Battleship Exchange

The dust has settled from the earthquake, and you've recovered many of the mermaids' colors and the cave trolls' pretty rocks!

There's a lot of other stuff here too, including some of the goblins' discarded machines. One of your team members is an engineer and tries to get them working again, but it's hard to figure out what they're even supposed to do. You push buttons but nothing happens. Eventually, eager to get back to the surface, you leave them behind.

The mermaids and cave trolls have vanished from their former homes, which is weird, but you figure that means more loot for you. And the best prize of all is what you find when you emerge above ground: all the friends you were separated from at the start of this adventure. You hug them joyously and share the tales of all your deeds underground.

Together you head back to the cafe, eagerly discussing what you're going to do with all your winnings, but soon the ground begins to shake again and you hear more rumbling. You hurry around the last bend in the road, worried about what you'll find.

But it's fine! The Shoulder Dragon Cafe is just where you left it, looking the same as always, with a big sign out front that says "NEW! HOT POT!" Across the road from it is a big construction site, which you quickly realize is where the shaking and noise came from. On one side, a huge cave is being excavated from a hill. On the other, a crystal dome is being built. In the middle is an artificial lake surrounded by greenery. Signs in Dwarvish warn of treacherous ground where tunnels are being dug to connect them all.

A spark-sprite flits over and chirps, "Hello! Thank you all for mining so much useful stone for us! We realized we had far more than we needed for just a few gates and such, so we've decided to get together and build a new home far away from those annoying goblins. Plus we can get delicious meals at the cafe whenever we want, and hang out with all of you! Honestly, I don't know why we didn't move sooner." Eyeing your bulging packs and pockets, he adds, "By the way, did you ever find any of the things the goblins stole?"

You all look at one another, bid a silent farewell to your dreams of wealth, and return the belongings of the rainbow mermaids, cave trolls, spark sprites, and delving dwarves, trying to make it seem like that was your plan all along. But they're so overjoyed to have everything back that they reward you generously in the currency you like best: new stories to read and listen to, and new art to look at! You're rich after all!

Main collection | Crystal collection | Mermaid collection | Tunnel collection | Volcano collection

Congratulations to first place Team Tunnel, second place Team Crystal, joint third place Teams Mermaid and Volcano, and all our players on another incredible round of Battleship. Please enjoy the THOUSANDS of works that have been created for this game! We encourage you to be generous with your kudos and comments.

Members of Team Tunnel and Team Crystal will get to pick one tag to be on next year's boards. So will correct guessers from board 2, people who made two or more works for giftless and treatless participants, and Volcano and Mermaid members who post two or more treats to their team collections during the anon period.

But before you dive into reading, listening, looking, and treating, please take the time you need to rest and recuperate, and to bask in what we've all accomplished. And please join the mod team of Soulstoned, Leaf/Tavina, Eirvyan, gaialux, Firebird/Asymptotical, and lailah_tov in thanking:

• azurrys, cricketdust, DontStopHerNow, and eicas for tagmodding
• connect_the_stars for work check assistance
• tuesday for Shoulder Dragon Cafe lore
• toadheart for the pixel art rewards on board 3

...and everyone who coordinated strategy and boosted team energy and made the Battleship Discord such an awesome place to be. You're all amazing!

Go forth and feast! Creators will be revealed in two weeks.

With the help of your new animal friends, you finally disable the borer just as it breaks through a wall and lands in a huge, shadowy cave. Climbing out and looking around, you realize the cave is packed to the roof with treasure—the trolls' pretty rocks and so much more.

You're weary and you're mad. You just wanted to do a good deed for the cave trolls and snuggle some cute animals, and those nasty goblins went and ruined it. But you'll show them. You'll steal all their treasure, return the trolls' rocks... and keep the rest of the loot yourself.

But in the distance, you hear the sound of voices. It seems that other adventurers have found this room and are pillaging it too! You'd better hurry and stuff your pockets before those other adventurers pick the place clean.

Grid and list of goals

Volcano collection | Requests | Prompts | AFIRB search

Each square on the 10 x 10 grid hides a treasure. Squares have four tags each. Each tag on this board also appeared on a previous board. All 100 squares must be cleared to complete the board.

Team Volcano members (and only Team Volcano members) should post works to the Volcano collection. Each team member is capped at 10 works per board.

The first team to completely clear its board will win the 2024 Battleship Exchange!

You desperately throw together everything you can think of that a goblin might want: stories, songs, art, whatever comes to hand. At last the goblins are so laden down that they can't hold anything more. They dive into the lava, taking all the treasure—including the trolls' shiny rocks, and all the things you made as well.

"Little pests," the cave troll gripes. "This happens all the time. We really need to find or build a home where they can't get to us."

"Did you see all the stuff they stashed in here?" another troll says. "Like a rummage sale times a thousand."

"I did wonder why there were more things than just shiny rocks in there," you say, not wanting to admit that you were wondering whether the trolls themselves were thieves.

The troll nods wearily. "They're like squirrels. They pick up whatever they find that looks useful and then pick a hole to hide it in. They have caches all over the place." She scratches her head, dislodging some pebbles. "What if we could build a goblin-proof home?"

"We could at least dig up some dull rocks and put them over the top of the lava," a third troll suggests. "If we do that and block off the tunnels, they couldn't get to us so easily."

All the trolls seem to like this plan. "But we're no good at dull rocks," one says. "We only really understand shiny ones. Maybe our new friends here could help?"

Grid and list of goals

Volcano collection | Requests | Prompts | AFIRB search

( Board 2 rules )

The cave troll leads you to her home deep under the volcano. A member of your party casts a spell over you to protect you from the heat. Even with the aid of her magic, you're sweating uncomfortably by the time you reach an enormous pool of lava.

"That's where the lava goblins hid our pretty rocks," the troll says sadly. "They put the rocks in energy spheres that protect them from the lava, but also give us painful shocks when we try to get them out. Only non-trolls can touch them. That's why we need your help."

"Watch out," another troll says. "Some of those energy spheres are booby-trapped."

The lava itself is a little terrifying, though you trust your companion's spell to keep you safe. As for the traps, you're sure you can dodge them or disable them. Wiping your forehead, you begin planning your approach.

Grid and list of goals

Volcano collection | Requests | Prompts | AFIRB search

Thanks to karanguni for the Automagic App and notearchiver for the AFIRB search sheet!