MURRIETA -- When Steven Nichols hangs out with his family, it's mom, dad and his two sisters. But on Friday night, Steven had his dad all to himself -- and he loved it.

"This is kind of special," he said. "It's just me and him."

The Nicholses were among about 100 father-son duos who came out for Battleship Blast, an event designed to help dads bond with their sons and vice versa.

Put on by the local chapter of the nonprofit organization All Pro Dad in conjunction with Lambs Fellowship Church in Murrieta, the event gave dads and their sons a little alone time to have some fun together, said organizer Bob Gedeon.

"Most of the time, if a dad wants to do something with his son, maybe they'll go to a movie theater," said Gedeon, team captain of the local chapter of All Pro Dad. "I try to do things outside the box. This is a priceless memory that dads and boys will always remember."

The event, held at the church, began with pasta and salad. Then it was on to Battleship, the popular Hasbro game. Fathers and sons teamed up to take on other father-son pairs, resulting in plenty of laughter and smiles.

"The whole idea behind it all is the dads can have fun, the boys can have fun, and if their relationship is strained, we hope it can solve that problem," Gedeon said.

It wouldn't be the first time a local All Pro Dad event helped a relationship, he said.

In February, the group put on a father-daughter Bunko Valentine's Day event, and he said he received an e-mail from one of the girls who took part stating that it was the best night of her life and helped rebuild her relationship with her father.

"Girls want dads," he said. "If they don't have that male role model, they are going to find it in a boy. For a son, every boy wants to have a dad to hang with, to do things with."

Growing up, Gedeon said, his father wasn't a big part of his life.

"I never saw him," he said. "It was tough."

His childhood, coupled with "threats of violence and racial undertones at Murrieta and Temecula high schools," prompted him to found the local All Pro Dad chapter in 2006, he said.

All Pro Dad is a national nonprofit program designed to help men become better fathers, according to its Web site, www.AllProDad.com. The group has 54 NFL spokesmen, multiple events with NFL teams, 1,000 All Pro Dad's Day chapters, and Play of the Day e-mails that reach 40,000 fathers each day, the Web site states.

Gedeon said many sons encouraged their dads to sign up for the game night, and many wives did, too. One mother even called and asked if Gedeon could find a "dad for the night" for her two sons who did not have a father in their lives, he said. He did, he added.

"For a mother to call today and say can someone play with my two sons is an indication of the hunger to have that role model in that home," he said.

Eleven-year-old Nick Smith said he was really happy he and his dad came to the Battleship Blast.

"This is the first time we have ever found an event like this," Nick said.

Josh Geddes, 11, said he hangs out with his dad "once in a while." His father, Joe Geddes, said it's more often than that, but added it was great to have another night of fun together along with his 13-year-old son, Joey.

"It's a night out with the boys," Joe Geddes said. "We came here, and my wife and daughter went to the mall. The men came to play war."

The theme of the night was military, with MREs, or ready-to-eat rations, peppering the game tables. Some local Navy SEALs came with their sons, and the guest speaker was Pat Irwin, who retired as a master sergeant after 21 years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Irwin's keynote address focused on the similarities between being a Christian and being a soldier.

"You have to fight the way you train," he said in his speech. "Those who train hard, fight hard. Christians have enemies. We are to fight the flesh, the world and the devil. We have the best training manual in the world (the Bible)."

After the speech, the game playing resumed. As Phil Brehe watched his 12-year-old son, Kevin, excitedly sink one of his opponent's ships, he smiled.

"It's time to spend with my son -- good, clean fun," he said.

Greg Hosburg said bringing his two sons, ages 10 and 12, to the event allowed him to be a strong role model.

"There are so many dads these days who don't spend time with their sons and teach them how to be men," Hosburg said, adding that groups such as All Pro Dad create venues to help change that. "I'm hoping dads go out, and talk to their neighbors and friends, and maybe once they hear about it, word will spread."