The gameplay of Battle Stations is in both a strategic map and a tactical fighting game arena, referred to as tactical combat.
Arcade[edit]
Arcade mode is available against both the AI and other players. It abandons the strategic map section of the game entirely and focuses instead on the tactical ship-to-ship combat.
In Arcade mode, both players will be at the ship select screen and simultaneously select which of the eight ships to bring into battle. After the battle, the winner is awarded a certain number of points depending on their own ship and the ship they have sunk. A battleship winning against a troop transport offers minimal points to the battleship player, but if the troop transport somehow manages to defeat the battleship, the troop transport player gains a huge points bounty.
When playing against the AI, the AI always selects its ship first. When playing against a human player, both players select their ships at the same time. It can thus be a strategic play to deny your opponent points by selecting the troop transport (the weakest ship) when your opponent picks a strong ship and then losing the subsequent battle.
The winner of arcade mode is the player who reaches 300 points first. In the event of a simultaneous kill, both players receive points.
Point rewards are broken down as follows:
| Player ship | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Carrier | Battleship | Cruiser | Destroyer | Patrol Boat | Minelayer | Submarine | Troop Transport | |
| Aircraft Carrier | 15 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 16 | 26 | 12 | 27 |
| Battleship | 20 | 15 | 18 | 24 | 22 | 27 | 19 | 29 |
| Cruiser | 16 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 12 | 27 |
| Destroyer | 12 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 23 | 18 | 26 |
| Patrol Boat | 14 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 21 | 19 | 26 |
| Minelayer | 4 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 21 |
| Submarine | 18 | 11 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 15 | 27 |
| Troop Transport | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 3 | 15 |
As players reach certain point thresholds, their rank increases. The victor is the player who reaches 300 points first.
Arcade mode can be quit on the ship select screen by either player pressing 
or 
and confirming with 
or 
.
Campaign[edit]
The single player campaign does not follow a story per-se, but instead provides a strategic map and context as to why you are fighting the opponents you are. It can involve destroying an enemy shore structure to attacking an enemy convoy.
For further details, see the Walkthrough page.
War Games[edit]
When facing off against another human player, War Games replace the campaign. There are 27 possible maps, but only three different objectives:
- War: Destroy your opponent's fleet to the last ship.
- Capture the Flag: The first ship you deploy is your flag ship. Sink your opponent's flag ship, then get the flag back to your harbour to win.
- Capture the Harbour: Both players have a harbour that must be protected. The first player to destroy their opponent's harbour using a troop transport wins.
Each player may create their own custom fleet (for a total of 16 ships of any combination) , or use one of several premade fleets:
| Name | AC | BB | CR | DD | PT | ML | SB | TT | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Pacific | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Best overall fleet composition; good for general purpose battles. |
| Jutland | 0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Numerous Battleships and Cruisers; best in heavy-weight battles. |
| Wolfpack | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | Loaded with Submarines; excellent for stealth fights. |
| Capital | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Multiple Battleships; great for big-gun fun. |
| Fast | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Packed with destroyers; great in quick and furious battles. |
| McHale | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Mostly Patrol Boats; perfect for numerous fly-weight battles. |
| Midway | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | A fair amount of Aircraft Carriers and escorts; good when faced with a battle for air superiority. |
| Convoy | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Multiple Troop Transports; best for land based attacks. |
| Argentina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | N/A |
| China | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Cuba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | N/A |
| France | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | N/A |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | N/A |
| Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | N/A |
| Iran | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | N/A |
| Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | N/A |
| Italy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| North Korea | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A |
| South Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Libya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | N/A |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A |
| Norway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | N/A |
| Russia | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | N/A |
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | N/A |
| Taiwan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | N/A |
| Turkey | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | N/A |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | N/A |
| USA | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | N/A |