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Darts

How to play darts: Rules to common games 501, 301 and Cricket with pictures

Clare Mulroy Veronica Bravo
USA TODAY

You can find a dartboard in almost any bar, particularly those that offer other social games like pool and shuffleboard. 

The game is played by throwing small arrows at a circular board, and it can stir up some friendly competition among bargoers and acquaintances. If you're ready to put your skills to the test, try joining one of the National Dart Association's dart leagues. Or check out the World Darts Championship, the largest darts event in the world. 

Not sure where to begin? Check out this illustrated guide. 

How to play darts

The board

Darts are played on a circular board split into 20 sections, with each section numbered one through 20 in nonsequential order. For each numbered "slice," there are several sections that show how many points you get by landing there:

  • Single: Either of the two yellow or black sections.
  • Double: Outer red or green ring.
  • Triple: Inner red or green ring.

When you land on a "single segment," or a yellow or black section, you score the value of the numbered slice. If you hit the outer ring, you get double that value. If you hit the inner ring, you get triple.

The bullseye is in the center of the board. Landing on the outer ring gets you 25 points, and landing on the inner ring is 50. 

How to hold and throw

Get a steady stance with both feet firmly on the ground. The line where you stand to throw is called the "oche," drawn 7 feet and 9 1⁄4 inches from the board.

Use your dominant hand to hold the dart and use your fingers to hold it in whatever way it feels comfortable, usually by placing the thumb on one side of the dart and index and middle fingers on the other. Try not to throw with too much force, and keep the dart straight. 

How to play '01'

One of the most common variations of darts is played by starting with 501 or 301 points. The goal of this game is to be the first player to get down to zero points.

Each player begins with either 501 or 301 points and gets three darts per turn.

Switching off, players throw their three darts at the board one at a time and try to rack up points. At the end of your turn, add the points earned and subtract them from your total. 

Players continue until they reach zero. To win the game, you have to get exactly zero points. If you go below zero points, your points reset to whatever they were at the beginning of that turn and the next player goes. 

There are two ways you can play the end of the game, having decided upon before you begin:

Double out: Players must hit a double that makes their score zero. For example, if you have 18 points you must hit a double nine.

Straight out: Players can hit whatever they want as long as they end the game with exactly zero points. For example, if you have 18 points, you can hit 18 once or nine twice. 

How to play Cricket

In this game, players try to hit each scoring segment between 15 and 20, three times each. Segments labeled 1-14 do not count if hit. You'll need to keep track of hits and scores using a scoreboard, sometimes found next to the dart board on the wall or created on a piece of paper.

To create the scoreboard, create a center column with the descending numbers 15 through 20. On either side, create two columns for each player, one on the outside for scoring and one on the inside, closest to the numbers, for closing out. 

Players typically start with 20 because it has the highest scoring opportunity, but you can begin by aiming for whichever section 15-20 you'd like. 

Add a mark next to that number on your side of the scoreboard for every hit. The goal is to make an "X" with a circle around it, adding a slash "/" for the first mark, another slash to form an "X" for the second and a circle for the third. Once you get three hits on a number, it "closes out" the number for you. 

  • Hitting the outer ring (the double) counts for two hits
  • Hitting the inner ring (the triple) counts for three hits

If you close out the number before your opponent, you can score points for every hit after until they close it out. For example, if you close out the 20 and your opponent has not, you can score 20 points with a single hit, 40 with a double and 60 with a triple.

Try to keep racking up points before your opponent catches up – when both players have closed out a number, you can no longer score points on it. 

You also have to close out the bullseye at some point during the game. The innermost circle counts as double points and the outer ring is single so you could hit the outer ring three times or the inner ring once and the outer ring once.

If you've closed out all the numbers, including the bullseye, your points must be equal to or greater than your opponent's to win. If you have fewer points, you must keep playing to score points before your opponent closes those remaining numbers where you could score points to take the lead.

Keep the fun going with more illustrated game guides

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