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Home/How to Play
The beginner's guide

Never thrown?
Start here.

Everything you need before your first visit: how the board works, how to throw without embarrassing yourself, and the one rule everyone forgets. Ten minutes of reading, a lifetime of “one more leg”.

Prefer hands-on?Beginners' HourFree coached session · first Saturday monthlySave a spot →
The Setup

Four numbers to know

Every lane at The Boardroom is set up to regulation, the same as the world stage. Here's what that means.

Bull height
5ft 8in (1.73m)
Centre of the bullseye to the floor, eye level for most.
The oche
7ft 9¼in (2.37m)
The throw line. Toes behind it, lean as far as you dare.
Per turn
3 darts
Throw all three, add them up, pull them out. That’s a “visit”.
Top score
180
Three treble 20s. Shout it like the telly refs do, it’s the law.
The Throw

Four steps to a decent arrow

There's no single correct technique, watch any pro event and you'll see proof. But every good throw shares these basics.

1Grip

Hold the dart like a pencil, not a hammer, three fingers, relaxed. The dart should rest in your hand, balanced around its centre of gravity.

Squeezing harder doesn’t help. It never helps.
2Stance

Side-on to the board, dominant foot forward at the oche, weight on the front foot. Stay still, the only thing moving should be your arm.

Imagine your front foot is glued down. Wobble is the enemy.
3Aim

Line the dart up between your eye and the target, elbow up and pointing at the board. Most players sight along the tip of the dart.

Pick a specific bed, not “the board”. Aim small, miss small.
4Release

Pull back from the elbow, throw smoothly through the line of aim, and follow through, fingers pointing where the dart went.

A lazy follow-through sends darts low. Finish the throw.
The Board

What's worth what

Single
The big areas, face valueHit the 20, score 20. The large segments between the wires are where most darts land.
Double
Thin outer ring, 2× the numberDouble 20 scores 40. You’ll need one of these to finish most games, so make friends early.
Treble
Thin inner ring, 3× the numberTreble 20 scores 60, the most valuable bed on the board. Three of them is the famous 180.
25 / 50
Outer bull & bullseyeThe green ring scores 25; the red centre scores 50 and counts as a double for finishing.
Your First Game

How 501 works

The classic. It's what the pros play, what our comps play, and what the auto-scorer will offer you first.

1
Everyone starts on 501Take turns throwing three darts. Whatever you score comes off your total, score 45, and 501 becomes 456.
2
Race to zeroKeep chipping away. Good visits score 60+, the pros average a ton. Don't worry, nobody's watching your subtraction, the scorer does it.
3
Finish on a doubleThe famous rule: your last dart must land in a double (or the bullseye) and bring you to exactly zero. On 32? You need double 16.
4
Don't go bustScore more than you have left, or leave yourself exactly 1, and the whole visit is wiped. Back to where you started the turn. Everyone does it; the trick is laughing it off.
5
That's a legFirst to zero wins the leg. Best of three or five legs makes a match. Loser racks up the next game, house rules since forever.
Beyond 501

Games for the whole lane

Mixed abilities on one lane? These keep everyone in the game, all available on the auto-scorer.

Around the Clock
Best for beginners

Hit 1, then 2, then 3… first to work round to 20 wins. The perfect first game, every dart has a clear target and the board makes sense fast.

Killer
Best for big groups

Everyone gets a number and three lives. Hit your own double to become a killer, then hunt everyone else’s. Loud, ruthless, brilliant at parties.

Shanghai
Best for quick rounds

Seven rounds, targets 1 to 7. Score on the round’s number only, but hit its single, double and treble in one visit (“Shanghai”) and you win instantly.

Cricket
Best for tacticians

Close out 15 through 20 and the bull by hitting each three times, and score on numbers your opponent hasn’t closed. Darts with strategy.

Reading Done

Now come and throw some

Theory only gets you so far. A lane is £6 for the hour, house darts included, and the counter will happily check your grip.

How to Play Darts, Rules & Scoring, The Boardroom