Darts

History:
The game of darts developed in the Middle Ages as a way to train archers.  Arrows were shortened, and thrown at the round ends of wine barrels.  Sometime in the 19th century, darts became a fixture in English pubs, where sawed-off tree sections were hung on tavern walls as targets.  The design of the modern dartboard comes from the rings of these tree sections.

Object of the Game:

Darts are thrown at a target divided into scoring sections.  The goal is to reduce an agreed-upon score down to zero.

Playing Area:

Minimum distance between the throwing spot and target is 7 feet, 9.25 inches.  The board is 18 inches in diameter with sections marked 1 through 20.  Board is hung 5'8" from the floor.

Equipment:

Board- round, usually made of coiled paper or synthetic material
Darts- max. length of 12 inches and may not exceed 50 grams in weight.
Oche- a raised bar on the floor which denotes the throwing line, 1.5 inches in height and two feet in length.
Scoreboard- usually a small chalkboard hung near the target

Rules:

Nine warmup throws are permitted before games.

Each player throws one dart, player with the dart nearest the cork (inner bullseye) goes first.

Each player throws three darts per turn.

If player's foot crosses the oche, the throw counts but the score does not.

Darts must stay on the board for 5 seconds in order to earn a score.  A dart does not score if it falls from the board or sticks in another dart.  No rethrows permitted.

Darts score as follows- doubles ring (2x the number hit), triples ring (3x the number hit), bullseye (outer bull is worth 25 points), double bullseye (inner bull is worth 50 points).

Each player begins with 301 points for singles play.  For team play, the total may be increased to 501, 601, or 1001.

In order to win, players must throw a double or bullseye that reduces the score to exactly zero.  For example, if 50 points remain a player can throw a single 18 and one double 16 (18+32=50), two outer bulls (25+25=50), or one inner bull.

If more than the exact score needed is thrown, the whole three-dart turn doesn't count and the score remains as it was before.  For example, if a player has 20 points remaining and ends up scoring 21, the score remains at 20.  If the player scores 19, the score doesn't count because a player cannot win without a double.

Each game is called a leg, winning two out of three legs wins the match.