How to play darts

How to play darts
The most popular darts game played is known as 01 ('Oh One'). This classic game is played world wide and gets its name from the points that it is played from which always end in 01 such as 301, 501, 801, 1001 etc.

The winner is the first player to reduce their score to 0. Both players will start with the same score such as 501 and take turns throwing 3 darts into the board. The player will subtract the score of the three darts from his score and remove his darts from the board before the other player takes his turn.

If a dart bounces off or misses the board then that dart does not score and cannot be thrown again in that turn.

To win a game a player must bring his score to 0 by hitting a double, for example if your score is 2 you must hit a double 1 this is known as going out. Doubles are scored in the outside scoring ring or by hitting the bullseye which scores 50 points (double 25).

Games starting with 501, 801, 1001 points etc are all played in the same way. When starting with 301 which can result in very short games you can add difficulty by starting with a double so that a player must hit any double before starting to reduce his score.

Phil Croucher is the web master of darts shop RokSport Darts which stock darts, dart boards, flights and dart stems.