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English Dartboard Rules

Darts is an old game that originated in Europe, with varying myths as to its invention. Modern darts comes to us from England in the late 19th century, according to the website dartsinfoworld.com. Play is relatively simple, with players taking turns throwing their darts at the dartboard and attempting to score points by hitting particular segments of the board. There are many games and variations in play, but the traditional English game is the 501 (pronounced "five-oh-one").

Object of the Game: First to Zero Wins
- In 501 and its variations (301, 401, 601, 701, 801, 901, or 1001 are examples), the object of the game is to reach a score of zero. Each player begins the game with 501 points (in the variations, they start with the number indicated by the name). As they throw darts at the board, they deduct the points they score from 501 until they reach zero. The first player to reach zero wins.
Scoring: Hit the Board Segments to Earn Points
- A dartboard is a circle divided into 20 slices or segments and a bullseye. A typical dartboard has the value of each segment at the outer edge of the segment. Each segment is further divided by two thin circles. At the very outer edge of the board is the double-points circle. About halfway between the outer edge circle and the bullseye is the triple-points circle. The bullseye is divided into an inner bullseye and an outer bullseye.
  
  When the dart is thrown, the segment it sticks in indicates the number of points to be awarded. If the dart strikes the 20-point segment, 20 points are awarded. If the dart strikes the outer circle double points section of the 20-point segment, 40 points are awarded. If the dart strikes the inner circle triple points section of the 20-point segment, 60 points are awarded. The outer bullseye is worth 25 points and the inner bullseye is worth 50 points.
Three Darts a Turn
- Darts is typically played by two people. Each turn of darts is played with three darts per player. Player order is determined by each player throwing a single dart at the board. The player closest to the bullseye chooses who throws first. If both players strike the bullseye, they throw again until there is a decisive result.
  
  At the end of the turn, the players total their scored points and subtract them from their current scores, starting at 501.
Exact Scoring to Win
- Generally, the game of 501 is not difficult until the final turn is reached. A player must bring her score down to exactly zero to win the game. On the final turn, going over zero will result in loss of a turn and the player's score returning to that of the previous round. For example, a player with a score of 35 will have to score 35 points exactly to win. The player can win on one or two darts, for example hitting the double 15 segment and the 5 segment to score 35; but should the player hit 15, 5 and then 20, the player's score returns to 35 and he must try again on his next turn.

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