What is around the clock in darts?

A practice game where you work through the numbers 1 to 20 in order. You throw three darts a visit at whatever number you are on, and hitting it moves you to the next one. First player to get all the way round wins. It is also called around the world.

Do the bulls count in around the clock?

Only if you agree they do before you start. Plenty of houses finish at 20. Others carry on to the outer bull, the 25 ring, and then the bullseye as the final target. Both bulls are independent options here, so you can play 1 to 20 then the bull without the 25 if that is your rule.

What happens if you hit a double in around the clock?

It depends which version you are playing. In the standard game a single, double or treble of your number all do the same thing: you move on one. In the jump version the multiplier moves you to that number times the multiplier, so a double 5 while you are on 5 puts you on 10 and your next target is 11. A treble 3 while on 3 puts you on 9. Anything over 20 caps at 20.

What are bonus darts in around the clock?

A house rule where hitting your target with the third dart of a visit earns you another three darts straight away. It repeats, so hitting again on the third dart of the bonus visit earns three more. Only the third dart triggers it: hitting on dart one or two just moves you on and you carry on with what is left in your hand.

Around the clock

One to twenty in order. It is the game everybody learns first and the one with the most house rules, which is why they are all on the board here before anyone throws. Also called around the world.

What is around the clock, and do the bulls count?

You work through the numbers 1 to 20 in order, throwing three darts a visit at whatever number you are on. Hit it and you move to the next one. The bulls only count if you agree they do before you start: some houses finish at 20, others carry on to the 25 and then the bullseye.

Play it now

Set the variants first, and the board tells each player which number they are on and what will move them along.

You0/20
1
on this number
Player 20/20
1
on this number

You need any 1, single double or treble

—

The jump rule, which is where the arguments start

Two versions of this game exist and people rarely realise the other one is out there until they play someone who grew up with it.

Doubles are just numbers

The standard game. A single 7, a double 7 and a treble 7 all do exactly the same thing while you are on 7: you move to 8. The rings are decoration.

Simpler, slower, and the version most people mean.

Doubles jump you ahead

The multiplier moves you to your number times that multiplier. It turns a practice drill into something with real swings in it, because one treble early can put you a third of the way round.

Double 5 while on 5 lands you on 10, so your next target is 11
Treble 3 while on 3 lands you on 9, so your next target is 10
Treble 18 while on 18 caps at 20 and finishes the numbers
A single is times one, so it moves you on one as normal

Only a hit on the number you are currently on counts. A double 12 while you are on 4 does nothing at all.

The other three variants

All independent of each other, and all frozen once the game starts.

The bulls: Off by default, and the two are separate. With both on, the run is 1 to 20, then the 25, then the bull. In the standard game a bullseye thrown while you are on the 25 does not count, because it is a different target. In the jump game it counts as a double and finishes you.
Bonus darts: Hit your target with the third dart of a visit and you get another three straight away. It repeats for as long as you keep doing it. Hitting on dart one or two earns nothing extra; you just carry on with the darts already in your hand.
Same darts for everyone: Normally the first player to finish wins outright and the game stops. Turn this on and the round is played out so everybody has thrown the same number of darts, which makes a tie possible and is fairer if you are keeping any kind of record.

Why it is worth playing on your own

Around the clock is the only common game that makes you throw at all twenty numbers. A 501 player can go months barely aiming at anything except the 20, the 19 and half a dozen doubles, and it shows the moment a finish leaves them on 7.

Count your darts and write the number down. Getting round in under 60 is respectable, under 45 is good. It is the cleanest single measure of whether your aim has improved, because unlike an average it does not flatter you for one lucky 180.

Turn on call the target in any of the games here and the scorer records which way you miss as well as how often. Around the clock generates that data faster than anything else, because every dart has a declared target by definition.