How to Use American Darts Rules on an English Board

English dart boards and American dart boards have minor variations, primarily in the way that the barriers between the scoring zones are mounted. Despite these minor details, the overall make-up of the boards is similar. However American players often use the boards to play different games than their English counterparts. While English players are more familiar with 301 and 501, American players also play Cricket, a game named after the sport popular in England but rarely played on English boards.

Instructions

    • 1

      Throw one dart for each team, with the team that threw the closest dart to center going first.

    • 2

      Throw darts in groups of three, with one player or team throwing three darts, scoring and then collecting them. The second team then takes its turn at three darts on an empty board.

    • 3

      Close off sections of a board by scoring three marks in each section numbered 15 to 20, as well as the bullseye. The first mark is denoted with a dash, the second by converting the dash into an "X" and the third by circling the "X" mark.

    • 4

      Score one mark for the number hit if you hit one of the two largest sections of a number, or the outer ring of the bullseye. Score two marks for the number hit for hitting the outer ring of the numbers or the center of the bullseye. Score three marks and close the number out with one dart by hitting the middle ring of a number.

    • 5

      Score points by throwing darts into sections that you have closed out but your opponent has not. The main sections of numbers are worth their numerical value, the outer ring twice the numerical value and the middle ring three times their numerical value. The outer bullseye is worth 25, while the inner bullseye is worth 50.

    • 6

      Play until both teams have closed off all sections, or until one team has closed off all sections and also scored more points, as there are no available sections left for the second team to score points and take the lead.