Learn How To Play Dart Cricket Like A Pro

Before We Start Playing…

If this is your first time playing darts, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the basics of throwing darts. Here’s a short video tutorial featuring Darts Pro Player John Norman Jr. on how to throw darts the right way:

Basic Darts Rules

Just like any other sport, the game of Darts has a consistent set of rules that are applied on every kind of darts game.

• A dartboard has 20 numbered segments that correspond to the points you get in the game. The innermost ring or the bullseye has two segments. The outer bullseye (called single bull) scores 25 points, and the center bullseye (called double bull) counts as double or 50 points.

• Each numbered segment has a ‘bonus’ zone. The outer ring scores double of the points scored, while the interior ring gives triple the points scored.
• Each player is given three darts to throw for each round. Only the darts that stay on the board get counted.

How To Play Dart Cricket

Dart cricket blends in strategies with skills. Before playing dart cricket, familiarize yourself first with the rules of the game:

Dart Cricket Rules

• The objective of the game is to “close out” the targets numbered 15-20 on the dartboard while maintaining a higher score than your opponent.
• You’ll need to hit a number three times in order to close a number out. Landing a double or a triple on a number counts as instances of “hits”. For example, if you land on a triple in the 20-zone, it counts as three hits, which closes out 20 on your side.
• Darts that land on numbers 1-14 would be counted as misses, and would score zero points.
• Players can score points by landing darts on a target that they have closed, provided that the target remains open on their opponent’s side.
• Once both players/teams have closed out a number, no further scoring on the number will be counted.
• The game ends when a player closes out all targets while having a higher score than their opponent.

Dart cricket may have more rules than other darts games, but once you’re familiar with how the game plays out, you’ll find out that dart cricket has one of the easiest rules to follow in Darts.

Let’s play the game, shall we?

Playing Dart Cricket is easy. Just follow the simple step-by-step instructions and you’ll be having loads of fun playing Dart Cricket with your friends in no time.

• Middle for diddle

The sequence for throwing darts is decided by the “diddle”. Each side would be given one shot from the throwing line to try and land the closest dart to the middle. If the first player misses the board, or if the dart bounces off the dartboard, the next player would simply have to throw a dart that stays on the board in order to win the “diddle”.

The first team or player to throw in a game is given an advantage because it puts the pressure on the trailing player. In Dart Cricket, the trailing player is at an even bigger disadvantage because the first player to throw would be given the first opportunity to close a number out.

• Throw the dart!

Each turn you’ll be given three darts to throw. Your objective for each turn would be to close out a number or to score points for your team.

Here’s where the fun starts.

Strategy matters in Dart Cricket. You can try to close out a number before your opponent does and try to rack up as many points as possible until your opponent closes out the number. Ideally, a player would try to hit the 20 mark as it racks up the most points per dart thrown. Try to aim for the highest number available to get as many points as you can before your opponent does!

• Tally your points

In Dart tournaments, there would be a designated person who would tally the scores. In most games, you would have to keep track of your own scores. Remember to keep track of your scores after every round.

Your first and second hit on a target would be marked as intersecting diagonal lines to make an X. Your first hit could be marked with a forward slash / and your second hit could be marked with a backward slash \, creating an X. Your third hit to close out the number would be marked as a circle around the X, like so – Ⓧ. Once both teams have closed out a number, a line would be drawn across the number to signify that the number is closed out.

Don’t focus on closing out. Score some points too!

You can’t win the game if you’re trailing in points. Scores are counted on darts landed on target numbers that you have closed, but are yet to be closed by your opponent. If you manage to close out 20, then hitting a double inside the 20 zone would score 40 for a single dart. You would be able to score on the target until your opponent closes the target out.

• Strategize and win!

If you find yourself trailing your opponent, a good strategy could still give you the win.

If your opponent closed out more numbers than you, you could still focus on hitting the numbers your opponent has yet to close on his side to rack up points and prevent your opponent from winning the game based on closed targets.

But don’t get too comfortable.

If you are behind on points, you can focus on hitting your highest closed target before moving on to lower targets. Aim for the numbered targets first and save the bullseye for last. The bullseye is the most challenging target to hit, and it would likely be the chokepoint of the game if the game drags on. Make sure that you are up by a good margin in points before spending your turns trying to hit the bullseye.

• Have fun!

It’s cool to be competitive, but at the end of the day, the sport is all about having fun. Darts Cricket isn’t as complex as the other games you can play indoors, which is why it’s easy to have fun while playing it with your friends. Remember to enjoy the company you have when playing the game, and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy dart cricket with your friends in the future.

There you have it! dart cricket rules are easy to follow, but in case you forget the rules of the game, you’ll always have this article to look back on.