With its easy-to-follow rules and scoring system, cricket darts is a popular game amongst seasoned darts fans and novices alike. Accessible for all players and skill levels, it’s been a frequent favourite in pubs and bar settings for many years. Want to learn how to play cricket darts yourself? Here at Darts Corner, we’ve created a simple guide with all you need to know about playing the game. Number of players required: 2 individuals or 2 teams. Numbers in play: 20,19,18,17,16,15, and bullseye. You’ll need: Three darts per player/team A dartboard Paper and pen or chalkboard for keeping score Game objective : The objective of cricket darts is for each player/team to ‘close’ the numbers 15 to 20 and the bullseye while racking up additional points. The player/team with the most points by the end of the game wins. How to Play Cricket Darts: Each player/team takes turns throwing three darts at the board, aiming for numbers 15 through to 20 and the bullseye. Three throws constitute one turn, otherwise known as an inning. If you hit another number, there aren’t any penalties. After you’ve taken your three throws, the other player or team takes theirs. Once a player/team scores three of a number throughout the game, the number is 'closed' by them. This can be accomplished with three singles, a single and a double, or a triple. In cricket darts, hitting the outer ring of a number counts as two points and hitting the inner ring counts as three. When it comes to the bullseye, the outer bull counts as a single, and the inner bull counts as a double. As well as closing a number, gaining additional points is important in this game. Once a player/team has closed a number by hitting it three times, they can continue hitting it throughout the game to rack up points on their go. They can do this only until the other team has also hit three times, which closes the number out completely. If a player/team closes all their numbers first but are behind on points, in order to win the game they must keep hitting the numbers to gain points until the other team closes them. When you hit a number again after you own it, you get that number’s worth of points, while the double and triple rings count as two and three times that number. When scoring the bullseye, the outer ring counts for 25 points and the inner counts for 50. The game ends when each player/team has closed out each number and the bullseye three times. The player/team who closes out the board first with the most points wins! Keeping Score: To keep score when playing cricket darts, draw up a chart with three columns. Write your player/team names at the top on either side and write the numbers 15 through to 20 and ‘bullseye’ down the middle column. When a player/team scores on a number, mark their column with a ‘/’. Once they hit it twice, change the ‘/’ to an ‘X’. Once they’ve scored three of a number and closed it, draw a circle around the X. As a very important aspect of the game is also keeping score of the points each player/team has racked up, you’ll also need to write these individual scores down at the bottom of the board as the game progresses. When each number is closed out and the game ends, you’ll be able to see clearly which player/team has the most points! Ready to play? Here at Darts Corner, you’ll find all the accessories you’ll need for the game, including everything from the darts and dartboard themselves to handy storage and team apparel.
