Darts

About Darts

Play 501 against the computer: count down from 501, avoid busting, and finish on a double. Choose Easy, Normal or Hard.

Darts on a proper board: 20 at the top, trebles in the middle ring, doubles on the outside and the bull in the centre. Play 501 against the computer, counting down from 501 and finishing on a double, or practise around the clock, hitting every number from 1 to 20 in order as fast as you can. Aim with a slow drag, then flick to throw; a steady hand and the right amount of power put the dart where you want it.

Also called: 501 darts, dartboard game.

How to play Darts

1. Press Game on. The reticle on the board shows where you are aiming. It sways gently, like a real hand.
2. To aim, put a finger or the mouse anywhere on the board and drag slowly: the reticle moves as far as you drag, so your finger never hides it.
3. To throw, flick upward quickly and let go. The speed of the flick is the power: a lazy flick drops the dart low, a wild one sends it high, and anything in between flies true.
4. On a keyboard you can aim with the arrow keys (or W A S D) and press Space to throw with perfect power.
5. In 501, you and the computer take turns of three darts, each counting down from 501. The first to reach exactly zero, with the last dart in a double, wins. The checkout under the board suggests how to finish.
6. In around the clock, hit 1, then 2, then 3, all the way to 20. The number you need is lit up in yellow. The clock starts with your first dart and stops when you hit 20.

Rules

• A dart in the thin outer ring scores double the number, one in the thin middle ring scores treble, and anywhere else in the wedge scores the number. The green outer bull is 25 and the red bull is 50. Outside the double ring is a miss.
• A dart exactly on a wire is given the benefit: on the treble or double wire it counts as the treble or double, on a bull wire it counts as the bull inside it, and on the line between two numbers it counts for the number clockwise of the line.
• 501: every turn is three darts, and each dart comes off your score. You must finish on exactly zero, and the dart that gets you there must be a double. The bull counts as a double (so 50 can be finished with one bull).
• A bust ends your turn and puts your score back to where it was at the start of that turn. You bust by going below zero, by leaving exactly 1 (which can't be finished on a double), or by reaching zero with a dart that isn't a double.
• The checkout suggestion appears whenever you can finish with the darts you have left, from 170 down. Some numbers under 170 have no three-dart finish: 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159.
• Your three-dart average is the points you have scored divided by the darts you have thrown, times three. Busts score nothing but the darts still count.
• Around the clock: any part of the right number counts (single, double or treble). Bulls don't count. Your best time is kept.

Darts tips and strategy

• Aim, then pause, then flick. The sway is smallest in the first couple of seconds. Hold the aim too long and your hand starts to wobble more.
• Use the whole flick. A short, sharp upward flick of about a thumb's length is the sweet spot. If darts keep landing low, flick a little faster.
• Treble 20 is the best place to score, but the 5 and 1 either side are small. If you keep drifting, treble 19 has friendlier neighbours (7 and 3).
• Leave yourself an even number to finish. Double 16 (32) and double 20 (40) are the favourites: if you miss double 16 into the single, you are left with 16 for double 8.
• Around the clock rewards a rhythm. Don't chase trebles: the big single area between the rings is the easiest part of each number to hit.