Dart games

Learn how to play darts. The most popular of many dart games are listed below. 301 - 501 - Cricket / Killer

Rules that apply to all of these games:

1. Each player takes a turn in rotation, throwing 3 darts.

2. Each player throws one dart at the bullseye to decide who will start; the one closest begins the game (if you prefer, a coin toss may be used.)

3. Each dart thrown counts against the three in the player's turn. But any dart that misses, bounces off or falls from the board, earns no score. If a dart sticks in another dart, it counts as a throw but gets no score.

The score earned by any dart that sticks in the target is based on the point of entry within the wire divisions and not the colour.

ROUND THE WORLD

Round the world or round the clock is a fun game for all skill levels. The game uses all the numbers on the board, which makes it especially good for beginners. A player must hit the numbers 1-20, in sequence before your opponent. Hitting double and triples counts but just a single score. A perfect turn would advance you three numbers.

Variations: Plus Bull's-eye - Either make the bull's-eye the first thing you need to hit or the last. If playing with the bull's-eye in the beginning, the first person to hit the bull's-eye has a chance to get a serious head start. If playing with bull's-eye at the end, you give the person trailing a better chance to catch up. Doubles & Trebles - Hit a double jump ahead one number, hit a triple score area jump ahead two numbers.

301

A player must hit a "double" before any score is counted. See diagram 2 indicating the wires on the outer rim of the board. When a double is thrown, that dart will count, as will any following it. A player's score is determined by subtracting from 301 the count of each dart. As shown on the diagram, the outer counts double; the smaller inner ring counts triple the designated score.

To win, a player must reduce his score to exactly zero, and the last dart must be a double. For example, if you need 41 to finish you could do it with a single 9 and a double 16. When a player scores more than the exact score needed, his turn of three darts does not count; his score remains ~ as it was before that turn. That means if 20 is required and the player scores 21, his score remains at 20. Also note that if the player hits a single 20, that turn does not count; his score remains at 20. And if 19 is hit, the throw does not count because you cannot go out on a single 1.

501

Except that the "double" is not required to begin scoring, "501" is played the same as "301". Scores are subtracted from a starting point of 501, and the rules to finish on a double are the same as 301. For team play, the score may be increased to 601 or higher, depending on the number of players. 501 is the game used for most tournament or championship matches.

Suggested dart finishes for 301 & 501:

Cricket / Killer

The only numbers played in Cricket are 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and the bull. 1. The object is to 'close out' each number by scoring three 'marks' in each. For each number, it can be one triple, a double plus a single, or three singles. Since, there is no triple for the bull, you close it out with either one double and one single bull, or three bulls. 2. After a number is 'closed', additional points may be scored only if the other player has not yet scored three hits and closed it. 3. Your opponent cannot earn points on any number you have closed, but can prevent you from scoring more points when he scores three hits to close it. 4. To win, you must close all of the numbers and have higher points than your opponent.