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Directions for Playing Darts

The game of darts has been in existence for hundreds of years and is a fixture of pubs, particularly in Great Britain, where it is also played professionally. The rules of darts have changed over the years, and there are a number of different games that can be played with darts and a dartboard, but the most popular is as follows.

Instructions

- 1
  The dart board should be hung so that the bull's-eye is 5 feet 8 inches from the ground with a marker placed 7 feet 9 1/4 inches from the board, which the players must stand behind.
- 2
  Pick a score number. This must be the same for each player and is generally either 501 or 301, but it can be any number. An odd number, specifically one ending in 1 is usually used, because this is harder to get.
- 3
  The first player throws his three darts. Since the object of the game is to get from the score number to zero as quickly as possible the player should try to score as high as he can. Hitting the large section of each number within the wires scores that number, with the thin section directly next to the number scoring a double, and the smaller section about halfway down scoring a triple the number. The bull's-eye, in the middle of the board, scores 50, and the ring around it scores 25.
- 4
  The second player then throws his three darts. The players alternate until the game is over. The highest number that can be scored with three darts is 180, or three triple 20s.
- 5
  The game must finish on a double or a bull's-eye. Thus a player with 22 left must hit double 11. If a player does not end on a double, or exceeds the score he needs he has gone "bust" and either forfeits the game or has his score reset.
- 6
  A dart that either lands outside the outer wires or does not stay in the board scores nothing.

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