logo darts site

How to play darts

Playing darts is a great way to spend time with your friends and family, and is a fun way to improve your hand-eye coordination.

When playing darts for the first time it can be helpful first of all to purchase a dart board and some darts (you may find that the dartboard and darts come as an “all in one” pack) . Once you have these two items, you can get started.

The best thing to do is simply ask a friend who plays darts for some tips and pointers before you begin playing. Once you have practiced for a while you will find that your dart throwing improves very quickly.

There are three different parts of the board that each contain different scoring values: the single ring, the double ring, and the triple ring.

The single ring is found at treble-20 on the dart board , and has a value of  one. If you hit this, you receive only one point.

The double ring is found between treble-20 and bullseye on the dartboard, and has a value of two. This ring of the dartboard is considered to be of medium difficulty, as it requires more of an accurate throw to hit successfully.

The triple ring is found between the double ring and the bullseye on the board, and has a value of three points. As with hitting the double ring, this also requires an accurate throw.

If you miss all three rings on a throw, it is known as a “Mulligan”, and is classed as a miss.

In order to win the game of darts, you must be the first player or team to reach exactly fifty points . Once one player or team has reached fifty points, the current round finishes.

You then begin a new round with the score that you ended on continuing over into this next round.

The amount of points needed to win each game begins at 301 and decreases by twenty points with every throw thrown, which makes it harder and harder for a player to reach exactly fifty points. For example: if one player has twenty-five points, their first dart would count as one point and the second dart would count as four because their score of twenty-five is lower than fifty (which is 301).

If a player reaches zero, this counts as a “bust” and the player automatically loses. Each time you throw your three darts it should be counted down aloud by one, two or three as necessary.

The player or team with the highest score at the end of a round wins that round, and is thus closer to winning the game.

When playing darts against another player, you must make sure you are both throwing from an equal distance away from the dart board. It is best if one person stands behind a line on the floor, while the other stands three feet in front of the dart board , and then take turns throwing.

If you are playing against a group of people it is best to simply stand all around the dartboard and throw your darts simultaneously so that no-one has an unfair advantage.

If you find yourself struggling with hitting the double or triple rings, you may like to move closer to the dartboard (or vice versa if you are struggling with hitting the single ring). A good distance away from the board is five feet.

When playing darts it is helpful to find a certain routine that works for you, such as always starting on either the left or right side of the board and then alternating from there.

How do you win at darts?

To win the game of darts, you must be the first player or team to reach exactly fifty points. Once one player or team has reached fifty points, the current round finishes. You then begin a new round with the score that you ended on continuing over into this next round. The amount of points needed to win each game begins at 301 and decreases by twenty points with every throw thrown.

What is the most popular dart game?

The most popular dart game in pubs and bars is a game called Cricket. In this version of the game you must score exactly 20, by hitting three triple-20s (180 points). There are many more rules to Cricket but it’s best if you simply watch a match or play it for yourself.

How to play beer darts?

The simplest match-up in darts is two players, each starting with 501 points and taking turns to reduce their score.

Each player starts with a score of 501 and the first person to reach zero is out.

Then the second player also has to get down to zero, but must start from where the other player ended – so if they had three points left, they start on 502.

To win, players must score to exactly zero – miss the double-one by a single point and you are out!

How to play baseball darts?

In baseball darts, players take it in turns to score points.

Each player throws three darts at a time and they must hit the single, double and triple areas of the board (in that order) – if they miss any of these areas then their turn is over and they score no points.

The winner of a round is whoever has the highest score after a completed turn – both players have the same amount of turns, but this will vary from round to round. This means that it can be beneficial to throw a lower scoring dart in order to keep your turn going for as long as possible.

In team play, teams must agree on how they are going to take their turns and they must either go in order (for example, Team A throws first, followed by Team B and then back to Team A again) or it can be random.

After all rounds are completed, the highest-scoring team wins!

Whatever you do, just remember to have fun and enjoy the game – and don’t forget to “keep your eye on the prize”!

More articles that may interest you:

A complete guide about a dart game.

Victor Cher

Victor Cher

I started darting about 4 years ago when my friend had some darts in the office. He used to throw them when he got bored and I joined.

Since then, I’ve been progressing and learning more about this wonderful game. I participated in a bunch of tournaments, and I also won first places and nice prizes.

The site was built with the goal of helping beginners as well as experienced players find information and to answer any and all questions they might have.

If you have any questions or suggestions, Please contact me: 

Table of Contents

Sydney Darts Masters

Privacy Policy

At the darts site, accessible from https://dartssite.com/, one of our main priorities is the privacy of our visitors. This Privacy Policy document contains types of

Read More »

Professional darts

Professional darts is a very serious business. It can be an extremely fun, but also extremely expensive endeavor for those who want to become a

Read More »

Cork dart board

Cork dart board is a very old and simple type of dartboard, where the whole board is made from cork. The most common area for

Read More »

Steel tip darts

What are steel tip darts? Steel tip darts are the most common type of darts in use today. It consists of three parts; the point,

Read More »