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Darts is both a social contest played in homes and drinking establishments and a highly-competitive sport that has been around since the Middle Ages. Learning how to play darts can be fun and challenging.
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Playing Dart Tips
- Set up your dart board so it adheres to regulations.
- Determine the rules of the game before you start.
- Write down your score before removing the darts.
- On steel-tip dart boards the tip of the dart must touch the board.
- Legal throws on electronic dart boards are determined by the machine.
- Popular X01 games includes 301 and 501.
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Darts is both a social contest played in homes and drinking establishments and a highly-competitive sport that has been around since the Middle Ages. Learning how to play darts can be fun and challenging.
-
-
Playing Dart Tips
- Set up your dart board so it adheres to regulations.
- Determine the rules of the game before you start.
- Write down your score before removing the darts.
- On steel-tip dart boards the tip of the dart must touch the board.
- Legal throws on electronic dart boards are determined by the machine.
- Popular X01 games includes 301 and 501.
Introduction
- Darts is not one game, but rather a collection of games that are played using a dart board and darts. It began in English drinking establishments before moving into people's homes and hearts. Today, playing darts has become a great social activity as well as a highly competitive sport around the world.Patrick Chaplin - Darts Historian: A Brief History of Darts
Step 1: Setting Up the Dart Board
- If you recently purchased a dart board, then your first step is to set it up. The National Darts Federation of Canada's Official Rule Book is a good guide since their official throwing distance is standard for most countries.National Darts Federation of Canada: Official NDFC Rules of Play DartChucker.com: Dartboard Setup
- The distance from the center of the bull (bull's eye) to the floor should be 5 feet 8 inches (173 centimeters).National Darts Federation of Canada: Official NDFC Rules of Play The mount for the dart board is usually set at this point.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts
- The distance from the face of the dart board (not the wall) to the toeline (also known as the "oche") should be 7 feet 9-1/4 inches (237 centimeters).Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts National Darts Federation of Canada: Official NDFC Rules of Play This is known as the minimum throwing distance.
- The oche, or throwing line, should be 2 feet long (61 centimeters) and 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) high.DartChucker.com: Dartboard Setup
- A diagonal line from the center of the dart board to the back of the toe line (at floor level) should be 9 feet 7-1/2 inches (293 centimeters) long.National Darts Federation of Canada: Official NDFC Rules of Play
Step 2: General Rules
- Understanding the basic rules of darts is essential if you plan on playing in a local bar or similar establishment. Be prepared, however, that most places may vary things and have their own "house rules." So you may want to discuss what the rules are with your opponent before you begin playing. Here are some basic rules that most places will follow:
- Darts is played with two players or two teams, although some variations to this do exist.
- A player from each team will throw a dart to determine who goes first. The team whose dart lands closest to the bull's eye goes first.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts This is known as "diddling for the middle."Dart World: General Rules of Darts
- Each player is allowed to warm up with nine throws before a game.Darts and Dartboards: How to Play Darts - The Rules of the Game
- Each turn consists of throwing three darts.
- After the darts have been thrown, they are scored and removed from the board before the next player's turn.Dart World: General Rules of Darts
- Players must stand behind the toe line or oche when throwing. If a player's foot crosses the oche, the throw is disqualified.Darts and Dartboards: How to Play Darts - The Rules of the Game Under some rules, the entire turn may be disqualified if this happens.The Most Complete Collection of Dart Games on the Web: Dart Rules
- A player may lean over the oche as far as he or she wants.The Most Complete Collection of Dart Games on the Web: Dart Rules
Qualifying Throws
- With electronic dart boards, the machine determines the score.Crow's Darts: Scoring Rules So, a throw counts if the board registers it.Dart World: General Rules of Darts With steel tipped darts, the tip of the dart determines the score. This can cause some disagreement, so here are some general guidelines to follow:
- Thrown darts must stay on the board for at least five seconds to qualify.Darts and Dartboards: How to Play Darts - The Rules of the Game Darts that fall off or bounce off the board do not count.
- The point of a dart must touch the board.Dart World: General Rules of Darts However, a dart does not have to be "stuck" to the board to count providing the point is touching the board.Crow's Darts: Scoring Rules
- A dart that is stuck to another dart does not count.Darts and Dartboards: How to Play Darts - The Rules of the Game
- Any darts that miss the board or bounce to the floor are not counted and cannot be rethrown.Darts and Dartboards: How to Play Darts - The Rules of the Game If a player drops a dart before throwing it, the dart can be picked up and played.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts
- A dart that falls out of the dartboard before it is scored or removed by the player is not counted.Dart World: General Rules of Darts
- The wire determines the score. If a tip goes under the metal wire into another section, the score is determined by which side of the wire the dart is on, not where the point is sticking.Crow's Darts: Scoring Rules
Scoring
- Dart boards, although they might vary some in appearance, are lain out the same way. The board is divided into 20 separate wedges.
- Each wedge is divided into four segments, two narrow and two wide. The point value for the two wide segments of the wedge is determined by the number written along the edge of the board. Values range from 1 to 20.
- Each board is also divided by seven concentric rings. The outer most ring is where the point value for each wedge is listed. This is not part of the playing area of the dart board.
- The center of the board consists of two small rings or circles, one inside the other. This is known as the bull's eye. The outer circle, or outer bull, is worth 25 points. The inner circle, or inner bull, is worth 50 points.Billiard Room Games.com: How to Play Darts - Rules of Darts
- The two wide rings between the bulls'eye and outer ring are single segments.Billiard Room Games.com: How to Play Darts - Rules of Darts The value is determined by the number written next to the wedge.
- The second ring is narrow and considered the double points ring.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts This area doubles the value of the wedge.Billiard Room Games.com: How to Play Darts - Rules of Darts For example, if the value of the wedge is 5 points, this segment is worth 10 points.
- The fourth ring, which is narrow like the double segment, is the triple points ring.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts The value of the wedge is tripled in that section. For example, if the value of the wedge is 5 points, this segment is worth 15 points.
- YouTube: How to Play Darts : What the Rings Mean on a Darts Scoreboard (Time: 1:35)
Step 3: How to Play X01 Games
- The X01 games (pronounced "oh one") is the most popular variety of dart game. It is referred to as "01" because, although the basic rules stay the same, the starting points can vary.Dartchucker.com: Dart Game Rules The two most commonly played are 301 and 501, although other versions such as 701 and 1001 also exist. This is very popular as a league game.Dart World: 301 / 501 Rules
- Each team or player starts with the same amount of points. For example, if playing 301, each team starts with 301 points.
- The first player or team starts by throwing three darts.Dartchucker.com: Dart Game Rules
- Turns continue until one side reduces their score to exactly zero.Dartchucker.com: Dart Game Rules
- If the total score of a turn exceeds the team's remaining score, it is considered a "bust." The team's score returns to where it was before.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts For example, if a team needed 32 points to win but scored 40 points during their turn, their score remains at 32 points and their turn is over.
- If no player has reached 0 after 20 turns, the person or team with the lowest score wins.Fly or Die: Darts - 501 Rules
- Scoring is done by writing the number of points scored on the outside of the score sheet and the remaining total on the inside.Dart World: 301 / 501 Rules
Variations
- Double In: Before you can start subtracting points, you must score a dart in a double score segment. Also known as a "double start."Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette - x01
- Straight In: A game that does not start with a double in. Also known as a "straight start."Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette - x01
- Double Out: A game that requires a player to reach exactly 0 by landing his or her dart in a double points segment.Billiard Room Games.com: How to Play Darts - Rules of Darts For example, if a player had a score of 4, his dart must land on the double segment of the 2 point wedge to win the game. Also known as "double finish."Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette - x01 If playing this game, reaching a score of 1 point at the end of a turn is also considered a bust since doubling out on the next turn is not possible.Dart World: 301 / 501 Rules
- Masters Out: Players must reach zero by hitting either a double or triple point segment.Billiard Room Games.com: How to Play Darts - Rules of Darts
- Straight Out: An extremely rare version of 01 games where players are not required to hit a double segment to finish. Also known as "straight finish."Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette - x01
- Doubling In and Out: A game that requires players to both double in and double out.Billiard Room Games.com: How to Play Darts - Rules of Darts
- Shanghai Rules: A team automatically wins if a player scores a single, double and triple of the same number in one turn.Crow's Darts: '01 Game Rules
- YouTube: How to Play Darts : How to Win the Dart Game 301.501 (Time: 0:38)
Step 4: How to Play Cricket
- Another popular dart game is Cricket. Cricket is more a game of strategy and less a game of skill.Darts and Dartboards: How to Play Darts - The Rules of the Game The goal of the game is to be the first team or player to hit each number (15 through 20) and the bull's eye three times and have the most points.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts
- The first player throws three darts at the dart board.
- Darts are only counted if they land on wedges numbered 15 through 20 or the bull's eye.
- To keep score, the numbers 15 through 20 are written down along with B for bull's eye. If a player hits a number, a slash goes next to it. This is followed by another slash for a second hit on the number to make an X. When a player lands a dart a third time, the X or slash is circled.Crow's Darts: Cricket Rules
- Darts that land in the double points segment are counted twice.
- Darts that land in the triple points segment are counted three times.Dartchucker.com: Dart Game Rules
- In other words, a person can close off a number by hitting the triple points segment.
- Once a number has been hit three times by a player it is considered "closed."Dartchucker.com: Dart Game Rules
- Hits do not need to be made on the same turn.
- Once a player or team has closed a number, they will score points any time their dart lands on it as long as their opponent still has it open.Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette - Cricket For example, if one team lands on triple 20, and then double 20. They would get 40 points.
- No points are gained from a number once it has been closed by both teams.Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette - Cricket
- Game ends when one player has closed out all the numbers and the bull's eye or at the end of 20 turns.Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts Fly or Die: Darts - Cricket Rules
- Person with the highest score wins.Dartchucker.com: Dart Game Rules
- Variations of this game include Gentleman's Cricket, Marty Mouse and Cut-Throat.Crow's Darts: Cricket Rules
- YouTube: How to Play Darts : Strategies for the Dart Game Cricket (Time: 1:55)
Additional Resources
- Once you've mastered the basics, you will probably want to learn more about playing darts. Here are some additional resources you may want to check out.
Other Dart Games
- If you are interested in learning some of the other dart games, check out:
- Dart World: Cribbage Rules | Domino Games
- Crow's Darts: Multi-Player Dart Games | Rotation Type Dart Games
- Dick's Sporting Goods: How To Play Darts (Round the Clock and Assassin)
- Darts501.com: Dart Board Games
Dart Etiquette
- Like any game, there are some rules of etiquette when playing the game with others. Find out some pointers by checking out the following sites:
- Pacific Darts: Game Rules & Etiquette
- Billiard Room Games.com: Dart Rules - Etiquette Of Darts
- Torontodarts.com: Dart Etiquette: What Every New Player Needs to Know About Playing League Darts!
- YouTube: How to Play Darts : Etiquette for Playing Darts (Time: 1:26) | Part 2 (Time: 0:55)
Dart Terminology
- If you are going to walk the walk, you might as well talk the talk (as the saying goes). Learn some of the various terms used when playing golf at any of the following sites:
- National Dart Association: Glossary
- Darts and Dartboards: Dart Terms
- Crow's Darts: Dart Terms/Definitions
- Windy City Darters: Dart Terms
- AlaskaDarts.com: Glossary: Dart Terms
Tournament Rules
- If you are interested in participating in a darts tournament, you might want to check out some of the rules. Of course, rules can vary.
- National Dart Association: Tournament Rules
- National Darts Federation of Canada: Official NDFC Rules of Play
- American Darts Organization: Tournament Rules
- Pacific Darts Association: Official Rules
- Windy City Darters: Rules of Play
Conclusion
- Now that you have learned some of the basic rules, you may want to improve your game by checking out Mahalo's page on How to Throw Darts. You might also be interested in learning some of the other games featured on Mahalo such as pool, poker and Texas hold em'.
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