How to Score on a Dart Board
Darts is becoming an increasingly more accessible game. Whether on a dart board at home or a dart machine in your local bar, it is easy to get started. This doesn't mean it is an easy game to master. Professional darts players are some of the finest athletes known to indoor sports and getting to the level of international competition takes dedication, as well as talent. If you think you might want to join these pros one day, you will need to start with the rules for playing darts.
oneHOWTO explains how to score on a dart board. Scoring the most points is the ultimate goal, but if you look at the dart board itself, how you score can be a little confusing. We explain everything so you can start playing darts immediately.
What is the game of darts?
Also known as dart-throwing, darts is a competitive indoor sport which requires the throwing of small projectiles at a round board. Known as darts, these projectiles can land on different parts of the board to score different points. The main objective of the game is to be the first to reach a certain score in the fewest possible rounds.
There are currently various international organizations that consider darts to be a sport. Others, such as the International Olympic Committee, have not yet recognized it as such. For this reason, it is still considered to be an activity or game by many people. Say that to the thousands of professional and semi-professional darts players in the world and you're likely to have a severe disagreement on your hands.
What do you need to play darts
To play a traditional game of darts, you need the basic equipment. This is a minimum of three darts and a dartboard. Several players can take part at a time and it is usual that each player will have their own set of three throwing darts. The weight of each dart should be between 50 and 55 grams. As for the dartboard, it is divided into 20 sections with two center circles known collectively as the bullseye.
Each section of the board is worth the value of the number indicated above it. The bullseye is divided into an inner and an outer ring which get you 50 or 25 points, respectively. There are also two concentric circular strips at the far end of the points sections and midway between this and the bullseye. If you land on the outer strip, the section points are tripled. If you land on the inner strip your points are tripled.
While there is a regulation dart board, there are different options available. Some are smaller and designed for kids to learn, often with not very sharp darts. Others are electronic and can tally scores automatically.
How to score in darts
Each section of a professional dartboard has a different score and is numbered from 1 to 20. In addition, there are two central bullseye rings which can have more points. Since the outer edge doubles the value of the segment and the inner circle triples it, these can provide even more points than the bullseye if the section has enough points.
As stated above, the centre of the bullseye is worth 50 points and the area surrounding it is worth 25. In the professional category, darts championships are held in the so-called 501 format. This is a type of gameplay in which each player starts with a total of 501 points and must subtract them according to the score obtained with the throws at the bullseye.
The first player to reach 0 points is the winner of the game. There is one essential condition. To win the game, it must be closed with a double. If a player is 40 points away from the end of the game, they must score a double 20 to win. This is the well-known Double-Out rule, which is applied in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments.
There are versions of the game of darts that require you to start a game by scoring a double. This is called the Double-In rule, which means that darts thrown before a double is scored do not count. When a player hits a dart on the outside edge of the dartboard, their game begins. The Double-In variant is not used in the World Darts Championship, but it is used in other major tournaments such as the World Grand Prix.
How to play darts
There are different variations of darts gameplay. The basic or main game of this sporting discipline begins with each participant having a test throw to see who goes first. The first to start the game will be the player who manages to get closest to the center of the bullseye.
In each turn, three darts are thrown. At the end of these throws, the points obtained are accumulated based on where the darts are stuck in the board. A throw is considered a null throw when a dart falls out of the target before 5 seconds have passed.
The distance from which the darts are thrown is 7.7 ft (2.37 meters). The most basic or traditional game consists of being the first player to achieve a certain number of points to win the game.
Other aspects to consider when playing darts are as follows:
- Darts that bounce off the target and do not stick will not be counted. You cannot re-roll if the dart bounces off and does not stick in the target.
- Thanks to the existence of electronic and automated dartboards, you can now count points automatically. When you throw and land a dart, you will see that the number of points you have added up after each throw and each round appears on the panel.
Now that you know the scoring and how to play darts, you may also be interested in these articles on other sports such as the rules of jai alai and why chess is considered a sport.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Score on a Dart Board, we recommend you visit our Sports category.
