Most darts nights are X01 (501 or 301, counting down to zero) or Cricket (close 20 to 15 and the bull). Beyond those two, there are dozens of games for groups, for two players and for practice. This page gives the short rules of 33 of them, all from published sources, and says which ones Darts Counter scores: X01 from 301 to 901, Cricket and Cut-Throat Cricket. The others you score on paper for now.
Only X01 and Cricket have rule books from darts bodies. Every other game is played by house rules, and sources often disagree; where they do, we say so. Agree the details before the first dart.
| Game | Players | Aim in one line | In Darts Counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 501, 301 (X01) | 1 or more | count down to exactly zero | yes, 301 to 901 |
| Cricket | 2 or teams | close 20 to 15 and the bull, score points | yes |
| Cut-Throat Cricket | 3 or more best | like Cricket, but points go to opponents | yes |
| Killer | 2 or more | become a killer, take other players' lives | no |
| Blind Killer | groups | Killer with secret numbers | no |
| Shanghai | 1 or more | score on one number per round; a Shanghai wins | no |
| Around the Clock | 1 or more | hit 1 to 20 in order | no |
| Nine Lives | any | Around the Clock with lives | no |
| Halve-it | any | hit the round's target or your score is halved | no |
| Bermuda Triangle | any | Halve-it with 13 fixed targets | no |
| Knockout | 2 or more | beat the previous score or take a strike | no |
| Elimination, Gotcha | groups | count up to an exact target, reset others | no |
| Baseball | 1 or more | nine innings on the numbers 1 to 9 | no |
| Golf | any | fewest strokes over 9 or 18 holes | no |
| Mickey Mouse | 2 or teams | close 20 to 12, doubles, trebles and bull | no |
| Scram | 2 or teams | one stops, one scores | no |
| Tic Tac Toe | 2 or teams | three in a row on a grid of numbers | no |
| Warfare | 2 or teams | wipe out the enemy half of the board | no |
| Football | 2 or teams | score goals or touchdowns | no |
| Snooker | 2 or teams | reds and colors on the numbers | no |
| Tennis | 2 or 4 | tennis scoring on the board | no |
| Hare and Hounds | 2 | a chase around the board | no |
| Chase the Dragon | 1 or more | trebles 10 to 20, then the bull | no |
| Prisoner | groups | capture darts left in the board | no |
| Loopy | several | follow the leader into any area | no |
| Steeplechase | any | a race around the board with fences | no |
| All Fives (51 by 5s) | any | score only multiples of five | no |
| Bob's 27 | 1 | doubles practice from 27 points | no |
| 121 | 1 or 2 | check out 121 in nine darts | no |
| Catch 40 | 1 | check out 61 to 100 | no |
| JDC Challenge | 1 | a three-part skills test | no |
| High Score, Count Up | 1 or more | highest total | no |
| 100 darts challenge | 1 | 100 darts at one number | no |
Games Darts Counter scores
501 and 301 (X01). Each player starts on the same score and subtracts every visit; the first to reach exactly zero, finishing on a double or the bull, wins the leg. A visit that goes below zero, leaves 1 or reaches zero without a double is a bust. The full rules are in our 501 guide and darts rules. When two teams play, the start is sometimes raised to 701 or 1001 (Wikipedia, "Darts"). In Darts Counter you can start from 301 to 901 and pick Double Out, Master Out or Straight Out; a fresh install starts on Straight Out, so switch to Double Out for standard 501.
Cricket. The targets are 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull. A single is one mark, a double two, a treble three; three marks close a number for you. Once you have closed a number, further hits score its points until your opponent closes it too. You win by closing everything with at least as many points as your opponent (ADO rules 49 to 51). Darts Counter scores Cricket with two win conditions, Highest Score and Close All First.
Cut-Throat Cricket. Cricket in reverse: your extra hits on a closed number add points to every opponent who has not closed it, and the lowest score wins. Full rules and a worked example: cut-throat cricket.
Party and group games
Killer. Every player gets a number, usually by throwing a dart with the weaker hand. First you hit your own number (in the common version its double) to become a killer; then every hit on another player's number takes one of their lives. The last player with lives wins. Versions differ a lot, from five hits to become a killer (Wikipedia) to one double; our Killer guide has the details and a score sheet.
Blind Killer. Killer with secret numbers, drawn for example on folded paper, so nobody knows whose number they are hitting. In dartsguide's version everyone has three lives, lost when someone hits their double; German Wikipedia uses 8 to 12 tally marks per number instead.
Shanghai. Round 1 is played on the 1s, round 2 on the 2s, and so on. Only hits on that round's number count, at single, double or treble value, and the highest total wins. Hitting a single, double and treble of the number in one visit is a "Shanghai" and wins at once. Wikipedia calls seven rounds (1 to 7) the standard version; others play all 20.
Knockout. Each player must score more with three darts than the player before them. Fail and you get a strike; three strikes and you are out. The last player left wins (darthelp, dartsguide).
Halve-it. Agree a list of targets, one per round, for example 20, 16, any double, 17, any treble, bull. Only hits on the round's target score. If all three darts miss it, your whole score is halved. Highest total after the last round wins (Wikipedia, "Halve it"). In Germany a similar game is called Splitscore.
Bermuda Triangle. Halve-it with 13 fixed rounds: 12, 13, 14, any double, 15, 16, 17, any treble, 18, 19, 20, the outer bull, then the bull. Miss the target with all three darts and your score is halved (darthelp, dartraum.de).
Elimination and Gotcha. Everyone starts at zero and counts up to an exact target, usually 301. If your score lands exactly on another player's score, that player goes back to zero. Going over the target does not count. First to hit the target exactly wins. German Wikipedia describes Elimination this way; darthelp and dartraum.de describe Gotcha with the same idea.
Prisoner. Players go around the board in order, but only the outer part of each number, from the treble ring out, counts. A dart that lands inside the treble ring stays in the board as a "prisoner", and whoever next hits that number captures it and throws it from then on (darts501, darthelp).
Loopy (Looper). Follow the leader: the first player hits any area enclosed by wire, including the loops inside the printed numbers, and the next player must hit exactly that area with three darts or lose a life. The last player with lives wins; players start with 3 to 5 lives (darthelp).
Nine Lives. Around the Clock from 1 to 20, but a visit without a hit on your number costs a life. Despite the name you get three lives (darthelp, darts501).
Games for two players or two teams
Mickey Mouse. Close 20 down to 12, plus any three doubles, any three trebles and the bull, three marks each; the first to close everything wins (darthelp, darts501). The name is used for different games: some sources call ordinary Cricket "Mickey Mouse".
Scram. One player is the stopper, the other the scorer. The stopper throws first and closes every number they hit; the scorer then scores normally on numbers that are still open. When everything is closed, swap roles; the higher total over both halves wins (darthelp, dartsguide).
Tic Tac Toe. Nine numbers form the grid: 12, 20, 18 on top, 11, bull, 6 in the middle, 7, 3, 2 at the bottom. Hit a number three times (a double counts two, a treble three) to claim its square; three in a row wins (darthelp, dartsguide).
Warfare. The board is split into a top half and a bottom half of ten numbers, one army each. Every hit on an enemy number kills that soldier, and every hit on your own number kills one of yours. Wipe out the other army to win (darthelp, dartsguide).
Football. Two different games share the name. In the soccer version, you first hit the bull to take possession and then every double is a goal; first to 10 goals wins (darts501). In darthelp's American football version you advance along the 11, bull and 6 strip towards the opponent's end zone.
Snooker. The numbers 1 to 15 are reds worth 1 point each and are gone once hit. After a red, you nominate a color: 16 yellow 2, 17 green 3, 18 brown 4, 19 blue 5, 20 pink 6, bull black 7. Highest total wins (darts501, Darts Corner). Foul rules differ between sources.
Tennis. A two-player game with tennis scoring (15, 30, 40, game) where 20 and 3 act as the net and each player serves at their own half of the board (darts501, darthelp). The rules are longer than the others here; darts501 has them in full.
Hare and Hounds. The hare starts on 20 and races clockwise around the board back to 20; the hound starts behind, on 5 or 12, and wins by catching the hare (darthelp, darts501).
Baseball. Nine innings; in inning 1 everyone throws at the 1, in inning 2 at the 2, and so on. A single is one run, a double two, a treble three; most runs after nine innings win (darthelp, darts501, dartbase). One German site counts face value instead.
Golf. Nine or 18 holes, hole 1 on the 1 and so on. You may stop after any dart and your last dart counts: a double is a hole in one, a miss is 5 strokes, and the lowest total wins (darthelp). Other sources score the rings differently, so agree the values first.
Practice games
Around the Clock. Hit 1, 2, 3 and so on up to 20 in order; you only move on once you hit the current number. Many players finish on the bull. Solo, count how many darts you need. German Wikipedia's version lets a double skip one number and a treble two; most English sources give doubles and trebles no advantage.
Chase the Dragon. Hit the trebles from 10 up to 20 in order, then the outer bull, then the bull; only the treble counts (darthelp, darts501).
Steeplechase. A race clockwise from 20 around the board; only the inner single area counts, except at the "fences" T13, T17, T8 and T5, where you need the treble (darthelp, dartbase).
All Fives (51 by 5s). Add up your three darts. If the total divides by 5, you score the total divided by 5; otherwise nothing. First to exactly 51 wins (darthelp).
Bob's 27. Invented by Bob Anderson for doubles practice. Start on 27 and throw three darts at double 1, then double 2, up to double 20 and the bull. Every hit adds that double's value; if all three miss, you lose its value once. If your score drops too low you are out; sources disagree whether that is at zero or below zero. The perfect score is 1437 (darthelp; German Wikipedia).
121. Start on 121 and try to check out in nine darts, finishing on a double. If you manage, your next target is 122; if not, you drop back one, but never below 121 (dart-rock-cafe.de). Some apps drop you further.
Catch 40. Check out every score from 61 to 100 in order, with up to six darts each: 3 points for a finish in two darts, 2 in three darts, 1 in four to six darts, for a maximum of 120. Its only rules source is an app maker's page (GoDartsPro), which credits the game to John Part; two forums describe it the same way.
JDC Challenge. A test in three parts: numbers 10 to 15 with three darts each, then one dart at each double from 1 to 20 and the bull (50 points per double hit), then numbers 15 to 20. A Shanghai earns a 100-point bonus. We found no rules page from the Junior Darts Corporation itself; this summary is from GoDartsPro and dart-rock-cafe.de.
High Score (Count Up). Count upwards with normal scoring; highest total after an agreed number of rounds wins, often 8 rounds (darthelp), or first to a target such as 1000 (dartsguide).
100 darts challenge. Throw 100 darts at one number and count single 1, double 2, treble 3. Sources are a shop and an app maker (mydartpfeil.com, GoDartsPro).
Score your games
For X01 and Cricket, Darts Counter does the counting: averages, checkout suggestions (always double-out routes), sets and legs, any number of players, and in X01 and Cricket you can count all games for free. For the other games on this page, a notepad does the job; our Killer guide has a printable score sheet.
Want another game in Darts Counter? Tell us which one
Keep reading
- Killer darts rules: the full rules, variants and a score sheet
- Cut-throat cricket: Cricket where the lowest score wins
- 501 darts rules: the standard game
- Darts glossary: Shanghai, madhouse and other terms
Sources
Written by FLAME Apps, maker of Darts Counter since 2015. All sources fetched 2026-09-25. Most fun games have no official rules; the sites below are hobby and information sites unless marked.
- Wikipedia, Darts (revision 1376610880): X01 for teams, Cricket, Halve-it, Killer, Round the clock, Shanghai
- Wikipedia, Halve it (revision 1333953528)
- Wikipedia (German), Darts (revision 270522742): Blinder Killer, Around the clock, Bobs 27, Elimination, Double Down 41
- ADO Tournament Rules Booklet, rules 49 to 51 (Cricket)
- darthelp.com game pages: Shanghai, Knockout, Bermuda Triangle, Gotcha, Prisoner, Loopy, Nine Lives, Mickey Mouse, Scram, Tic Tac Toe, Warfare, Football, Tennis, Hare and Hound, Baseball, Golf, Chase the Dragon, Steeplechase, 51 by 5s, Bob's 27, Count Up
- dartsguide.net: Blind Killer, Knockout, Scram, Warfare, High Score, easy dart games (Gotcha, Tic Tac Toe)
- darts501.com: standard board games (Prisoner, Nine Lives, Mickey Mouse, Football, Snooker, Tennis, Hare and Hounds, Chase the Dragon, Baseball) and practice games (Bob's 27)
- dartbase.com: Baseball, Steeplechase
- dartraum.de (German): Bermuda Triangle, Gotcha, Baseball
- dart-rock-cafe.de (German, a darts bar): 121, JDC Challenge, Splitscore
- Darts Corner (shop), how to play snooker darts
- GoDartsPro (app maker): Catch 40, JDC Challenge, 100 darts; forum threads on Catch 40 at dartsnutz.net and dartn-forum.de
- mydartpfeil.com (shop, German): 100 darts
