store
Sea Battle isn’t a standalone app; instead, you’ll need to grab the ‘GamePigeon’ app, which contains a bunch of games, including Sea Battle.
- First, open the iMessage app on your iOS device.
- Then, tap on any conversation thread from your list of message threads.
- Next, tap the grey App Store icon next to the message box to open the app options.
- Tap on the blue App Store icon in the bar that appears. This will open the iMessage App Store as an overlay.
- Now, tap the ‘Search’ icon, usually at the top right corner of the App Store overlay.
- In the search bar, type
game pigeonand tap the search button on your keyboard.
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Tap the ‘Get’ button next to the ‘GamePigeon’ app and wait for it to finish installing.
Note: If you’ve already purchased ‘GamePigeon’, you’ll see a cloud icon with a downward arrow instead of the ‘Get’ button.
Starting a Sea Battle Game With Your Contacts
Now that you’ve got Sea Battle installed, here’s how to start a match with your friends or family.
- Go back to the Messages app, either by selecting a current conversation or starting a new one.
- Scroll through the app drawer above your keyboard and tap the ‘GamePigeon’ icon, and then select ‘SEA BATTLE’ from the game list.
- Choose your game mode under the ‘GAME MODE’ section. You can also customize the ships by tapping ‘CUSTOMIZE’ next to ‘GAME MODE’.
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Write a message if you want, and then tap the ‘Send Message’ icon to invite your friend to play.
Note: Both you and your friend need to have ‘GamePigeon’ installed to play.
- Once sent, the other player can join by tapping the ‘Sea Battle’ tile from within the conversation.
- The person who receives the invite will now place their ships by dragging them into position on the grid, and then tap ‘Start’ to begin the game.
- Ships can’t be placed too close together. If they are, the area around the ships will turn red, and you’ll see a ‘Ships shouldn’t touch each other’ message.
- If your opponent plays their turn while you are offline, you’ll get an iMessage notification that it’s your turn. Tap on the message in the conversation to play.
- To take your turn, tap on the grid where you think your opponent’s ships are hidden. Then, tap the ‘Fire’ button.
- If you miss, it’s your opponent’s turn. If you hit, you’ll feel a haptic feedback, and smoke will appear on the grid. Keep firing on adjacent blocks to try and sink the whole ship.
- Once a ship is completely sunk, it’ll be visible on the grid, and the empty spaces around the ship will be marked with a black dot.
- The first to sink all of the other player’s ships wins the game. Remember that it takes multiple hits to sink a single ship.
Sea Battle Character Customization and Game Settings
Sea Battle allows you to customize your character and change game settings.
- To access these, tap the ‘Gear’ icon in the top-right of the app.
- Here, you can customize your character’s look, from skin tone and hair to clothing and accessories.
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While many options are locked behind a one-time purchase, there are still plenty of free choices. Tap a category to change it.
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As an example, tap the ‘Hairs’ icon, then choose a hairstyle and color from the available options.
- Adjust the color’s hue by dragging the slider under the color swatches.
- To turn off background music, tap the ‘Music’ button. To disable sound effects, tap the ‘Sound’ button right below the music toggle.
