The quick version
Play one against one or two teams of two. List 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and bull on the scoreboard. Throw up to three darts per turn. Singles give one mark, doubles two and triples three; outer bull gives one and inner bull two. After your third mark, extra hits score points while the opposing side has fewer than three. A target stops scoring once both sides have three marks. The first side with all seven targets closed and at least as many points wins immediately.
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Make a safe lane and a seven-row scorecard
Use a standard 1–20 bristle board with bull center 1.73 metres above the floor. The throwing line is 2.37 metres horizontally from the board face. Measure from the face, not the wall. Use an appropriate backboard and a clear lane where nobody can cross behind the target. Everyone waits behind the thrower. These dimensions describe steel-tip play; use the venue's specified dimensions for a different system.
Choose singles with two people, or fixed pairs with four. A team shares marks and points. In pairs, alternate teams and rotate the thrower within each team: A1, B1, A2, B2. Write the seven target rows between two columns for marks, with a separate point total per side. Choose the first side by a coin toss or mutual agreement; this is a hosting choice.
Mark first, then score on open targets
Take a three-dart turn
Throw one dart at a time from behind the line. Any of the seven targets may be aimed at; you need not announce a target. Hits on 1–14 score nothing in this game. A dart that bounces out or falls before it is scored earns nothing and is not rethrown.
Record up to three closing marks
A single segment supplies one mark, the thin outer double ring two, and the inner triple ring three. Outer bull is one mark and inner bull two. Use a slash for one, an X for two and a circle around the X for three.
Turn surplus hits into points
After three marks on a number, further marks score that number per mark only while the other side remains below three. If you had two marks on 20 and hit triple 20, one mark closes your 20 and the remaining two score 40 if the opponent has not closed it. Extra bull marks score 25 each.
Stop scoring a closed target
When both sides have three marks on a target, further hits there do nothing. Scores already earned remain. Never subtract points for a miss or erase the opponent's marks.
Check and retrieve
Confirm marks and points with the opponent before removing darts. Nobody throws while another person approaches the board. Finish retrieval and return behind the line before the next player starts.
Closing first is not enough when you are behind
You win as soon as your side has three marks on every target and your point total is at least equal to the other side's. Stop even if darts remain in the turn. If you close everything while behind, continue scoring on targets the opponent has not closed. If they close everything while still ahead, they win instead.
For example, you have all targets closed but trail 80–100. The opponent's 16 is still open. Two extra single 16s lift you to 112 and win; closing everything alone did not. A new leg starts with all marks and scores cleared. No fixed whole-game time is promised.
Teach one surplus-hit example
Use the two-marks-plus-triple example before the first leg. Have the nonthrowing side call out the new total, then let the thrower verify it before retrieval. A paired team shares one scorecard, but each person's throwing turn remains separate.
Use the ordinary game for a first visit, then select one of the house formats below. They are optional rule changes, not American Darts Organization tournament rules. The dart points, throw count and safe retrieval procedure stay the same unless the variation explicitly changes a scoring rule.
Already know the game?
Ideas & Twists
Skim the ideas, then open a twist for its full rules. Agree on the variation before you start.
Closure race
Remove points entirely.
How to play this twist
Remove points entirely. The first side to put three marks on every target wins. Extra hits beyond three do nothing. Keep the seven targets, dart multipliers and normal turn order. You now progress across the board instead of protecting a scoring lead.
Cricket darts · See main rules
Cut-throat singles
Use three or four individual players, each with their own marks and score.
How to play this twist
Use three or four individual players, each with their own marks and score. Once you close a target, extra hits add points to every opponent who has not closed it. Lower points are better. Win when all your targets are closed and your score is no higher than every opponent's. If you close first but have too many points, keep adding points to opponents' open targets until that condition holds. Turn order stays clockwise.
Cricket darts · See main rules
Descending targets
Keep standard points and closing requirements, but each side must work on 20, then 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and bull in that order.
How to play this twist
Keep standard points and closing requirements, but each side must work on 20, then 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and bull in that order. Only hits on your current target count. You may keep scoring on it after closing it; once you announce a move to the next target before a dart, you cannot go back. Check the usual win condition. Advancing too early can leave too few opportunities to repair a points deficit.
Cricket darts · See main rules
Blocker and scorer
Use two sides and the same seven targets.
How to play this twist
Use two sides and the same seven targets. The blocker throws first each round and accumulates closing marks; the scorer then earns the full dart value on targets the blocker has not yet closed, without first needing three marks. Alternate three-dart turns until the blocker closes all seven, ending that half immediately. Record the scorer's total, clear the board, and swap roles. Higher scoring-half total wins; equal totals share the result.
Cricket darts · See main rules
Alternate darts within a pair
With four people, each team still has one three-dart turn but partners alternate individual darts: A1, A2, A1, then B1, B2, B1.
How to play this twist
With four people, each team still has one three-dart turn but partners alternate individual darts: A1, A2, A1, then B1, B2, B1. On that team's next turn the other partner takes the first and third darts. Keep one active thrower at the line; step back before the partner approaches. Collect the three darts only after the team turn. Standard closing and points apply. Partners must decide together whether the second dart should score or change targets.
Cricket darts · See main rules
About this guide
The main game's marks, surplus points, bull values and finish follow ADO American Cricket rules. The linked booklet's latest printed revision is April 23, 2010; this is a social hosting guide, not current tournament certification. First-player selection and the five variations are explicit house formats. Peterborough's adult program describes playing 501 followed by Cricket; that is one program's practice, not evidence of widespread demand. Unrelated activities and risk claims on that program page are not imported.
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