How to play Darts

What darts is

Darts is a throwing game played at a round board split into twenty numbered segments. Players take turns of three darts, and each dart scores by where it lands. The best-known game, 501, is a countdown that has to end on a double; Cricket is a fight for the numbers 15 to 20. Both reward a steady hand and a little quick arithmetic.

Playing darts on AllFun

In AllFun Darts the board faces you as it would from the throwing line. Press and hold to aim: a ring shows the spot and sways a little, like a real hand, then settles if you hold still. Flick up and let go to throw; a firmer flick flies higher, a softer one drops lower. On a computer, aim with the mouse or arrow keys and flick the mouse up or press Space.

Pick 501, 301, Cricket or Clock, and play the computer (Mako, Pixel, Nova or Vega, from Easy to Master), 2 Players on one device, or Solo, over one leg or the best of 3 or 5. Online, a game through Play Online or a friend's link is one leg. When a finish is possible, the game shows a checkout route, and every leg records your three-dart average and checkout rate, or marks per round in Cricket.

The rules

How the board scores

• Each segment scores its number. The thin outer ring doubles it and the thin inner ring trebles it, so treble 20 is worth 60.
• The green ring round the centre, the outer bull, is 25. The bull's-eye is 50 and counts as a double.
• Three darts can score at most 180: three treble 20s.

501 and 301

Each player starts on 501 (or 301) and subtracts every turn's score. The leg is won by reaching exactly zero with the last dart in a double or the bull's-eye. A turn that would go below zero, leave exactly 1, or reach zero without a double is a bust: it scores nothing, and the score goes back to where the turn began. Play 501 here.

Cricket

Only 15 to 20 and the bull count. A single earns one mark, a double two and a treble three; the outer bull is one mark and the bull's-eye two. Three marks close a number. Once you have closed a number, more hits on it score its value for as long as your rival has not closed it. Close everything with at least as many points as your rival to win. On AllFun, a Cricket leg that reaches 20 rounds is decided on points.

Around the Clock

Hit 1, then 2, and so on to 20, then the bull. Any part of the segment counts, and the first to finish wins.

Six tips for checkouts and scoring

1. Learn the favourite doubles. Double 20 (40) and double 16 (32) are popular for a reason: a dart that hits the single instead leaves 20 or 16, still an even double to aim at.
2. Leave an even number. Every double is even, so an odd score needs a set-up dart. On 41, a single 1 leaves double 20.
3. Know where finishing starts. The highest checkout is 170: treble 20, treble 20, bull's-eye. A few scores below it, such as 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159, cannot be finished in three darts.
4. In Cricket, score before you close. Points on a number your rival has left open build a cushion, but close any number your rival is scoring on first.
5. Keep the throw the same. Change only the aim, never the flick, and your darts land closer together.
6. Practise doubles on purpose. The challenges and the daily one are short drills for trebles, doubles and checkouts.

A short history

Darts grew out of tavern games in the late nineteenth century. The board's numbering, with 20 at the top and low numbers placed beside high ones so a careless dart is punished, became the standard layout and is used almost everywhere today.

Darts FAQ