Dart games

Cricket

The game of Cricket in the USA is probably the most popular of the dart games. Called tactics in the UK, the playing principles are simple enough, although if you have an electronic board they are even simpler.

Basically you use the numbers 20 through 15 and the bull to play with. To start scoring you have to hit any of the numbers 20 through 15 or the bull 3 times and if you are scoring on paper or chalking on a chalkboard to score, you mark that number with a O against your name meaning that number is open for you to score on. For the bull, the centre bull is counted as a double and the outer bull is a single.

You can achieve the 3 hits by scoring 1 treble, 1 double and 1 single or just 3 singles. After that every time you hit the number with the O next to it you score that many points eg if you throw a treble you score 3 times the number, a double 2 x the number and a single you score 1 x the number. You can score on that number until your opponent also hits that number 3 times in which case the number is marked with an X meaning that number is now closed for scoring and will play no further part in the game. The winner is the first player to have all the numbers 20 through 15 and the bull open, marked with an O, or closed, marked with an X against their name AND have more points than their opponent.

So you could have a situation where all the numbers and the bull have a O or an X against your name but you have scored less than your opponent, in that case you must carry on playing until you have scored more than your opponent in which case you win or your opponent closes down all the numbers before you can score more points than them in which case they win.

Lets look at a scorecard to try and clarify the rules

Fred and Sue are playing and they have reached the following position

Fred				Sue
60	O	20	2
	1	19	O	38
		18	2
	O	17	1
		16	O	16
45	X	15	X
	1	Bull	O	25
105				79

So in the above game, Fred is winning with a score of 105, but Sue has more numbers open for her to score on and the number 15 was just closed by Sue stopping Fred from scoring any more on the number 15. Also Fred has hit the 19 and Bull once and the 16 twice. So he needs to hit the 19 twice more to stop Sue scoring any more on the 19 and the 16 once more to stop Sue scoring any more on 16 and the bull twice more to stop her scoring on the bull.

This is where the game gets interesting, Fred needs to close down the numbers that Sue can score on and Sue needs to score more points.

So the game has strategy as well as just scoring points. You have to balance your scoring with stopping your opponent from scoring, which is why the game is so compelling and such a great favorite.

Round the Clock

This game is easy peasy, you simply race your opponent around the board and the winner is the first one to hit every number in turn on the dart board.

So starting with the number 1 you have to hit every number on the dart board IN ORDER until you hit the number 20. Great practice for beginners, if you are a good darter you can play that you have to hit every double of the number in order or even every treble of the number if you are very very good. A quick and easy practice game. Obviously the first player to get to the 20 is the winner.

501

501 is the game of the professionals and there is a very large amount of money to play for if you are any good. The top game in darts it is very straightforward to play. You have a total of 501 to start with and your score is taken away from the total until you reach 0 To finish the game however your last dart needs to be a double. This is referred to as a double out, which means that you must hit a double that makes your score exactly zero to win the game. So you can only go "out" by hitting the double ring on the board, so your final dart can not be more than 40 in value (double 20)

Shanghai

This is a really easy game to play, starting with the number 1 each player throws 3 darts at that number and his or her scores are totalled up. You then move on to the number 2 and again each player throws 3 darts at the number 2 and again the scores of each player is added the total for the number 1 round. This continues until you reach the number 20 and whoever has the highest score wins. Remember only the number that you are throwing at counts for scoring.

The fun part about this game is that you can "Shanghai" your opponent by scoring a double, a treble and a single of the number you are throwing for and you win the game immediately regardless of any score.

Baseball

This game involves marking the numbers 1 - 9 on the chalkboard with the names of the players marked across the top. Each player then throws 3 darts at each number in turn and scores "runs" . Runs are 2 for a double 3 for a treble and 1 for a single number. Note even if you are throwing at the number 7, you only score 1 run for a single 7 NOT 7. You throw 3 darts at each number in turn and the player with the highest number of runs after throwing at the number 9 is the winner. In the case of a tie, the bull is used as a decider ie each player throws 3 darts at the bull (one innings) until there is a winner.