In Killer every player gets their own number on the board. First you hit your own number, usually its double, to become a killer. Then you hit other players' numbers to take their lives. Lose all your lives and you are out; the last player standing wins. No federation publishes Killer rules, so house rules vary: below is the most common way to play, the main variants, and a score sheet to print.
| Step | Common rule (doubles version) |
|---|---|
| Numbers | each player gets a different number from 1 to 20 |
| Lives | agree before the start, for example 3 |
| Become a killer | hit the double of your own number |
| As a killer | each hit on another player's double takes one of their lives |
| Hit your own double as a killer | you lose a life (house rule, agree it first) |
| Winner | last player with lives left |
How to play Killer, step by step
- Get your numbers. Each player throws one dart with their weaker hand; the number it lands in is theirs. If it misses the scoring area or lands on a number that is already taken, throw again. Wikipedia describes the same method: "No two players can have the same number."
- Agree the lives (three is quick, five is longer) and write every player's number and lives on the sheet.
- Throw three darts per turn in a fixed order.
- Become a killer by hitting the double of your number. Until then, other players' numbers do nothing for you.
- Hunt. Once you are a killer, every dart in another player's double takes one of their lives. You can target any player, killer or not.
- Mind your own number. One house rule you may meet: a killer who hits their own double loses a life. Agree it before you start.
- Out at zero. A player with no lives left is out and stops throwing. The last player with lives wins.
Worked example: three players, three lives
Anna has 20, Ben 6, Cleo 11. Doubles version, three lives each.
| Turn | Darts | What happens | Anna | Ben | Cleo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna | D20, miss, miss | Anna is a killer | 3 (killer) | 3 | 3 |
| Ben | 6, miss, miss | no double, not a killer yet | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cleo | D11, miss, miss | Cleo is a killer | 3 | 3 | 3 (killer) |
| Anna | D11, D6, miss | Cleo and Ben lose a life | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Ben | D6, miss, miss | Ben is a killer | 3 | 2 (killer) | 2 |
| Cleo | D20, D20, miss | Anna loses two lives | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Anna | D11, D11, D6 | Cleo is out, Ben loses a life | 1 | 1 | out |
| Ben | D20 | Anna is out | out | 1 | out |
Ben wins with his last life, although he was the last to become a killer.
Killer variants
- Build your lives (the Wikipedia version). Everyone starts with no lives and hits their own number to collect them: singles one, doubles two, triples three. At five you are a killer, and you then take lives off others the same way. Nobody can hold more than five.
- Whole segment. Your number counts anywhere in its segment, not just the double. Faster and easier for beginners.
- Triples count more. As an option, a triple takes two or three lives.
- Blind killer. Numbers are drawn in secret, for example on folded slips of paper, so nobody knows whose number they are hitting.
- Bull. As an option, add the bull, for example as a way to win back a life.
Settle these points before the first dart: how many lives, doubles or whole segment, whether a killer can hit their own number, and whether a player can win back lives.
Killer for two players
Killer works with two, but it turns into a duel: whoever becomes a killer first has an edge, because they can take lives while the other player is still aiming at their own double. Give both players more lives, or play the build-your-lives version, so one lucky dart does not end it.
Printable Killer score sheet
Print this page or copy the table. Cross out a circle for every life lost, and tick the killer column when a player becomes a killer:
| Player | Number | Killer | Lives |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ | ||
| ☐ | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ | ||
| ☐ | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ | ||
| ☐ | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ | ||
| ☐ | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ | ||
| ☐ | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ |
For three lives, cross out two circles in each row before you start.
Scoring Killer with an app
Darts Counter does not score Killer. It counts X01 games (301 to 901) with averages and checkout suggestions, and Cricket including Cut-Throat, so for Killer the score sheet above is the way to go. When the Killer game is over, a round of cut-throat cricket or 501 is one tap away in Darts Counter.
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Sources
Written by FLAME Apps, maker of Darts Counter since 2015. Checked 2026-09-25.
- Wikipedia: Darts (section on Killer: picking numbers with the weaker hand, the build-your-lives version)
- Killer has no official rule book from the WDF, the DRA or the DDV; the doubles version and the variants above are common house rules.
- Keep reading: cut-throat cricket rules, how to keep score in darts
