Darts Rules
Two players throw darts to reduce a starting score to exactly zero, finishing on a double.
Standard game is 501; matches are best-of-a-set-number of legs.
- •Each player throws 3 darts per turn, subtracting the total from their remaining score
- •The last dart of the leg must land on a double (or bullseye) to finish
- •Overshooting zero, or finishing on a non-double, is a "bust"; the turn doesn't count
- •A nine-darter is a perfect 501 leg finished in the minimum 9 darts
- •170 is the highest possible checkout: treble 20, treble 20, bullseye
- •The oche (throwing line) is 7ft 9¼in from the board; bullseye height is 5ft 8in
Getting the setup right
The measurements are not approximate: the bullseye sits 1.73m from the floor and the oche is 2.37m back, measured as a diagonal from the face of the board to the throwing line. A board hung by eye is usually wrong, and a league playing across two venues with different setups has a hidden home advantage all season.
Lighting matters nearly as much. A shadow across the treble twenty changes scoring for everyone, and a proper board light removes an entire category of complaint. Bristle boards should be rotated periodically so the same segments do not wear out.
Handicapping mixed ability
Darts leagues frequently mix a player averaging 60 with one averaging 20, and a straight 501 match between them is not a contest. The cleanest fix is a starting-score handicap: the weaker player begins each leg on 401 or 301 while the stronger starts on 501.
Base the handicap on three-dart average rather than on results, and revise it every few weeks. Averages describe how somebody actually threw; results describe whether they happened to hit a checkout, which is much noisier over a short season.
Common questions
What is a three-dart average?
Total points scored divided by the number of darts thrown, multiplied by three. It is the standard measure of darts form because it is unaffected by whether your opponent left you an easy finish, which makes it far more useful than win-loss record for setting handicaps.
Do you have to double in as well as out?
No. Straight-in, double-out is the standard for almost all competitive and casual play: you can start scoring with any dart but must finish on a double. Double-in is a variant some pub leagues use and should be stated in the rules if you want it.
How long does a darts match take?
Best of five legs typically runs fifteen to twenty-five minutes at casual level, which lets a single board host four or five matches in an evening. Best of seven roughly doubles that, so plan your league size around the boards you actually have.
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