Dartboards
Standard board (London board)
The first recorded game of darts was in Dartford (hence its name). The dartboard itself may have its origins in the cross section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is a 'butt', and from this, folk etymology infers that the bottoms of wine barrels were the original dartboards; this word in fact comes, via archery, from the French word butte, meaning target. Various designs of dartboard have been used, and regional variations remain in parts of Staffordshire, Manchester (log-end board) and Yorkshire. In particular, the Yorkshire and Perrigo Manchester boards differ from the standard board in that they have a single, inner bull and no treble ring. The london 5.s board is another variation. This has only 12 equal segments numbered 20,5,15 and 10 with the doubles and trebles being a quarter of a inch wide.
Manchester board. Made from a log-end, this board is solid wood and is soaked in a tub of water overnight before use. The board is much smaller than the standard board and has no triples.
Yorkshire Board. No triples.
Black Irish board. No triples.
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Round the board, round the clock
These games basically involve hitting number from 1 to 20 in order, then bull. There are several variations of this game. Choose the one that suits your playing ability best.
The basic rules. (any number of players)
Players take turns throwing for numbers starting at number 1. If you hit a 1 then you move on to 2. If you hit a 2 then you move on to 3 etc. After you hit the 20 you need to hit the first double scored by any player, then bull to finish the game.
Northern English rules
If you look at the dart board pictures on the left you will see that the Nothern English and Irish boards have no triples. Some boards do not have outer bull either. When you play northern rules on a standard dartboard triples only count as singles.
Doubles do count as doubles though, so if you are throwing for number 4, and you hit a double it counts as 8. Your next shot is therefore 9. If you hit a double 10 it counts as 20 and your next shot is bull. Hitting double 11 and over only counts as a single. If you don't manage to hit a double under 11, you have to hit singles till you get to 20. This is called "walking" and is not a good situation to be in.
The fastest way to finish this game is D1 - 3 - D4 - 9 - D10 - (D1 if the first double scored) - innerBull
When playing on a standard board, you do not always need to hit innerBull to finish. Some people allow any bull, some people say you can hit either an innerBull or two outer bulls in the same turn.
London rules
More or less the same as above except some people say triples count. If you get triple 6 it counts as 18 and yout next shot is 19. Triples over 6 count as singles.
Also, to finish, some people say you must hit double, triple, any bull.
Also, some people say if you hit three scoring darts, you get to throw again.
Northern rules are the accepted norm, but check what the rules are before you start playing.
Round the board in doubles or triples.
This can be played as a scoring game or a race.
1/ A race: start at number 1. If you hit the double (or triple, whichever you are playing) you go on the next number. Double bull to finish after you get 20.
2/ Scoring: You get 3 darts each at each double (or triple, whichever you are playing). If you hit it once it scores, if you hit it twice it scores twice, if you hit it three times it scores three times. If no darts hit it you score remains the same. Double bull to finish after you get 20. Highest score wins.
Some people play that if you miss a number with all three darts your score is halved.
London Five's board. |
You can't play these games on a London 5's board, but here is a picture of one just for interests sake. |
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