X01 and Cricket : The basic games.

These two games are the most common dart games. In this area, at least 95% of the darts you play will probably be one of these two.

There are several versions of X01. 301, 501, 601, 1001 are all fairly common. You start with however many points (301, 501, etc), and subtract whatever you hit, trying to reach exactly zero. The only catch is that the last dart must be a double, and in some versions (301, for instance) you have to hit a double in order to start scoring. Anything hit before you hit your double-in doesn’t count.

The other common game is cricket. In cricket, the only numbers that count are the 20’s, 19’s, 18’s, 17’s, 16’s, 15’s, and bulls. You have to "close" each of those numbers (and the bulls) by hitting three of that number. (If you hit a single 20 on one throw, and two 20's on the next throw, then you have closed 20's. Ideally, you want a triple-20, which would close it in one dart.)

You can also score in cricket by hitting a number again after you’ve closed, assuming your opponent hasn’t closed that number. (So if you've closed 18's, and your opponent hasn't, and you hit two 18's, you've scored 36 points.) To win, you have to close all the numbers, and be either tied or ahead on points.

For more discussion about Cricket, including rules and strategy, click here.

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QuickLinks :
Overview - Introduction to Darts
Index to Introduction to Darts
Beginners Only : Board set up and some basics.
Organized Darts (Tournaments and League's)
X01 and Cricket (The two basic games.)
Rules & Strategy : X01 (301, 501, etc.)
Rules & Strategy : Cricket
Rules & Strategy : Norvac
Rules & Strategy : Loops
Rules & Strategy : Super-Cricket (aka Full Board Cricket)
Rules & Strategy : Tic-Tac-Toe
Rules & Strategy : English-Cricket (bulls vs points)
Good Online Resources
Out Chart