Darts scoring: 501, 301 and cricket

Checkout chart: 170 down to 2

One route for every finish, using the fewest darts. Where there is a choice, the route avoids doubles as set-up darts, prefers to finish on 20, 16, 18, 12, 10 or 8 (if the dart lands in the single, you are still on a double), and starts with the biggest treble that works. Many finishes have other good routes; the keeper above lists alternatives for the player on a finish.

No three-dart checkout exists for 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162, 159.

Check our routes against the Wikipedia examples: 170 is T20, T20, bull; 141 is T20, T19, D12; 138 is T20, T18, D12; 93 is T19, D18. Our tests confirm every route adds up, ends on a double and uses the fewest darts possible.

501 and 301 rules

Players (or teams, taking turns to throw) start on the same score: 501 is the standard game, 301 a quicker one, and teams sometimes play 701 or 1001. A visit is up to three darts. Add up what the darts scored and take it off your total.

Under the WDF rules every leg is a straight start (any dart counts from the first throw) and a double finish: the dart that brings you to exactly 0 must land in the double ring or the bull. The bull counts as double 25, so 50 can be finished with a bull.

The bust rule covers the three ways a visit can go wrong: scoring more than you have left, leaving exactly 1 (which no double can finish), or reaching 0 with a dart that is not a double. The throw does not count and your score stays as it was before the visit. On your final visit you do not need to throw all three darts; the game ends with the dart that checks out.

Example

You have 40 left. Your first dart hits single 20 (20 left), your second hits single 20: that reaches 0 without a double, so it is a bust and you are back on 40 for your next visit. Had the second dart hit double 10, you would have won.

Cricket rules

Cricket uses only the 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull. You need three marks on each to close it: a single gives one mark, a double two, a treble three. The outer bull is one mark and the bull two. Numbers can be closed in any order.

The first player to put three marks on a number owns it. Every extra mark you add after that scores the number's value (a treble 20 on an open 20 is 60), including the extra marks from the throw that opened it. You keep scoring on it until every opponent has also closed it; then it is dead for everyone. The bull scores 25 a mark.

To win, close all seven targets and have at least as many points as every opponent. If you close everything while behind, keep scoring on numbers your opponents have left open until you catch up.

Example (from the Wikipedia article)

Player 1 throws treble 20, single 20 and double 18: the 20 is open and scores 20, the 18 has two marks. Player 2 throws single 20, treble 20 and treble 16: the 20 is closed for both (no score), and the 16 is open. Player 2 later throws treble 16, single 19 and double 19: 48 points on the 16s and the 19 open. Score: 20 to 48.

Where rules differ

• Double in. Tournament rules start straight. Some games (Wikipedia mentions the PDC's World Grand Prix) need a double to start scoring; darts before it do not count. It is a switch in the keeper.
• The bust. The WDF rule undoes the whole visit. A "Northern Bust", described on Wikipedia, only undoes the dart that busted, so you cannot bust on purpose to get back to an easier number.
• Straight out. Casual games often drop the double finish; any dart that reaches exactly 0 wins. Untick double out.
• Cricket numbers. Some play 20 down to 10, or US and Canadian versions down to 12 or 13 (Wikipedia). Our keeper uses the standard 15 to 20 and the bull.
• Cricket scoring. Cut-throat gives your points to the opponents who have not closed the number, and low wins. A no-points version (Wikipedia calls it Camden Throwdown) is simply a race to close everything.

Tips for keeping score

1. Call your score before you pull the darts. Once the darts are out of the board nobody can check a disputed treble.
2. Aim for a double you can split. On 32 (double 16) a dart in the single 16 leaves 16, still a double (double 8). Odd doubles do not split like that, which is why charts avoid them.
3. Set up your finish. On 61, treble 15 leaves 16, which is double 8, and a dart that drifts into single 15 still leaves 46, a two-dart finish. The keeper shows the next route as soon as you are on 170 or less.
4. In cricket, close what your opponent owns. Points on a number you both still hold are worth less than shutting down the number they are scoring on.

Running a darts night? The bracket generator sets up a knockout, and the round robin generator schedules a league where everyone plays everyone. Darts also makes a good event for family olympics.

Darts scoring questions

How do you score 501 in darts?

Each player starts on 501. Every visit is three darts, and what they score comes off your total. You must finish exactly on 0, and the last dart must be a double or the bull. Score more than you have left, leave 1, or reach 0 without a double, and it is a bust: that visit does not count.

What is a bust in darts?

A visit that would take you below 0, leave you on 1, or reach 0 without finishing on a double. Under the World Darts Federation rule the throw does not count and your score goes back to what it was before it. Some pubs play a Northern Bust, where only the dart that busted is undone.

What is the highest checkout in darts?

170: treble 20, treble 20, bull. Seven scores between 159 and 169 cannot be checked out with three darts: 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169.

How do you score cricket in darts?

Each player needs three marks on 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull. A single is one mark, a double two and a treble three; the outer bull is one and the bull two. Once you have three on a number, more hits score its value until every opponent closes it. Close everything with at least as many points as everyone else to win.

What is cut-throat cricket?

The same marks, but points are bad. When you score on a number you have open, the points go to every opponent who has not closed it, and the lowest score wins. It suits three or more players.