Darts games
Every game worth knowing, and how each one is scored. All seven are playable here, free, with no account. If you have never scored a game of darts before, start with how darts is scored and come back.
Playable here
Each of these has its rules written up, with the game itself underneath, so you can read how it works and then play it on the same page. Nothing to install and no account, and every game keeps working if you lose signal.
The standard game and the one played on television. Start on 501, subtract every visit, finish on a double. Everything else in darts assumes you know this one.
What it makes you practise. Scoring on the 20 bed, then finishing on a double.
The same game 200 points shorter, which means you reach a finish far sooner. What most juniors and casual players actually play, and where double in comes up most.
What it makes you practise. Doubles, because you reach them far sooner.
Everyone owns a number. Hit your own to arm yourself, then start taking other players out. The best game in the pub once there are more than two of you.
What it makes you practise. Doubles under pressure, on a number that keeps changing.
One to twenty in order. The game everybody learns first, the best one to play alone, and the only common game that makes you throw at all twenty numbers.
What it makes you practise. Every number on the board, not just the three you like.
Close 20 down to 15 and the bull with three marks each, then score on what your opponent has not closed. The most popular game in America and the one with the most tactics in it.
What it makes you practise. Trebles on six numbers and the bull, and when to stop.
Seven rounds at seven numbers, scoring what you hit. Hit a single, double and treble of the same number in one visit and you win outright, whatever the score.
What it makes you practise. Hitting a called number three different ways.
A set list of targets, one round each. Miss a round entirely and your score is halved, which turns a comfortable lead into a disaster in one visit.
What it makes you practise. Not missing, which is a different skill from scoring.
Which one to play
With two of you and an evening, play 501. It is the game the sport is built on and everything you learn in it transfers.
With two of you and twenty minutes, play 301. You reach the doubles sooner, and the doubles are what decide real games.
With four or more, play Killer. It handles a crowd, nobody is ever out of it for long, and it does not slow down when somebody cannot hit a treble.
On your own, play Around the Clock and count your darts. It is the cleanest measure of whether your aim is improving, because it makes you throw at all twenty numbers instead of the three you like.
The seven side by side
What each one asks of you, and what it teaches. Worth reading before you pick, because the games are not interchangeable: some are about scoring, some are about finishing, and one of them is mostly about not being finished by somebody else.
| Game | Players | Length | What it makes you practise |
|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | 2 or more | 15 to 30 minutes | Scoring on the 20 bed, then finishing on a double |
| 301 | 2 or more | 10 minutes | Doubles, because you reach them far sooner |
| Killer | 3 to 8 | 15 minutes | Doubles under pressure, on a number that keeps changing |
| Around the clock | 1 or more | 10 to 20 minutes | Every number on the board, not just the three you like |
| Cricket | 2 or more | 20 to 30 minutes | Trebles on six numbers and the bull, and when to stop |
| Shanghai | 2 or more | 10 minutes | Hitting a called number three different ways |
| Halve It | 2 or more | 10 to 15 minutes | Not missing, which is a different skill from scoring |
Darts games for 2 players
Most darts is played by two, and every game here works with two except Killer, which needs at least three to be worth playing: with two of you it collapses into taking turns at each other's number.
If you both want a proper game, 501. If one of you is much better, Halve It or Shanghai, because both give the weaker player a way back that a straight race does not. Cricket is the two-player game with the most tactics in it, since closing a number your opponent has not is worth more than scoring.
Dart games for beginners
Start with Around the Clock. There is no arithmetic in it, you throw at every number rather than the three that feel comfortable, and counting your darts gives you one figure to beat next time.
Then 301 rather than 501, because you reach a finish sooner and finishing is the part that takes longest to learn. The scoreboard has a maths mode that asks you what is left instead of telling you, which is what makes it useful for juniors and anyone learning to subtract at speed.
Leave Cricket until you can find the trebles reasonably often. It is a good game and a slow one when nobody can close a number.
Questions
- What darts games can two people play?
- 501 and 301 are the standard two-player games and the ones leagues are built on. Around the Clock works well with two because you take turns at your own number. Cricket is excellent for two and more tactical than either. Killer needs at least three to be worth playing, and is better with five or six.
- What is the best darts game for beginners?
- Around the Clock, because it makes you throw at every number rather than only the 20, and missing costs you nothing but the dart. After that, 301 rather than 501: a shorter leg means you reach the doubles sooner, and the doubles are the part that needs practice.