deduction

Battleship was originally a pencil-and-paper public domain game known by different names, but Milton Bradley made it into the well known board game in 1967. The pencil and paper grids were changed to plastic grids with holes that could hold plastic pegs used to record the guesses.

Each player deploys his ships (of lengths varying from 2 to 5 squares) secretly on a square grid. Then each player shoots at the other's grid by calling a location. The defender responds by "Hit!" or "Miss!". You try to deduce where the enemy ships are and sink them. First to do so wins.

The Salvo variant listed in the rules allows each player to call out from 1 to 5 shots at a time depending on the amount of ships the player has left (IE: players each start off with 5 ships, so they start off with 5 shots. As ships are sunk, the players gets fewer shots). This version of the game is closer to the original pencil-and-paper public domain game. Many versions of the pencil-and-paper game have different amounts of shots based on the ship (IE: Battleship: 5 shots. Destroyer: 3 Shots, Etc.).

In 2008, Hasbro "reinvented" the game into Battleship (Revised).

Some history of the published versions of the game:
1931: Starex Novelty Co. of NY publishes Salvo.
1933: The Strathmore Co. publishes Combat, The Battleship Game.
1943: Milton Bradley publishes the pad-and-pencil game Broadsides, The Game of Naval Strategy.
1943: Also published in 1943 Sink it by the L R Gebert Co. for distribution by G. Krueger Brewing Co.
1940's: Maurice L. Freedman Co. of RI publishes Warfare Naval Combat.
1961: Ideal publishes Salvo.

Other titles over the years have included Swiss Navy, Sunk (Parker Bros.), Convoy (Transogram), Wings (Strategy Games Co. of California), and Naval Battle (3M Paper and Pencil Version) .

Game description from the publisher:

In New Scotland Yard: Crime Scene, there has been a murder in the heart of London and New Scotland Yard's team of Crime Scene Examiners are investigating the case. There are six pieces of evidence to find, and the race is on to locate each one before the crime scenes are contaminated and the evidence is lost forever.

First, you must collect the forensic test equipment you will need for the investigation. Then, racing around London, you must find where each piece of evidence is located. Visit the scenes, study the clues and perform forensic tests using the tools included in the game. This may sound easy, but speed, a keen eye and attention to detail are essential to success. There is multiple evidence in each location and you will need to use your forensic test equipment with skill and accuracy to ensure you get the correct results.

Once you have successfully determined the location of all six pieces of evidence, return quickly to Scotland Yard and present your findings to the Detective Superintendent ... but be quick, the police are counting on you.

Shadow Hunters is a survival board game set in a devil-filled forest in which three groups of characters – the Shadows, creatures of the night; the Hunters, humans who try to destroy supernatural creatures; and the Neutrals, civilians caught in the middle of this ancient battle – struggle against each other to survive.

You belong to one of these groups and must conceal your identity from others since you don't know who you can trust – at least not initially. Over time, though, someone might decipher who you are through your actions or through Hermit cards, or you might even reveal yourself to use your special ability.

The key to victory is to identify your allies and enemies early because once your identity is revealed, your enemies will attack with impunity using their special abilities like Demolish, Teleport, and Suck Blood or equipment cards such as the Rusty Broad Ax or Fortune Brooch. This ancient battle comes to a head and only one group will stand victorious – or a civilian, in the right circumstances, might claim victory.

The 2011 edition of Shadow Hunters from Z-Man Games includes the Shadow Hunters Expansion Kit, a set of ten new characters previously sold separately.

In Blood Bound, a deduction game played in 15-30 Minutes, players assume the roles of members of two clans – the brutal, animalistic warriors of the Clan of the Beast and the graceful, deadly members of the Clan of the Rose – and (with an odd number of players) the human inquisition. Disguised by a secret identity, they try to kidnap the Elder of the opposing clan or give their lives for the benefit of their own Elder. Malicious attacks, aimed indiscretions, and assistance from others will slowly uncover the truth: Who fights for whom? And who is the Elder?

At the start of the game, each player knows three things:

Who he is and to which clan he belongs
That a few other players are his allies, while everyone else is the enemy of both him and his clan
The clan to which one of his neighbors belongs – although some characters can lie about their clan identity

Now the players have to figure out who the Elder of the opposing team is (if there is one) and capture him. To do this, players need to attack, negotiate and deduce, with an attacked player being required to reveal information, such as his rank or clan affiliation. Each player has an ability unique to his character, and this ability can be used only at the moment that he reveals his rank. The Assassin forces players to suffer wounds, for example, while the Guardian protects a player of the character's choice.

In the end, if you capture your rival clan's Elder, you win – but if you capture the wrong vampire, you've fallen into the enemy's trap and lose the game.

From the publisher: "Torches are blazing, mists are wafting ... in the Holy Circle the High Priestess celebrates her ritual with her novices. They sing with all their heart, cuddle the artifacts, and rearrange them in ever new patterns.

"But what if you do not know the religious rules? The best thing is to watch what the others are doing and imitate them. But cautious: Maybe your neighbor just violated a taboo and made the High Priestess angry …

"Each player takes the role of the High Priestess once and determines the rules of her own religion. The other players are novices trying to sense these rules and thus gather as much karma as possible."

The "priestess" player secretly chooses four cards that determine which actions are rewarded and which taboo. The other players simply move a pawn on the board and are awarded points by the priestess based on how their actions (including seemingly irrelevant ones like body movement or tone of voice) correspond with the rules. At the end of a round the priestess receives the same score as the highest-scoring adept, encouraging her to make the rules difficult but not impossible to guess.