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Killer darts

How do you play killer darts?

Every player owns a number and starts with three lives. First you have to become a killer by hitting the double of your own number. Once you are a killer, hitting the double of somebody else's number takes one of their lives. Lose all three and you are out, and your number dies with you. The last player still holding a life wins. That is how to play killer darts in one paragraph; the house rules underneath are where the arguments actually happen.

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Everyone throws with their weaker hand and takes what they hit. Enter what each player got.

  • 20

    3

    Needs double 20

  • 19

    3

    Needs double 19

  • 18

    3

    Needs double 18

Player 1 to throw, at 20

Getting the board ready

Everyone owns a number. Hit your own to arm yourself, then start taking other people's lives. The last player standing wins, and it is the best game in the pub for more than two players. Set the numbers and agree the house rules on the board, and it keeps track of who is armed and who is nearly out.

The rules, properly

  1. Everyone gets a number

    Throw one dart with your weaker hand and take what you hit. That is the tradition and it stops anyone picking an easy number for themselves. If somebody already owns what you hit, throw again. Numbers have to be unique, so with six players you will have six different numbers on the board.

  2. Everyone starts with the same lives

    Three is standard. One life makes a very short game, five stretches a big group out. It is the first thing to agree and the first thing somebody will want to change once they are on their last one.

  3. Get yourself armed

    Until you are a killer you throw only at your own number, and you are looking for the double of it. Hitting it makes you a killer. It costs you nothing and gains you nothing else, which surprises people the first time: qualifying is not a score, it is a licence.

  4. Then start taking lives

    Now you throw at everyone else. Every hit on the double of another player’s number takes one of their lives. Three darts a visit means you can end somebody in a single turn if they are already down to one and you are on form.

  5. Out is out, and the number goes with them

    A player on zero lives is finished, and their number is dead. Darts that land in it do nothing at all, which matters more than it sounds: with four players out, most of the board is inert and the game gets very tight.

The four things every group argues about

Killer has more local rules than any game except around the clock. All four of these are switches on the board, set before the first dart and locked afterwards.

Does a single arm you, or only a double?
The double is the standard and it makes qualifying a real hurdle. Letting any hit on your number arm you speeds the game up a lot, which is worth it with six players and one board.
Does a treble take one life or three?
One is the common reading. Three turns the game vicious and can end somebody from full lives in a single dart. Groups that play trebles-take-three tend to play five lives to compensate.
What happens if you hit your own number?
Usually nothing at all. Self-kill is the harsher variant: once you are armed, landing in your own double costs you a life. It punishes sloppy aim and it is very funny for everybody else.
Do you stay a killer after losing a life?
Normally yes, once armed always armed. The alternative is that dropping a life disarms you and you have to hit your own double again before you can take anyone else’s. That makes a comeback much harder.

Two things that win killer

Arm yourself before you worry about anybody else. Players who spend their first three visits missing their own double then find everybody else is a killer and they are the only target on the board that anyone can profit from.

After that, take the leader down rather than finishing the weakest player. Ending somebody removes a number from the board, and a board with fewer live numbers helps whoever is best at hitting doubles. That is usually not you.

Questions

How do you play killer darts?
Every player owns a number and starts with three lives. First you have to become a killer by hitting the double of your own number. Once you are a killer, hitting the double of somebody else’s number takes one of their lives. Lose all three and you are out, and your number dies with you. The last player still holding a life wins.
How many lives do you get in killer?
Three is the standard, and it is what most pubs play. One life makes for a brutally quick game and five drags a large group out to a sensible length. Agree it before the first dart, because changing it halfway through always favours whoever is losing.
How do you get your number in killer darts?
You throw one dart with your weaker hand and take whatever you hit. That is the tradition, and it is fair because nobody gets to choose an easy number. If somebody already owns what you hit, you throw again. Dealing the numbers at random works just as well if you would rather get started.
Do trebles count in killer darts?
That is the argument every group has. The common rule is that a treble takes one life like anything else. The other rule, which turns the game vicious, is that a treble takes three. Both are supported here and both are frozen once the first dart is thrown.