The Rules of Baseball Darts on a Special Dartboard

Baseball is a variation of darts played on a special board designed to resemble a baseball field. The game, like baseball, is separated into innings with the thrower acting as the pitcher and attempting to retire the hitters while giving up as few runs as possible. The spaces on the board represent the various outcomes of each individual pitch, such as balls, strikes, hits and outs. After nine innings, the team that gives up the fewest runs wins the game.

  1. The Board

    • The spaces on the board show a variety of options: Ball, Strike, Out, Sacrifice, Double Play, Safe Hit, Foul, Home Run, Stolen Base, 1, 2 and 3. 1, 2 and 3 correspond to a single, double and triple and are positioned in line with first, second and third base. The center of the board also counts as a home run.

    Innings

    • Two teams participate, each with as many players as desired. The innings, like in a baseball game, are separated into half innings with three outs required to get through the inning. Players throw as many times as necessary before reaching three outs. After three outs are recorded by one team, it is the other team's turn to pitch.

    Outs and Baserunners

    • Three strikes constitute an out, and a foul ball counts as a strike, but a foul ball cannot be the third strike. As in baseball, runners progress around the diamond with hits and walks, and a runner that reaches home plate scores a run. A dart that misses the board is a ball. A double puts a runner on second, a triple puts a runner on third, and a home run is an automatic run, and scores all runners already on base. Runners already on base progress an equivalent amount as the value of a hit, so a runner on first base will move to third if the next hitter hits a double.

    Strategy

    • In baseball darts, the safest strategy is to pitch toward the edges of the board. The edge spaces are generally less damaging (sacrifice, double play, safe hit, stolen base) then the center diamond, where all the extra-base hits are located. The only automatic out space is a narrow ring separating the inside of the diamond from the bases, and throwing at this space might be tempting, but a small error could inadvertently lead to a home run.