Sub Search

About this board game

Sub Search is a two-player naval hunt that takes about 45 minutes, combining hidden submarines, surface ships, depth charges, and torpedoes on a three-dimensional board. Released in 1973, it offers a unique variation on the familiar Battleship format.

Each player hides three submarines and a mine across the board’s three underwater levels on one side. Surface ships are placed on the top, surface level of the other side, creating separate positions for vessels above and below the water.

During play, players alternate turns to search for and attack their opponent’s forces. The main actions include:

• Moving a ship to a desired grid location
• Firing a depth charge at the underwater levels
• Marking hits, near misses, and misses against opposing submarines
• Firing a torpedo from a submarine at a surface vessel in the same column

The three-dimensional board makes positioning central to the search. Surface ships move and launch depth charges, while submerged submarines can threaten vessels above them when they share a column.

Play continues back and forth until one player sinks all three of the opponent’s submarines. A player can also win by sinking all of the opponent’s surface ships, although this outcome almost never happens.

With its underwater levels, hidden mine, alternating attacks, and distinct weapons for surface and submerged vessels, Sub Search turns a classic guessing-game structure into a deeper naval confrontation.