Cut-throat cricket is Cricket where points hurt: you still close 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull with three marks each, but once you have closed a number, every extra hit on it gives its points to each opponent who has not closed it yet. The lowest score wins: the first player to close everything with the lowest (or a shared lowest) score takes the game. No federation publishes official cut-throat rules, so this is the most common version; agree any house rules before you start.
| Regular Cricket | Cut-throat Cricket | |
|---|---|---|
| Numbers | 20 to 15 and the bull | same |
| Close a number | 3 marks (single 1, double 2, triple 3) | same |
| Points from a closed number | go to you | go to every opponent who has it open |
| Points possible while | any opponent has the number open | same |
| Winner | closed everything and highest or equal score | closed everything and lowest or equal score |
How to play cut-throat cricket
- Set up the board: one column per player with 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and Bull, plus a points row.
- Throw three darts per turn. A single is one mark, a double two, a triple three. The outer bull is one mark and the inner bull two, as in the American Darts Organization's Cricket rules (ADO rules 49 to 51).
- Three marks close a number for you. You can close numbers in any order.
- Score on a closed number by hitting it again. Each extra mark is worth the number (25 per mark on the bull), and those points are added to every opponent who has not closed that number. If everyone has closed it, nobody scores on it.
- Win when you have closed all seven targets and your score is the lowest, or tied for the lowest. If you have closed everything but are not lowest, keep hitting numbers your opponents still have open, so their scores rise past yours.
Wikipedia sums up the idea: "points are undesirable; hitting a number that is opened results in points being given to any other players who do not have that number closed, and the lowest score wins."
Worked example with three players
Anna, Ben and Cleo play cut-throat. Two rounds:
| Turn | Darts | What happens | Anna | Ben | Cleo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | T20, 19, miss | closes 20; one mark on 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben | T19, 20, miss | closes 19; one mark on 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleo | 18, 18, 20 | two marks on 18; one mark on 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anna | T20, 19, miss | 3 extra marks on her closed 20 = 60 to Ben and Cleo (both have 20 open); now two marks on 19 | 0 | 60 | 60 |
| Ben | 19, D20, miss | 1 extra mark on his closed 19 = 19 to Anna and Cleo; D20 closes 20 for him | 19 | 60 | 79 |
| Cleo | T20 | her 4th mark on 20 closes it; the extra mark would be 20 points, but Anna and Ben have both closed 20, so nobody gets them | 19 | 60 | 79 |
After two rounds Anna leads with the lowest score. Under regular Cricket the same darts would give Anna 60 and Ben 19 for themselves, and Anna would lead with the highest score. Same darts, opposite meaning.
Strategy tips
- Close what your opponents have closed. Every number they own and you do not is a number they can load you up with.
- Aim your points at the leader. The leader is the player with the lowest score. Points go to everyone who has a number open, so pick numbers the leader has not closed yet.
- Do not rush the last target if you are not lowest. Closing everything only wins with the lowest score.
House rules and common variants
The big rule books (WDF, DRA, ADO) leave cut-throat out. One of the few federations that writes it down is the Czech soft tip federation UŠO: its league rules (I.8) play it over 15 or 20 rounds and leave it to local custom whether one or both players must close. So groups differ. Settle these before the first dart:
- Do the extra marks of the closing dart count? Example: two marks on 20, then a triple 20. In the version described above, one mark closes the number and the other two score 40.
- Win condition. The version above needs everything closed and the lowest score. Some groups end the game as soon as one player closes everything, whatever the score.
- Teams. Partners can share one column.
Printable cut-throat score sheet
Copy this into a notebook or print this page:
| Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | ||||
| 19 | ||||
| 18 | ||||
| 17 | ||||
| 16 | ||||
| 15 | ||||
| Bull | ||||
| Points |
Mark / for one mark, X for two and a circled X for a closed number. More on marking in how to keep score in darts.
Cut-throat cricket in Darts Counter
Darts Counter scores Cut-Throat for you: in the Cricket setup, switch on Cut Throat. We read the app's code to check it matches the rules above:
- Extra marks on a number you have closed add their points to every opponent who has not closed it.
- The extra marks of the dart that closes a number count too (the two-marks-then-triple example scores 40).
- The bull is 25 points per mark: the outer bull one mark, the inner bull two.
- The game ends as soon as a player who has closed all seven targets has the lowest or a shared lowest score. The separate win condition setting only applies to regular Cricket.
Let the app deal out the points while you pick your targets: Darts Counter counts all games for free, Cricket and Cut-Throat included.
Sources
Written by FLAME Apps, maker of Darts Counter since 2015. Checked 2026-09-25.
- ADO Tournament Rules Booklet, rules 49 to 51 (regular Cricket: numbers, marks, winning)
- Wikipedia: Cricket (darts) (cut-throat scoring)
- NDA Rules (Cricket in US soft tip leagues)
- UŠO team competition rules, valid from 1 July 2026 (Czech soft tip federation), rule I.8 (Cricket Cut Throat in its league)
- Keep reading: how to keep score in darts, Killer darts rules
