4
You can play darts by
yourself or against an oppo-
nent. Two teams can also
play against each other.
Each player takes a turn
throwing. A “turn” consists
of three darts thrown in suc-
cession. To determine who
shoots first, a single dart
can be thrown. The player
landing closest to the bull’s
eye shoots first.
The yellow and black
side is used by most dart
players and in tournaments.
Landing a dart in any of
the 20 numbered triangles
earns the same number of
points as that number.
However, landing a dart in
the doubles ring gives you
double the points and land-
ing a dart in the triples ring
gives you triple the points.
The center circle of the dart
board is called the “bull’s
eye.” It has an inner and
outer ring. Landing a dart in
the inner ring is worth 50
points. Landing a dart in the
outer ring of the bull’s eye
is worth 25 points.
Many different dart
games can be played.
Below are three of the most
popular.
Rules
for 301
and 501
The most popular dart
games are called “301” and
“501.” In both games, the
basic principle is the sub-
traction of your score from
the initial score of either
301 or 501, with the winner
reducing his score to exact-
ly zero. Here are the rules.
Before any score is
counted, the player must
begin by hitting a double.
(Any double will do.) That
means the player must land
a dart between the two yel-
low lines on the outer
perimeter of the board.
Once a double has been
thrown, that dart and all
The Rules of Darts
5
subsequent darts will count
toward reducing the score
to zero.
The score is determined
by subtracting the count of
each dart from the initial
score. Remember, the outer
ring counts double, and the
inner ring is worth triple
points.
The winner must reduce
his or her score to exactly
zero and must “double out”
in the process—a double
must be hit on the final
throw. For example, if the
player has 32 left to reach
zero, he or she must hit dou-
ble 16. If a single 16 is
scored, then the player must
hit double 8 to score zero,
and so on. Naturally, a play-
er must be left with an even
number in order to set up
the winning double attempt.
This part of the game,
known as “going out,” is the
most difficult stage. If you
have two points left, you
must hit a double-1 to bring
the score down to zero.
From 18 points, a double-9
would work. If you have an
odd number left, then your
first darts must reduce the
score to an even number
before you can throw a dou-
ble. For instance, there is no
possible double out from
21, so a way to finish
would be to throw a single-
1 first, reducing the score to
20. Then you can “go out”
with the number 20 by
throwing a double-10.
If the player scores more
than the exact score needed,
that particular turn does not
count. And the player’s
score remains as it was
prior to that turn. For ex-
ample, if 16 is required and
the player scores 17 (or
totals 17 or more with his or
her three darts), the score
remains at 16. Likewise,
since the final score must be
a double, if 16 is totaled, the
turn does not count and the
score remains at 16. If 15 is
totaled, the turn does not
count either, since the play-
er cannot double out on a
single (one) score.
