The Field Manual: How to Play Darts & Look Like You Know What You’re Doing

How to play darts

Andrew is the founder and editor of Primer. He's a graduate of American University and currently lives in Los Angeles. Read more about Primer on our About page. On Instagram: @andrewsnavely and @primermagazine.

  • Will Smith

    What would happen, if you were to go over 0? If, for example, you had a score of 17 and hit a double 20.

    • Guest

      You “bust,” your score reverts back to 17 and it your opponent’s turn. Assuming your opponent doesn’t win/finish the game, you will have another go.

  • Kyle

    Hey Will Smith. If you were to go below 0, then that turn would be a bust and would not count. In your example, play would be passed to your opponent and you would start your next turn still needing 17.

    • Will Smith

      Thank You.

  • Judson M

    This really makes me want to get a dart board for the apartment. However I imagine the landlord would not approve of all the holes in the wall created as I improve my technique…

    • Marc

      A dart board over a plywood sheet keeps the wall safe 🙂

    • superman

      you can also get a soft tip dart board which is great because most bars have soft tip dart boards and you can really show off your new skills. 🙂

  • carl

    How do you ring out if you have 1 point left? A double 1 would be a 2..

    • Wade Giles

      You cannot score 1 if playing double out. Any throw that leaves you with 1 point is another bust scenario. Your score resets and the next player takes a turn.

  • Nathan

    While most (a very small amount) darts on TV is played this way, most of my experience (a small amount) in bars is playing “cricket”. I feel like it is much easier for the person who plays darts once a month (the audience of this article).