Spreading Out Your Fleet
Level: Basic
Keep ships apart so a single track can't catch multiple ships at once.
Bunching your ships together means that once your opponent finds one in that area, neighboring ships can be exposed in a chain reaction. Spreading ships evenly across the grid is safer.
In particular, placing two ships end to end in a straight line lets your opponent's directional tracking carry straight from one ship into the next.
That said, spreading them in a perfectly regular pattern becomes a pattern in itself. Vary the direction and spacing each game to stay unpredictable.
Related Tactics
Basic
Basic Placement Principles
Mix edges, center, and orientation to create placements that can't be read.
AdvancedAvoiding Predictable Placements
Drop unconscious human habits and use a different arrangement every time.