How to Play Darts?

The board, quickly

• 20 is at the top. Numbers run around the clock face, not in order.
• Thin outer ring = double that number (double 20 = 40).
• Thin inner ring = treble (triple) that number (treble 20 = 60).
• Inner bull (red) = 50. Outer bull (green) = 25. In 501, the red bull counts as a double for a checkout.
• Black/white slices are the single of that number.

A turn: throw up to three darts, add what they scored, subtract from your remaining total. Then the opponent does the same. You can throw fewer than three if you've already checked out.

Bust rule: if a throw would take you below zero, or to 1 (which you can't double-out from), or to zero without hitting a double, that turn scores nothing — you go back to the score you had before those darts, and play passes.

Checkout example: you have 40 left. Double 20 (the thin ring at the top) wins. If you hit single 20 instead, you have 20 left and still need a double 10 with a remaining dart, or you leave it for next turn.

Who starts: usually a bull-up (closest to the bull throws first) or a coin flip. Oche (throw line) is 7 ft 9¼ in (2.37 m) from the face of the board; bullseye height is 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) from the floor.

Other common games: 301 is the same rules with a shorter race. Cricket is a different scoring game (closing numbers 20 down to 15 and bull) — not 501. When someone says "how to play darts" without a variant, they almost always mean 501, double-out.

Nearby questions in this topic include How to Rollerblade? and How to Snowboard?.

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