Best darts games to play

With the PDC Darts World Championships well underway, millions of new eyes will yet again turn to the sport’s biggest tournament. Current champion Gerwyn Price will be looking to defend his title and seems in good standing to do so as the pre-tournament bookies’ favourite.

The popularity of the sport has skyrocketed in recent years, with 1.25m people in the UK alone tuning in to the World Championship’s final last year. Formerly seen as not much more than a pub game, the arrival of big personalities like Michael Van Gerwen, Peter Wright and the formerly mentioned Price has welcomed a newfound respect for the sport.

It is now one of the most popular sports in the UK and has tens of millions of players worldwide. If you are perhaps new to darts or even if you’re a fan who wants to hone their playing skills, here are some of the best games that you should try out.

Around The Clock

Also known as “Around The World”, this is one of the easiest and most popular games to play for darts fans. The concept could not be simpler: Hit every number from 1-20 in numerical order before moving onto the 25 and finally the bullseye.

Each player takes their turn until they miss, in which case it is the next players turn. For example, if you hit one, two and three successfully but missed four, your turn is finished. When you resume your turn, you start from where you left off.

The aim of the game is to hit the bullseye before anyone else and it really is as simple as that…unless you don’t want it to be. Shanghai is a twist on Around the Clock that is the same concept but you must hit all three segments (single, double, triple) before you move on to the next number.

World Darts Championship Slots

Online slots are fun to play and with huge cash prizes up for grabs on any one spin are very rewarding…literally! World darts championship slots is one of the most popular Darts themed slots games available to play.

Choose your stake and press spin. When the reels stop they will form in a line and if they are 2, 3, 4 or 5 or any Darts Player symbol, you win.

With up to five bonus scatter symbols too you can win mega free spins awarding huge wins.

· 3 bonus symbols = 10 free spins

· 4 bonus symbols = 15 free spins

· 5 bonus symbols = 180 free spins

With multiple scatter features available to be won in a single game, the opportunity to win is huge.

501

501 is the most popular competitive darts game to play amongst fans. Every player starts with 501 points and gets three darts per round.

Each round, the score accumulated from your three darts gets taken off your points with the aim being to be the first to zero. Sounds simple enough, but of course there is a twist.

To end the game you must hit a double to bring your total down to zero. For example, if you are on 10 points you must hit a double 5, for 30 points a double 15 etc.

The reason 501 is so popular is because it adopts the rules that professional players use competitively. So who knows— hone your skills enough in 501 and you could make it to the big stage yourself.

Icebreaker

This differs from the games mentioned so far as it is played in teams. The winner of Ice Breaker is the team that reaches 150 points first.

To make it more challenging however, some numbers on the dartboard are limited so only certain numbers count towards your score. For example, only numbers 1-5 may count, with the usual doubles and trebles counting also.

There is one final twist— if any player hits the bullseye, everyone’s score goes back down to zero. This could help or hinder you: if your opponents are only one turn off reaching 150 you can aim for the bullseye to stop them or you could hit the bullseye and take your own score to zero.

Knockout

Knockout can be played by any number of people. The first player will throw three darts and mark their score and the 2nd player must beat that, 3rd must beat 2nd, 4th must beat 3rd and so on.

If a player fails to beat the score of their opponent they get a strike next to their name. Three strikes and you are out, hence the name ‘knockout’ and the last player remaining wins the game.

Knockout is one of the most fun games to play as it is quick and can be played with all of your family and friends.

Cricket

This is one of the most popular darts games to play with friends and family or at your local pub. Cricket is best played with four people as either two teams of two or singles.

Players take turns trying to hit numbers 15-20 and the bullseye. If you hit the outer ring of a number, that counts for two, and if you hit the inner ring, that counts as three. You must hit every number three times to close it out.

The objective of Cricket is to be the first player or team to close out all the numbers in play while being even or ahead in points. The team that closes out the board with greater or equal points wins.