How darts is scored
There are only four things to learn: what the rings do, what the bulls are worth, how a visit is counted, and what a bust is. Everything else in darts is a variation on those.
How do you score darts?
Each dart scores the number of the segment it lands in. The thin outer ring doubles that number, the thin inner ring trebles it, the outer bull scores 25 and the bullseye scores 50. You throw three darts at a time, add them together, and in 501 you take that off your score until you reach exactly zero on a double.
The rings
- Single
- The two large areas in each segment. Worth the number itself, so a dart in the 20 scores 20. Most darts land in a single and most of a leg is scored with them.
- Double
- The thin ring around the outside edge. Doubles the number, so double 20 is 40. It is also how you finish a leg of 501, which is why players practise it more than anything else.
- Treble
- The thin ring halfway in. Triples the number, so treble 20 is 60. Three of them is 180, the maximum with three darts.
- Outer bull
- The green ring at the centre. Worth 25.
- Bullseye
- The red circle in the middle. Worth 50, and it counts as a double, so you can finish on it.
- Off the board
- A dart in the wire, in the surround, or on the floor scores nothing. It still counts as a dart thrown.
What are the numbers on a dartboard, in order?
Clockwise from the top: 20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12, 5. That order is not random. Every big number is flanked by two small ones, so a dart that drifts off the 20 lands in the 1 or the 5 and a loose throw costs you.
What sits either side of what
Worth knowing, because it is what your misses tell you. Aim at the 20 and keep hitting the 5 and you are drifting left. Keep hitting the 1 and you are drifting right. That is the whole idea behind this scorer.
- 20 5 · 1
- 1 20 · 18
- 18 1 · 4
- 4 18 · 13
- 13 4 · 6
- 6 13 · 10
- 10 6 · 15
- 15 10 · 2
- 2 15 · 17
- 17 2 · 3
- 3 17 · 19
- 19 3 · 7
- 7 19 · 16
- 16 7 · 8
- 8 16 · 11
- 11 8 · 14
- 14 11 · 9
- 9 14 · 12
- 12 9 · 5
- 5 12 · 20
Left neighbour, then right neighbour, as you look at the board.
A visit, and a leg
Three darts is a visit. You throw all three, add them up, and that is your score for the turn. A visit of 60 is a ton in singles talk; 100 or more is a ton; 180 is the maximum and the only score the crowd bothers shouting for.
A leg is one race from your starting score to zero. Most matches are a race to several legs, and longer matches group those into sets. The scoreboard here handles legs and sets, and the options are agreed before the first dart so nobody can change them halfway through.
You have to finish on a double. Reach exactly zero with a double and the leg is yours. Go past zero, land on exactly one, or reach zero with anything else and the visit busts: your score goes back to what it was before you threw, and any darts left in your hand are forfeited.
That is the whole game. Try a leg of 501 and the scoreboard will do the arithmetic while you get used to it, or start on 301 if you would rather reach a finish sooner.
The words people will use
None of it is complicated, but all of it gets used without explanation on your first night in a team.
- The oche
- The line you throw from, said "ockey". Seven foot nine and a quarter inches from the board.
- A ton
- A visit of 100 or more.
- A maximum
- A visit of 180. Three treble 20s.
- A bust
- A visit that cannot legally count, so it scores nothing and your total goes back.
- A checkout
- The visit that finishes a leg.
- The madhouse
- Double 1, worth 2. The last double you want to be left on, because missing it can leave you on 1, which cannot be finished at all.
- Chalking
- Keeping score for other players. Traditionally on a slate with chalk, which is where the app gets its colours.
- Three-dart average
- How much you score per three darts across a game. The number players compare.