Dart Games Everyone Can Play

Dart games that are easy to learn for beginners are also fun for experienced throwers. The most common dart games are 501, 301 and Cricket. Although these games are simple, beginners will need to employ a little bit of strategy in order to win.

Determining The First Turn
In all three dart games, players each throw one dart to decide who will take the first turn. The player with the highest score wins the first turn.

501 And 301
501 and 301 are easy and fun dart games. Each player gets that number of points to start the game. In 501, players each start with 501 points; in 301, players each begin with 301 points. Each player takes a turn, throwing three darts, adding the score depending on where the darts land on the board and subtracting the total from the number of points from 501 or 301. Zero points must be reached exactly on the last turn in order to win. Furthermore, the last throw must land in a double score space, which is called "doubling-out."

In the 301 game, scoring begins when a player has "doubled." This is called "doubling-in." One player may double in before the next, which leaves the second player stuck trying to get the double while the first player can start working her way toward zero. This rule is an exciting component of the shorter 301 game.

Cricket
In Cricket, the numbers 15 through 20 are used, with each player needing to hit each number (either in the single, double or triple sections of the board) three times. That is called "closing the number." Each number needs to be closed and, once it is, additional hits on that number count as points for whichever player closed the number first. Three throws constitute a turn, called an "inning." A triple on one of the numbers closes the number. Similarly, a single and a double will do the same. The numbers do not have to be closed in the same inning, but each hit on the number is tallied during scoring.

There is strategy to Cricket, as the player who has closed all of his numbers wins only if he also has the highest score. Therefore, closing the large numbers first is a strategic move, so the higher scoring numbers count toward adding up the score fastest.