Ship Busters logo SHIP BUSTERS

How to Play

The captain's manual · updated August 2026

The Basics

You sail a broadside-armed ship on a 2D sea, and so does the enemy. To fire, tap or drag anywhere on the enemy ship, and every loaded gun you have fires a rolling volley at that spot.

Where you tap is what dies. Tap her hull to break planking. Tap her masts and sails to cripple her. Tap the red powder kegs amidships to set off her magazine, and let her own powder do your work for you.

A ship is out of the fight when 90% of her structure is destroyed. There is no clock: take the shots you want to take.

  • Damage is permanent within a battle. Broken stays broken.
  • Structure matters. Break the beams below and the deck above them collapses.
  • Your last gun never falls silent. Stations break, but crew are immortal. As long as one gun stands, you're still in the fight.
  • Powder barrels drift in the water. Shoot one when a ship is near it and enjoy the result.
  • Chests carry loot. Don't let them float past.
  • Chaining section kills builds combos. Keep the wreckage coming.

Controls

ActionTouchKeyboard
FireTap or drag anywhere on the targetClick or drag on the target
HelmOn-screen ◀ ▶: hold to cruise, tap to surge, double-tap to DASH (3.5 s cooldown)A / D
BroadsideBroadside button: hold, then releaseB: hold, then release
SpecialsButtons at bottom right; a pulsing button is readySame buttons
Ram➤ button, when it blinks➤ button, when it blinks
PausePause buttonESC / P
Fullscreenn/a (keyboard only)F
Hot-seat duels: the second captain steers with ← / →, fires with a right-tap on the target, holds M for broadside, and triggers specials with 1–4.

Specials

Specials are the big guns behind your big guns. Each has its own cooldown, and a pulsing button means it's ready to go.

SpecialCooldownWhat it does
Ramming Speed18 sFull speed ahead, prow-first. Comes on every hull.
Chain Volley20 sChain-shot that tears sails and masts to ribbons.
Rail Fire22 sA wall of iron walks her deck.
Mortar Rain24 sMortar shells fall on her from above.
Full Broadside26 sSeven aimed rounds rolled off every gun.
Storm Call30 sWhips the sea into a fury and spoils the enemy's aim.
Brace & Patch34 sRepairs your structure and douses fires.
Enemy captains have specials too. You'll hear the shout first, then the ordnance. Listen.

Game Modes

Campaign

Seven seas, seven battles each. Battles 1–6 of a sea each drop one of the six gear slots, so finishing a sea assembles its full set. Battle 7 is the sea's captain, holed up behind her guards. Fight through the waves, then face her. Hard difficulty unlocks after you finish Normal, and Brutal after Hard.

Every battle grades your work:

  • ★ for winning the battle
  • ★★ for finishing above 60% hull
  • ★★★ for finishing above 90% hull with every gun intact
  • A Flourish for winning with a special landed

Stars and flourishes feed a mastery track that pays out silver, parts, and a capstone ship at the top.

Gauntlet

Endless waves that keep scaling: bigger hulls, escorts, reinforcements. There's no winning the Gauntlet. There's only how far you got.

Daily Challenge

One seeded battle, identical for every captain in the world that day. Same ships, same sea, same odds. Prove yours was the better hand on the helm.

Arena

Duel a friend by 5-letter room code online, or hot-seat on one device. Duels stake nothing and pay nothing. Pride only. Set bonuses stay ashore for both captains, so the fight is symmetric: just two ships and two tempers.

Dungeons: The Deep Holds

Three charted holds, twenty stages each. A run is escorts first, then a boss. The Deep Holds are the only source of the Legendary sets, and each run costs 4–8 energy.

Tutorial

Free, and it teaches everything above. No shame in the classroom, captain.

Your Ship

Your ship carries six gear slots: Hull Plating, Mast, Sail, Gun, Ram, and Keel.

  • Stars (1★–7★) set a part's ceiling; levels (1–12) raise it toward that ceiling, paid for with silver.
  • Ten sets. The campaign ladder: Reefrunner, Shrouded, Livingwood, Sovereign, Cindermaw, Frostmere, Tempest. From the Deep Holds: Sirensong, Maelstrom, Bonecage.
  • Set bonuses. 3 pieces of a set wakes its bonus; all 6 replaces it with the full bonus.
  • Your fitted gun decides your gun crew. Change the gun, change who mans your stations.
  • Hulls run from the starter Sloop up to the Man-o'-War, with material tiers and reinforcement levels along the way.

Energy & Economy

  • Energy caps at 200 and regenerates 1 every 90 seconds, so a full tank takes about 5 hours and is worth roughly 25 campaign battles.
  • Campaign, Gauntlet, and Daily Challenge battles cost 8 energy; Dungeons cost 4–8; the Tutorial and Arena are free.
  • Silver is earned in battle and by selling parts, and it pays for levelling your gear.
  • Gold is bought, never earned in play. It buys time (energy), silver, parts, and cosmetics, and it can be sent to other captains, secured with a passkey.
  • Daily Plunder is a 7-day login track: energy on day 1, then the six pieces of a 3★ Reefrunner set across the rest of the week.

Captain's Tips

  • Aim one section and stay on it. Spread fire sinks nothing.
  • Masts first against fast ships. A ship that can't run is a ship that can't win.
  • Watch her shout. It names what's incoming.
  • Ram when the ➤ blinks. Don't hoard it.
  • Dash out of Mortar Rain. Standing in it is a choice.
  • The magazine ends fights. When the red kegs show, take the shot.