How to play darts: rules for beginners

Everything you need for a first game: how high to hang the board and how far to stand, who throws first, how a turn works, the two games almost everyone plays (501 and cricket), and the etiquette nobody tells you about. Rules differ a little between leagues, venues and steel-tip and electronic boards; where they do, this guide says so.

Dartboard height and oche distance

For a standard steel-tip board (the bristle board in most pubs and homes), these are the measurements used by the major darts organisations and nearly every league:

The oche (say "ockey") is the line you throw from; Americans also call it the throw line or toe line. Electronic soft-tip boards use the same height, but most soft-tip machines and leagues put the line at 8 ft (244 cm). A few local leagues have their own distances, so check if you play in one.

Hanging the board

1. Hang it so the 20 is at the top, in a dark segment, straight up.
2. Measure the height to the centre of the bull, not the top of the board.
3. Measure the throwing distance from the face of the board, not the wall behind it. A board and cabinet can sit an inch or two off the wall.
4. Check with the diagonal: bull centre to the front of the oche should be 9 ft 7⅜ in (293.4 cm). If the height and distance are right, the diagonal will be too.
5. Mark the oche with a strip of tape or a raised oche bar, and put down a mat or something to protect the floor from dropped darts.

Light the board evenly from the front so darts don't cast shadows over the segments, and keep the throwing lane clear of doors and walkways.

Turns and throwing

• A turn is three darts, called a visit (or a "throw" or "round"). Players alternate visits.
• Your feet stay behind the oche while you throw. You can lean over it as far as you like, and you can stand anywhere along it.
• On a steel-tip board a dart only scores if it's still in the board when you go to collect it. Misses and bounce-outs score nothing and usually can't be rethrown. Electronic boards score whatever the machine registers.
• Don't pull your darts out until the score has been called and written down.
• A leg is one game. A match is usually first to a number of legs (first to 3, best of 5), and long formats group legs into sets.

Who throws first: the bull-up

Each player throws one dart at the bull, and whoever lands closest throws first. In Britain this is often called "middle for diddle". Common customs: if both darts are in the same bull ring, throw again; the second player may ask for the first dart to be pulled out if it's blocking the bull. With more than two players, everyone bulls up and the order runs from closest to furthest.

In a match, the player who throws first alternates each leg, so nobody keeps the advantage of starting. In casual games the loser often starts the next one.

Scoring basics

The board has twenty numbered segments. Where your dart lands sets its value:

• Single (the wide areas): the number.
• Double (the thin outer ring): twice the number.
• Treble (the thin inner ring, called the "triple" in the US): three times the number.
• Outer bull (green ring around the centre): 25. Bull or bullseye (red centre): 50.

The most you can score with three darts is 180 (three treble 20s). For the full breakdown with a board diagram, busts and averages, see how to score darts.

Which game to play

501 and 301 in brief

Everyone starts on the same score. Each visit, add up your three darts and take the total off. The first player to reach exactly zero wins the leg. In the standard game the last dart must be a double (or the bull, which counts as double 25). Going below zero, leaving 1, or reaching zero without a double is a bust: the visit ends and your score goes back to what it was before it. The biggest finish is 170 (T20, T20, Bull); the checkout chart lists every finish, and the checkout calculator tells you yours mid-game.

Full rules: how to play 501 and how to play 301, including straight out, double in and how averages work.

Cricket in brief

Only 15 to 20 and the bull count. A single is one mark, a double two, a treble three. Three marks closes a number; after that, extra marks score that number's value, but only while an opponent still has it open. First to close all seven targets with as many points as everyone else (or more) wins. The cricket darts rules page has a full game scored turn by turn, plus cut-throat and other variants.

Darts etiquette

• Shake hands before and after a match, and wish your opponent good darts.
• Stand back and stay still while someone is throwing: behind them and out of their eyeline, not beside the board.
• Keep quiet during a throw. Chat between visits.
• Don't walk in front of the oche or reach for the board while anyone's throwing.
• Collect your own darts, and leave them in the board until the score is written down.
• Call your score (or let the scorer call it) and check it. Mistakes are much easier to fix before the next player throws.
• Scorekeeping is a shared job. In many pubs the player who just lost scores the next game, and in league matches teams usually take turns.

First throws

• Stance: most right-handers put the right foot forward with the toes near the oche, and lean slightly. Find a stance you can repeat exactly.
• Grip: hold the barrel lightly with three or four fingers; squeezing hard makes the release inconsistent.
• Throw: move only the forearm, aim with the dart in your line of sight, and follow through toward the target. Don't add spin on purpose.
• Aim small: pick one target, usually 20 or 19, and keep throwing at it. Grouping your darts matters more than hitting a treble early on.

Questions

How high should a dartboard be?

The centre of the bull should be 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) from the floor. That's the standard for steel-tip and electronic soft-tip boards alike.

How far do you stand from a dartboard?

For steel-tip darts, the front of the oche (the throw line) is 7 ft 9¼ in (237 cm) from the face of the board, measured along the floor. Most electronic soft-tip boards and leagues use 8 ft (244 cm). The diagonal from the bull to the front of the oche is 9 ft 7⅜ in (293.4 cm) for steel-tip.

Who throws first in darts?

Usually decided by a bull-up ("middle for diddle" in Britain): each player throws one dart at the bull and the closest throws first. In a match, the first thrower alternates each leg.

How many darts do you throw per turn?

Three. A turn of three darts is called a visit, and players alternate visits.

Is darts easy to learn?

The rules take minutes: throw three darts, add them up, take them off your score. The maths and the doubles take longer, which is why a checkout chart or a scoring app helps while you learn.

Do bounce-outs count in darts?

Not on a steel-tip board: a dart only scores if it's still in the board when you collect it, and you can't usually rethrow it. Electronic boards score whatever the machine registers.

Darts tools and guides