How to Play Darts — 501, Cricket, Baseball and the Rest

One board, a dozen games. This page starts with how the board scores, then gives 501 and 301 the way the professionals play them, cricket the way American bars play it, baseball darts for a mixed crowd, and the party games — around the clock, killer, Shanghai — that need no arithmetic at all. The score sheets for 501, cricket and baseball print from here.

How the board scores

The segment number is the score. Twenty wedges, 1 to 20, arranged so the big numbers sit between small ones.
The thin outer ring doubles it; the thin inner ring trebles it. Treble 20 is 60, the most a single dart can score.
The bull is two rings: the outer bull scores 25, the inner bull 50 — and the inner bull counts as a double for finishing.
Three darts a turn, thrown one at a time from behind the line. A dart that bounces out, falls off or misses the board scores nothing and is not rethrown.
A dart scores where its point is — if it is in the board when the turn ends. Darts that land in another dart’s flight do not count.
Both feet behind the line. You may lean as far as you like as long as your feet stay behind it.

The games, side by side

Same board and darts for all of them; what changes is what you aim at and how you win.

Game	Players	Object	Scoring	Finish	Notes
501	2, or 2 teams	Take 501 down to exactly zero	Every dart subtracts its value; three darts a turn	Last dart must be a double or the bull (double out). Going below zero, to 1, or to zero without a double is a bust -- the turn does not count	The professional game (PDC, WDF). Legs, sets and matches
301	2, or 2 teams	Take 301 down to exactly zero	Same as 501	Double out; many leagues also require a double to start scoring (double in)	Faster; the American league staple
Cricket	2-4 or teams	Close 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull before your opponent, with equal or more points	Three marks close a number (single 1, double 2, treble 3). Extra hits on a number you have closed but they have not score points	Close everything and lead on points	The American bar game. Cut-throat: points go to the opponent instead
Baseball	Any number	Most runs over 9 innings	Inning 1 you throw three darts at the 1, inning 2 at the 2 ... single 1 run, double 2, treble 3	After the 9th; extra innings for a tie	Great with kids and mixed groups; also played on the baseball dartboard
Around the clock	Any number	Hit 1 through 20 in order, then the bull	One dart at a time; doubles and trebles count as the number (or skip ahead, house rules)	First to the bull wins	The learning game
Killer	3+	Be the last player with lives	Each player owns a number (throw for it). Hit your own double to become a killer; then hit others' doubles to take lives	Last one standing	Party game; usually 3 lives each
Shanghai	Any number	Most points after 7 (or 20) rounds	Round 1 throw at the 1, round 2 at the 2 ... singles, doubles and trebles count	A single, double and treble of the round's number in one turn -- a Shanghai -- wins outright	Quick; good for a crowd

501 and 301: the counting games

Everyone starts on 501 and subtracts what they score, three darts a turn, and the first to reach exactly zero wins the leg — but the dart that gets you there has to be a double, or the inner bull. That one rule makes the game. A player on 40 wants double 20; a player on 41 needs a single first (single 9 leaves 32, double 16) because 41 cannot be finished with one dart. Leaving an even number is the whole art of the endgame, and the reason 32 and 40 are the favourite numbers to leave: miss the double and hit the single, and you still have a double left. The checkout chart on the printable score sheet gives the standard three-dart routes for every finish from 170 down to 61; below that you can work it out.

The bust rule keeps people honest. If a turn takes you below zero, to exactly 1, or to zero without a double, the turn never happened — you go back to the number you started on and the next player throws. 301 is the same game from a lower start, quicker and the usual American league format, often with a double required to start scoring as well as to finish. Deciding who throws first is done by throwing one dart each at the bull, closest starts; in later legs the start alternates, and in a deciding leg you throw for the bull again.

Cricket: marks and points

Cricket ignores fourteen of the twenty numbers. Only 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull count, and the job is to close each of them with three marks — a single is one mark, a double two, a treble three — before your opponent does. The scoring twist is that a number you have closed and your opponent has not is open for points: every further hit scores its value for you (20 a mark on the 20, 25 a mark on the bull) until they close it, at which point it is dead for everyone. You win when you have closed all seven and have at least as many points as anyone else; if you close out while behind on points you keep throwing at open numbers for points, and your opponent gets to keep closing. Score it the chalkboard way: a slash for one mark, a cross for two, a circled cross for closed, points written beside your name. Cut-throat cricket reverses the points — hits on your open numbers are added to your opponents’ totals, and lowest wins.

Baseball, and the games for a crowd

Baseball darts is nine innings of everyone aiming at the same number: the 1 in the first inning, the 2 in the second, through the 9. A single is one run, a double two, a treble three, anything else an out that scores nothing, and the most runs after nine wins with extra innings at the 10 and 11 for a tie. It works for any number of players and children can keep the score, which is why it outlasts fancier games at a party. Around the clock — hit 1 to 20 in order, then the bull, one dart at a time — is how people learn the board. Killer gives each player a number, makes them hit its double to become a killer, and then lets them hunt everyone else’s doubles to take lives. Shanghai runs seven rounds at the 1 through 7, singles, doubles and trebles all counting, and a single, double and treble of the round’s number in one turn wins on the spot.

Setting the board up

Dartboard height and distance — regulation setup and board size

5 ft 8 in to the bull, 7 ft 9¼ in to the line, the rings measured, and a throw-line marker to print.

Open

Keeping score?

501 / 301 score sheet with the checkout chart (PDF)

Scored and remaining columns for two sides, legs boxes and every three-dart finish from 170 to 61. Cricket and baseball sheets are on the darts page.

Download

How do you play darts for beginners?

Stand behind the line, throw three darts a turn, add up what they hit. The board scores the number of the segment you land in; the thin outer ring doubles it, the thin inner ring trebles it, the outer bull is 25 and the inner bull 50. Start with around the clock — hit 1 through 20 in order, then the bull — to learn the board, then play 301 or cricket. A dart that bounces out or falls off scores nothing and is not rethrown.

How do you play 501?

Each player starts on 501 and subtracts every dart scored, three darts a turn, racing to reach exactly zero. The last dart must land in a double (or the inner bull, which counts as double 25). If a turn takes you below zero, to exactly 1, or to zero without a double, you have bust: the turn scores nothing and you go back to where you started it. A game is a leg; matches are best of an odd number of legs, grouped into sets in the big televised events. 301 is the same game from 301, and many leagues also require a double to start.

How do you play cricket in darts?

Only 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull count. You need three marks to close a number — a single is one mark, a double two, a treble three. Once you have closed a number and your opponent has not, further hits on it score its value in points; once everyone has closed it, it is dead. You win when you have closed every number and the bull and have at least as many points as everyone else. Mark it on the board as / for one, X for two and a circled X for closed.

How do you play baseball darts?

Nine innings. In the first inning everyone throws three darts at the 1, in the second at the 2, and so on to the 9. A single scores one run, a double two, a treble three; anything else is nothing. Most runs after nine innings wins, with extra innings at the 10, 11 and up to break a tie. There is also a baseball dartboard, a separate board marked with hits and outs, that plays a nine-inning game with three outs a side — the score sheet works for both.

What is a bust in darts?

In 501 and 301, ending a turn on less than zero, on exactly 1 (from which no double can finish), or on zero without hitting a double. The whole turn is cancelled and your score goes back to what it was before the turn — the darts you threw do not count, even the good ones. Soft-tip machines call it automatically; on a bristle board the scorer says "bust" and writes nothing.

What does double out mean?

The finishing dart has to land in the double ring — or the inner bull, which is a double 25 for 50. Reaching zero any other way is a bust. It is why players try to leave themselves an even number, ideally 32 (double 16) or 40 (double 20), because a single 16 or 20 still leaves a double. Double in, used in many 301 leagues, means you cannot start subtracting until you have hit a double.

What is the highest score with three darts, and the highest checkout?

180 — three treble 20s. The highest possible finish is 170: treble 20, treble 20, bull. Between 170 and 61 there are three-dart finishes for every number except 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159; the printable 501 score sheet has the standard routes for all of them.

How do you play darts with kids?

Around the clock is the game: throw at 1 until you hit it, then 2, and so on, with doubles and trebles counting as the number. Move the line in and let them throw from wherever they can reach the board; magnetic and soft-tip boards are the safe choice. Baseball darts is the next step because everyone is aiming at the same number at once and the arithmetic is small.

501 and 301 as played under WDF and PDC rules; cricket and baseball as played in American leagues, where house variants are common. Updated through September 2026.