by Yosef Shapiro

Created on: March 25, 2008   Last Updated: December 08, 2011

The first thing that you have to do is acquire a dart board. So you need to: beg, borrow or steal a dart board. Then before you can play darts, you have to properly set up the dart board. The first set of rules we need to look at deal with the placement of the board.

The board needs to be situated so that the bulls eye is 5 feet and six inches from the ground. Place some sort of protective covering, i.e. a board behind and around the area to protect the wall. The darts that miss the board have a tendency to destroy the wall.

The board should be 18 inches in diameter. The board is divided into twenty sections. Each section has a numeric (point) value. The section that is marked 20 is always located at the top. The "toe line" (where you stand while shooting) should be located 7 feet and 9.25 inches from the board. A piece of tape is usually used for the toe line. There should be a minimum of two sets of darts that contain three darts each. Each player or team has their own set of darts.
The darts can have a maximum length of 12 inches and a maximum weight of 50 grams each. A chalk board or dry erase board can be used for keeping score.

Now that the dart board is set up, let us review the rules of the game:
Most games are played by two teams. The teams can be composed of single players or teams

Traditionally, each team is allowed to take nine practice throws to warm up.
To determine who goes first, each team takes one shot at the dart board. The one that comes closest to the bulls eye goes first.

Each player throws three darts per turn. Then, the points are recorded and the darts are retrieved. If a person steps over the line or trips, the throw does not count and may not be made up. The darts must stay on the board for at least 5 seconds after the final throw for the points to count. If one dart sticks to another or if a dart falls off the board, the throw does not count.

Here is how we determine scoring :
If the dart lands on a wedge, you receive the points posted on the outer ring.
If it falls in the double ring (that is the narrow outer ring) , it counts for double the number posted.
If the dart falls in the triple ring (that is the inner narrow ring), it counts for triple the number posted.
If the dart hits the outer part of the bulls eye, it is worth 25 points.
If the dart falls in the inner part of the bulls eye, it is worth 50 points.

It seems like a lot to remember. But after you play the game a few times, the rules become ingrained in you. So, rush right home and practice.

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