Battleship Chess does incorporate some of the core gameplay elements of both of these games. However, the final result, while somewhat fun, is neither as fun and simple as the original Battleship board game, nor as timeless and challenging as Chess.

Gameplay
The gameplay is fairly simple, though not as simple as battleship (perhaps to the game's detriment). Each game is a "war" made up of multiple "battles". Each battle lasts for a set number of turns. Battle 1 is always 35 turns. Battle 2 ups it by 5 turns to 40, and so on. You can play a 1-battle, 5-battle, or 10-battle war as 1 of 3 nations (Germany, Japan, or the United States) and you may choose from 1 of 5 chapters. Each chapter introduces a new ship type. Like Chess, there is a board made up of a grid on which you move your pieces (ships) around. Some ships can move further than others, while some have more firepower than others. Like Battleship, you are largely unaware of where your opponent's pieces are as you play. Each ship has a sight range. Beyond that range, you cannot see your opponent's ships. The ultimate goal of each battle is to sink as many ships as you can or at least to have the highest score in damage points dealt to the enemy. The player who wins the most battles wins the war.

There are 6 vessel types (not including the unarmed merchant ship), each introduced in one of the 5 chapters (2 in chapter 1). Chapter 5 adds the submarine to your arsenal. Subs can actually move underneath ships and add deadly torpedoes to your bag of tricks; however, firing their torpedoes requires the enemy ship to be either in front of or directly behind the sub. Each ship has multiple gun types. Some guns do more damage than others, while sacrificing armor penetration power. Most ships can fire far beyond their visual range; however, I found this mostly useless since ships can only fire when they are adjacent to the last ship you moved. Unlike Chess or Battleship, you also receive "Battle Cards" such as "Lucky Shot" and "Ammo at Sea" that you can play at the beginning of your turn for a small advantage. Finally, there are "special" upgrade spots on the map such as speed boosts, repair stations, and ammo upgrades.

The only real strategy I found was to keep your ships together. The reasoning behind this is discussed above (only ships which are directly adjacent to the last ship you moved may fire). I found myself simply maneuvering (half the time never knowing where the enemy was) until I chanced upon one of his ships. At this point, it becomes a matter of moving and firing upon each other and hoping that you do more damage than they do. In the first few chapters it takes so long to sink even one ship that you will find yourself completing battles without doing so, at which point the winner is determined by the person who did the most damage. Once the submarine is added, it becomes much easier to sink a ship with torpedoes. You don't have submarines until the very last chapter; however, you can play any chapter at any time.

After each battle, some of your surviving captains may advance in ability, allowing for those ships to do a better job in the coming battles. Along with the Battle Cards, I felt like this was a little over the top and not really necessary for a simple game like this.

Art
The graphics engine for Battleship Chess is a simple 3D engine with flat shaded texturing and rudimentary particle effects. That being said, the artwork neither detracts from nor adds to the gameplay experience. The quality of the art is appropriate for this type of game. The in-game buttons could use a little finessing in my opinion (being a game artist myself) and the menus likewise could use some love. The ships appear to float above the water. I would rather see them moving through the water more realistically, but this isn't really a flaw. The smoke stacks emit smoke as the ships move which is a cool little touch and the guns actually rotate to fire on the target you select.

Audio
The music to the game isn't too bad. The main title theme is a goofy kind of patriotic naval song - very fitting for a game like this. You can fortunately turn the music off in the settings menu if it annoys you during gameplay. The sound effects are simple and perhaps a little low quality, but they get the point across and are again appropriate for this type of game. Ships emit S.O.S. sounds when taking damage. Torpedoes are heard to glide through the water and destroyers ping for enemy submarines as they move.

Tech
The version I downloaded was 2.0a. This particular version was free of any noticeable bugs. The controls are simple and easy to understand. The menus while easy to follow were a little ugly, but menus don't make or break a game. All around, a solid job on the engineering side.

In Conclusion
Battleship Chess seems best suited to casual gamers. While it doesn't quite live up to the challenge of Chess nor the simplistic though fun design of the Battleship board game, casual gamers may still find this game worth the low price and quick and easy download. I can't say it's a game that I would play again, but I'm also not a casual gamer. When I first played the game, I just didn't "feel it". It didn't make me want to play it again. It could be that I'd rather spend my free time playing something with a little more substance. It could also be that the name of the game biased me by setting my expectations too high before I even started playing. That being said, I also won't give this game a completely negative review. It does have its fun points and I could see how some of you casual gamers out there might enjoy it. After all, some would argue that a game that is too addictive is actually bad for you, since you end up spending too much of your valuable free time playing it. So let's just say that while Battleship Chess isn't a homerun, you'll at least get on base.