Official Dart Board Rules

The game of darts has been around forever in bars, pubs, taverns and private homes. It is a classic game and played often for fun. However, there is also a serious following with many tournaments taking place around the world. Many official rules for dart boards and games come from the World Dart Federation (WDF).

Dart board rules start with the setup of the board. A1Darts says that to set up the dart board, the board needs to be hung exactly five feet, eight inches from the floor to the center of the bulls eye. A good dart board is hung by the middle where the bulls eye is. If the dart board is hung from the top, then that must be taken into consideration to assure that the bulls eye is exactly 5 feet, 8 inches from the ground. The throw area should be about three feet wide with nothing in between the board and the throw line. A1Darts says that the actual throw line should be marked and be exactly 7 feet, 9 1/4 inches from the face of the board. The throw line should be perpendicular and centered to the board.

The WDF states that all dart boards used in tournaments should be a "bristle" material and in a 1-20 clock pattern. The inner center ring, the "Bull" is worth 50 points and the outer center ring worth 25 points. The dart boards should have an inner narrow band and an outer narrow band worth triple or double points respectively. All wires keeping the board and bands together should lay flat on the face of the dartboard.

There are three types of darts to play with. The simple brass dart is the cheapest and best for beginners. The Tungsten Dart is made from tungsten metal and very durable with a good grip. These darts are pretty expensive and used by more experienced players. Silver/Nickel Darts are the middle of the road darts. They are a heavy metal and offer a good quality for a reasonable price. The World Darts Federation (WDF) states that each player must provide their own darts for tournament play, but the darts must not be longer than 30.5 cm or heavier than 50 grams.

The official rules for WDF tournament play are that the game starts with a score of 501, 701 or 1001. The score is subtracted from the starting score until someone reaches exactly zero. A dart scores only if it remains attached to or touching the dart board until after the throw and the score has been recorded. Darts are retrieved by the thrower. There is no protesting a score once the darts have been retrieved. The scores must be displayed in plain view of the players and the referee. A referee is present and acts as the official in all matters of rules.

Dart Basics says that each player throws three darts in a turn and removes his darts and marks their score before the next throw. Darts that miss the board or bounce to the floor do not count as a score and cannot be re-thrown. To go out a player must hit exactly zero, and get that zero by hitting a double.