Darts
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
<P>A<B> very</B> simple game, until you try it, where the object is to throw miniature spears (darts) at a slice of tree (the board) in order to score points. </P>
<P>The game is mostly played in pubs in the UK (where all the best players are). You also see dartboards in various other places, notably the back of American teenagers' bedroom doors - a pretty effective reminder to visitors to knock, I would think! The most unusual place I ever saw one was at the picnic area of the Semliki game reserve, Western Uganda, about 30 years ago. The board was in unplayably bad condition, but this mattered little as there were no darts provided!</P>
<P>The dartboard is best described by people who are good at describing dartboards, but it is circular, and divided into 20 segments numbered from 1 to 20 (but not in order). Each of these segments has two small areas which can improve one's score - trebles, about half-way to the centre of the board, and doubles at the outside of the circle. Darts thrown into these areas score, not surprisingly, treble or double the value of the segment number. Right in the centre of the board are found two small concentric circles. These score 25 for the outer and 50 for the inner. A few regional boards, with different layouts, still survive.</P>
<P>Darts are thrown from a raised line (the oche, pronounced "ockey") which is 7 feet 9 1/4 inches from the board. Each player has three darts and players take turns to throw. </P>
<P>The standard game of darts is 501, where each player tries to reduce his/her score from 501 to zero. This must be achieved by throwing a "double" as one's last dart. </P>
<P>There isn't any strategy to speak of - just scoring as many as you can, then hitting a double to finish. Tactics do have a part to play, however, when deciding how to attempt a possible finish. A good example of this is a 126 finish. This can be achieved by hitting treble-20,16 and bullseye (which counts as a double). But if you miss the treble 20 (hitting a single) you can't finish 106 in two darts. So, better to try treble-19, single 19, bullseye;if you miss the treble-19 first dart, you can have another go with the second. </P>
<P>Like boxing, darts has more than one World Champion. The real Champion is currently Phil Taylor, but the British Darts Organisation continue to run their own World Championship, which lesser players enter. </P>
<P>The game is mostly played in pubs in the UK (where all the best players are). You also see dartboards in various other places, notably the back of American teenagers' bedroom doors - a pretty effective reminder to visitors to knock, I would think! The most unusual place I ever saw one was at the picnic area of the Semliki game reserve, Western Uganda, about 30 years ago. The board was in unplayably bad condition, but this mattered little as there were no darts provided!</P>
<P>The dartboard is best described by people who are good at describing dartboards, but it is circular, and divided into 20 segments numbered from 1 to 20 (but not in order). Each of these segments has two small areas which can improve one's score - trebles, about half-way to the centre of the board, and doubles at the outside of the circle. Darts thrown into these areas score, not surprisingly, treble or double the value of the segment number. Right in the centre of the board are found two small concentric circles. These score 25 for the outer and 50 for the inner. A few regional boards, with different layouts, still survive.</P>
<P>Darts are thrown from a raised line (the oche, pronounced "ockey") which is 7 feet 9 1/4 inches from the board. Each player has three darts and players take turns to throw. </P>
<P>The standard game of darts is 501, where each player tries to reduce his/her score from 501 to zero. This must be achieved by throwing a "double" as one's last dart. </P>
<P>There isn't any strategy to speak of - just scoring as many as you can, then hitting a double to finish. Tactics do have a part to play, however, when deciding how to attempt a possible finish. A good example of this is a 126 finish. This can be achieved by hitting treble-20,16 and bullseye (which counts as a double). But if you miss the treble 20 (hitting a single) you can't finish 106 in two darts. So, better to try treble-19, single 19, bullseye;if you miss the treble-19 first dart, you can have another go with the second. </P>
<P>Like boxing, darts has more than one World Champion. The real Champion is currently Phil Taylor, but the British Darts Organisation continue to run their own World Championship, which lesser players enter. </P>
