501 and 301Most professional matches are "501 up". This is the simplest of games. Each player starts with a score of 501 and takes turns to throw 3 darts. The score for each turn is calculated and deducted from the players total. Bullseye scores 50, the outer ring scores 25 and a dart in the double or treble ring counts double or treble the segment score. The objective is to be the first player to reduce the score to exactly zero, the only caveat being that the last dart thrown must land in a double or the bullseye. Around the ClockA popular game played for fun is "Around the Clock". In this, each player takes turns to throw 3 darts and is required to throw a dart in every segment starting from 1 up to 20 and then to finish with the 25 and bullseye. Players must start with 1 and cannot proceed to the next number until a dart has been successfully thrown at the current target segment. Doubles and trebles are ignored. First player to hit all the targets and then finish with the bullseye wins. CricketThere are a number of games played with a darts board that are based around other pub games and this is the most common of them. Each player takes turn to throw 3 darts as per usual. To start, players toss a coin to decide who bats first. The batting player starts and, during each turn, attempts to score as many points as possible using the usual 501 scoring system. When the batting player scores more than 40 points in a turn, the number of points above 40 is added to that player's score. e.g. If the batting player scores 58, 18 points (runs) are added to that players score. Otherwise the batting player scores nothing. The opposing player is deemed to be bowling and this player aims only at the bullseye. The bowling player scores 2 wickets for the bullseye and 1 wicket for the 25 ring. Players take turns until the bowling player throws a dart that scores the 10th wicket. At that point, the roles are reversed and the other player has an "innings" (turn to bat). The game should end when both players have played two innings each at which point the player with the highest score has won the match. If the batting player should land a dart in the bullseye or 25 ring, the batting player loses a wicket or two accordingly. If the bowling player throws a dart which does not land in the board, 20 "extras" are awarded to the batting side. For less skilled players, the game can be made easier in a variety of ways. Here are some suggestions:
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