Hobbies And Interests
Darts Basics
If the steel-tip board is not set up, hang it exactly 68 inches from the ground. When throwing, stand 7 feet, 9 1/4 inches from the board's face; establish the toe line at the front of the oche, which should measure 1.5 inches tall and 2 feet in length. The board has 20 sections randomly numbered 1 to 20, with "20" centered at the top, and the red 25 ring surrounds the bull's-eye.
Before starting your one-on-one or team game, each player gets nine warm-up throws. Have one player from each team throw a dart; whichever team gets closest to the bull's-eye goes first. Keep score by hand on score sheets or a scoreboard.
Throw three darts during your turn and remove them from the board after scoring. If your foot crosses over the toe line or if you trip over the oche and release your dart, you get no points and lose that throw.
Darts Scoring
To score, your dart must stay on the board for at least five seconds. If your dart sticks to another dart, falls off the board or bounces off the "spider" (the dividing wires that resemble a spider's web), it does not count.
If your dart lands in the wedge, you receive the points shown on the outer ring; if it lands in the outer, narrow double ring, you receive twice the amount shown. If your dart lands on the inner, narrow triple ring, you receive three times the amount shown; if your dart hits the outer bull's-eye, you receive 25 points; and if it hits the inner double bull's-eye, you receive 50 points.
'01 Dart Games
You can play any number of darts games and variations. For one of the popular '01 games--301, 501, 601, 801, 1001--you reduce your score from your starting point to zero. You must get to zero exactly; any throws that would take your score lower than zero do not count. Since 301 probably takes less time to play, you must hit a double before you can start reducing points.
In your final turns, you must score a double or bull's-eye to get your score down to zero. If you have an even number of points left, you need to score a double of that number. If left with an odd number, try to throw single numbers that will result in an even number. For example, if you have 21, a single-three would reduce your score to 18; a double-nine then would take you to zero.
Each game you play is one leg, and you win the match once you win two out of three games.
Cricket
To play cricket, you need stronger strategy and throwing skills than you would playing an '01 game. You want to hit the numbers 15 to 20 and the bull's-eye three times each. To open a number, you must score three of that number in one or more turns, with any combination of singles, doubles and triples. Once you open a number, you earn points for every hit on that number thereafter. While your opponents cannot score on that number, they could close it by landing three scores on that number.
If your team has closed off all numbers and has equal or more points than your opponent, your team wins. The game could end sooner, if the team in the lead has closed any possibility of its opponent scoring. You can play cricket variations such as Bowlers and Batters, also called English cricket, and Scram.