Understanding Darts

General
History
Dartboards
Playing darts
General
Darts refers to a variety of related sports, in which darts are thrown at a circular target (dartboard) hung on a wall. Though various different boards and games have been used in the past, the term 'darts' usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules.
As well as being a professional competitive activity, darts is a traditional pub game.
Back to Top The dartboard may have its origins in the cross section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is a 'butt', and from this, folk etymology infers that the bottoms of wine barrels were the original dartboards; this word in fact comes, via archery, from the French word butte, meaning target. Various designs of dartboard have been used, and regional variations remain.
There is speculation that the game originated among soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of the cask or at the bottom of trunks of trees. As the wood dried, cracks would develop, creating "sections". Soon, regional standards emerged and many woodworkers supplemented bar tabs by fabricating dart boards for the local pubs.
The numbering plan generally in use today has a 20 on top; however, a great many other configurations have been used throughout the years and in different geographical locations. By most accounts, the numbering layout was devised by Brian Gamlin in 1896 to penalise inaccuracy. Although this applies to most of the board, the left-hand side (near the 14 section) is preferred by beginners, for its concentration of larger numbers. Mathematically, removing the rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19!, or 121,645,100,408,832,000 possible dartboards. Many different layouts would penalise a player more than the current setup; however, the current setup actually does the job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard.
Dartboards
Modern day bristle dartboards were first produced in 1932, replacing the plasticine dartboards which had a strong chemical odor. Modern dartboards are made of sisal fibers; low quality boards are sometimes made of coiled paper. However, there are several types of sisal fibre that are used in dartboards today.
A regulation board is 45.08 cm in diameter and is divided into 20 sections. Each section is separated with metal wire or a thin band of sheet metal. The best dartboards in the world have the thinnest wire separating sections so that the darts have less chance of hitting these wires and bouncing out. The numbers indicating the various scoring sections of the board are normally made of wire, especially on tournament-quality boards, but may be printed directly on the board instead.

Height and distance
In the standard game, the dartboard is hung so that the bullseye is 1.727m from the floor: eye-level for a six foot person. The oche - the line behind which the throwing player must stand - is generally 2.369m from the face of the dartboard measured horizontally. This is the recognised world standard as set by the World Darts Federation and is played as such in most areas. Owing to measurement error, this may be incorrect in some places.
London 5 board or narrow 5's board set up is slightly different from the standard board. The height is set at 1.70m to the centre of the bull and the oche is at 2.74m from the face of the board.
Scoring
The standard dartboard is divided into 20 numbered sections, scoring from 1 to 20 points, by wires running from the small central circle to the outer circular wire. Circular wires within the outer wire subdivide each section into single, double and triple areas.
Various games can be played (and still are played informally) using the standard dartboard. However, in the official game, any dart landing inside the outer wire scores as follows:
•    Hitting one of the large portions of each of the numbered sections, traditionally alternately coloured black and white, scores the points value of that section.
•    Hitting the thin outer portions of these sections, coloured red and green, scores double the points value of that section.
•    Hitting the thin inner portions of these sections, roughly halfway between the outer wire and the central circle and again coloured red or green, scores triple the points value of that section.
•    The central circle is divided into a green outer ring worth 25 points (known as "outer", "outer bull", or "iris") and a red inner circle (usually known as "bull", "inner bull" or "double bull"), worth 50 points. The term "bullseye" can mean either the whole central part of the board or just the inner red section. The term "bull's ring" usually means just the green outer ring.
•    Hitting outside the outer wire scores nothing.
•    Any dart that does not remain in the board after throwing (for example, a dart that hits a wire and bounces out of the board or drops out with the impact of a later throw) also scores nothing. Variations on this rule exist - some judge that a dart which obviously hits a scoring section but then subsequently drops out will count if caught before it hits the floor or if it rebounds behind the throwing line before touching the ground it may be thrown again. In professional rules, a dart's tip must be touching a scoring section for the dart to count. Despite some house rules, hitting the inside of a wire number around the edge of the board does not score any points.
The highest score possible with 3 darts is 180, commonly known as a "ton 80" (100 points is called a ton), obtained when all three darts land in the triple 20. In the televised game, the referee frequently announces a score of 180 in exuberant style.
Playing darts
The sport of darts is usually contested between two players who take turns in throwing up to 3 darts. Starting from a set score, usually 501 or 301, a player wins by reducing his score to 0. The last dart in the leg must hit either a double or the inner portion of the bullseye, which is the double of the outer bull, and must reduce the score to exactly 0. Successfully doing so is known as "doubling out" or "checking out".
A throw that would reduce a player's score to less than zero does not count, his turn ends, and his score is reset to what it was before that turn.
Since the double areas are small, doubling out is usually the most difficult and tense part of a leg. Longer matches are often divided into sets, each comprising some number of legs.
Although playing straight down from 501 is standard in darts, other variations exist, notably "doubling in", where players must hit a double to begin scoring, with all darts thrown before said double contributing nothing to their score.
Other games that are commonly played differ in their scoring methods. These include "Round the Clock", "Jumpers", "Killer" and the more complicated "Cricket" and "Tactics".
In "Round the Clock", players must hit each numbered section in turn, finishing with a bull to win. Far from being a beginner's game, Round The Clock is a good training game since it practises targeting all areas of the board, a skill which is essential when finishing a classic leg.
In Killer, a number of players "own" a number on the dartboard (often selected by throwing a dart with their non-playing arm) and compete to build up "lives" (by hitting that number) until a threshold is reached (usually 4 or 6) before attempting to "kill" other players by removing the lives they have built up (by hitting those other players' number) until a single player is left.
Other darts games and variants
There are a number of regional variations on the standard rules and scoring systems. Round the Clock is a variation that involves hitting the numbers in sequence. Jumpers is a variation played in Asia.

Fives
A regional variant still played in some parts of the East End of London. The board has fewer, larger segments, all numbered either 5, 10, 15 or 20. Players play down from 505 rather than 501, and stand further away from the board.

American darts
American Darts uses a board made of basswood, using the end grain. Embedded in the board are thin steel wires that separate the board into scoring sections. Since the dividers on a American board are much thinner, and they are completely pressed into the surface, it is extremely unlikely that the dart will bounce off from hitting the steel.
The centre bullseye on an American board is one section; there is no "inner" and "outer" bullseye. The triple ring is not halfway between the outer edge and the bullseye; rather triple is itself on the outer edge, and the double ring is directly adjacent to it, just inside the triple ring. The remainder of the board is the single scoring area. The bullseye is coloured red, the single area is uncoloured, the double ring is red, and the outermost triple ring is uncoloured. The entire scoring area is bounded by a large out-of-bounds blue ring.
The centre of the cork is 5' 3" from the floor. The distance between the dartboard and the throwing line is 7' 3". On the other hand, the ABDA (American Baseball Darts Association) sets the distance at 7' 3" from the front of the board. This is 107.4" from the centre of the cork to the throw line.
The standard game is Baseball (also known as "1 to 9"). Players take turns shooting three darts at each inning. They begin with inning number one and continue in order until they have shot nine innings. Darts landing in the thin uncoloured outermost ring are worth 3 points. The red ring is worth 2 points, and the inside area is worth 1 point. Darts landing in the bullseye are worth zero. Also, any dart landing outside the triple ring do not score (the large blue ring beyond the treble ring is merely the out-of-boards marker, and is not a scoring area).
If the game is tied at the end of nine innings, extra innings are shot to determine the winner, starting with inning ten.
The thin wires separating the scoring sections on the board occasionally overlap slightly, due to the manufacturing process. Any dart splitting the wires (landing in the tiny area where two wires overlap) is credited in the shooter's favour. For example, if the dart splits the wires separating the two and three point zones, the player is awarded three points. If the dart splits the wires separating the three point zone and the blue ring, the player is credited with three points.
Strikeout is a common game played in the region, but can be played just as easily on a traditional board as on an American Style board. The game is for individual players or teams. To start, each team throws one dart at the cork (or bullseye). Whichever team is closest to the centre shoots first, the next closest team will shoot second, etc.
The first player shoots three darts, scoring the in standard "traditional" manner. Thus, a triple 20 is worth sixty points, a double 9 is worth eighteen points, a single 11 is worth eleven points, and so on. The center cork is worth 100 points. Players attempt to accumulate as many points as possible with their three darts. If playing as a team, the teammates shoot in sequence, with their individual scores added together to get their team score.
The key rule of Strikeout is that the first dart to land in the 20-number scoring area sets that shooter's "number" for the remainder of the inning. Once that number is set, that number is the only number that can be scored for the remainder of the inning (with the exception of the center cork, which is always in play, regardless of the set "number"); the other nineteen numbers on the board are worth zero points for the remainder of the shooter's inning. So if a player throws his or her first dart at 20, in order to score the maximum possible points, but he or she misses and it lands in the 1 area, that player has established 1 as their number for darts #2 and #3. Thus, even if the last two darts were to land in 20, they would be scored as zero. Once a player establishes a poor number, the best strategy for the remainder of the inning is to just shoot at the 100-point cork, since even three darts in triple 1 would score only nine points. If the first dart does not land in one of the 20 scoring numbers, the "number" is not yet established for that inning, and the shooter is still free to score in any of the 20 numbers on the second dart.
Since the first dart sets the number, players will sometimes shun shooting at the 20, since a small miss will result in either a 1 or a 5 being set as the number. Often two adjacent numbers with solid values, such as 11/14 and 10/15 are chosen by lower-skilled players, since a small miss there does not result is such a large penalty.
The maximum score in an inning is 300 points (3 corks). The maximum score for a team (two players) is 600 points. Corks and scoring numbers can be combined; for instance, if a player shoots a double 20, a cork, and a single 20, that player would score 160 points (40 + 100 + 20). If a player shoots a single 20, a double 5, and a single 20, that player would score 40 points (20 + 0 + 20), since the dart in the 5 would not count (20 having been established as the "number" for that inning).
The name Strikeout comes from the method of eliminating players/teams. Once a player/team has finished shooting, their score is the target for the next team. The next team must beat the score established by the previous team (ties count as failing to beat the score). So if the first team scores 180 points, the next team must score at least 181 points. If they do not, they are given a strike, as in baseball. Once a team accumulates three strikes, they are eliminated from the game. The last team remaining is the winner.

Darts cricket
Cricket is typically played between 2, 3 or 4 players, or teams of players, although the rules do not discount more players. The goal of cricket is to be the first player to close all the cricket numbers and have a higher or even point total.
Cricket uses the numbers 15 through 20 and the bull's-eye. To close a number, it must have been scored 3 times in any fashion, on one or more turns. Hitting the triple will close a number in one throw; a single and the double will close it in two throws or three singles will close it in three throws. Numbers do not have to be closed in any particular order and several numbers can be hit in the same turn. A scoreboard is used to keep track of the hits on all the numbers. Hitting a number once is shown by placing a slash (/) beside the number, second hit by turning the slash to an X, and the third by a circle (O) around the X.
The object is for a player to hit each number and the bullseye three times. Doubles count as two hits and triples as three. The first player to hit a number three times owns that number and it is said to be opened. Further hits on the opened number score that number of points until his opponent also hits that number three times and closes it, then that number is removed from play. The double ring scores double the number's value and the treble (inner) ring scores triple the number's value. The outer bullseye ring is worth 25 points and the inner circle (or double bull) is worth 50. Once a player has opened or closed all the required numbers and bull and has equal or more points than his opponent that player wins. Alternatively, cutthroat-style scoring can be used, in which case points are undesirable; hitting a number that is already closed results in points being given to any other players who do not have that number closed.
To start the game, each player or one player from each team throws one dart. The player whose dart lands closest to the center goes first. Generally, if both players darts are in the same section of the bullseye or in the event of a tie, each player throws another dart until there is an obvious winner. During a player's turn, the player throws three darts. After the last dart, the player's score is totaled. Any number that has not been scored three times is considered to be open.

Dartball
Dartball is a game in which darts are thrown at a large wooden or homasote board that resembles a baseball field with colored areas which denote bases. Dartball uses baseball-like rules and scoring.
Generally teams comprise either seven or nine players plus possible alternates. Dartball is a very competitive game in which both teams will do just about anything to get inside the head of the current batter. In each match played there are three individual nine-inning games, with the exception of tie games in which extra inning games will be played. In some leagues, in order for a team to record a win, they must win at least two out of the three individual games. In other leagues, each win or loss in an evening's match is counted in the team's season standings.
The darts used for dartball are different from the typical pub game darts, and are made of wood with real feathers and metal tips.
Most boards consist of a four-base diamond: first, second, third, and home plate. Additional areas are marked as strike, out, ball, error, sacrifice, double play, triple play and hit pitcher. The home run tends to be in the very center of the board. The diamond is surrounded by a six inch foul line border. The entire playing field is 42 inches squared including foul territory.
Some boards are more complex and consist of out, single, ball, strike, double play, triple play, stolen base, runner off first, runner off base, sacrifice, balk, home run, and walk space(s) around the four-base diamond: first, second, third, and home plate. The home run tends to be in the very center of the board and is a circular space with a diameter of around two and a half inches. The home run is surrounded by three singles, two outs, two strikes, and one ball that form a square around the home run. This is where the player wants their dart to be hitting consistently, unless they have skill enough to throw for the 2 bagger or 3 bagger.
The player throwing the darts is the "batter". Each dart thrown is the same as a pitch (baseball) in baseball. Darts may be thrown overhanded, underhanded or both depending on league rules. Players throw darts towards the playing field from the pitcher's line at a distance of 25 feet. Where the dart lands on the board determines the outcome of each pitch. The batter continues to throw darts, or bat, until they are safe or out, just like in baseball.
A batter is considered safe if his or her dart lands on first, second, or third base or by any combination of plays that put him safely "on base."
A run is scored when a player advances safely around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate. A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays, after he is "on base" (first, second, or third base) by subsequent batters getting either base hits or home runs that brings him home.
A player who advances around all of the bases to score is credited with a run. While runs scored are considered an important batting statistic, it is regarded as less important than runs batted in.
Once the player has concluded his or her turn at bat, the next players on the team follow suit until the team makes three outs. Then the other team has its turn up to bat.
The game concludes at the end of nine innings with the team scoring the most runs winning the game.

Footballdarts
This variant is for two players. At the beginning of the game, each player shoots one dart with his "wrong" hand to select his goal. The goal is the entire zone of a number, and the bull and outer-bull are ignored.
• Phase 1: Each player alternately tries to "catch the ball", shooting his three darts in the bull or outer-bull. The goals determined previously have no effect during this phase.
• Phase 2: When a player "has the ball", then he can immediately try to shoot in the opponent's goal. For instance, if he succeeds in shooting the bull or outer-bull with his first dart he can try to shot his 2 darts left toward opponent's goal. He will stay attacker until he scores or until the opponent take the ball back. The defender try to take the ball back shooting his darts in the bull or outer-bull. The attacker's goal zone has no effects in this phase.