Norvac

Good for 1-8 players. You can play with more, but it starts to take a long time between throws with that many.

20, 19, triples, 18, 17, doubles, 16, 15, beds, bulls.

Starting order is usually randomized using a two-dart lag, with the highest scoring player choosing his position. (He can throw first, last, or wherever.) Some players have all players throw a single dart at the bull, and let the closest to the bull choose his position.

Each player starts with 40 points. Player 1 throws at 20’s. For each 20 he gets, he adds 20 points to his original 40. If, however, he hits no 20’s, then his score gets cut in half. The rest of the players then take their turn at 20’s, starting with 40 points each. If a player hits none of what he’s throwing at, his score gets cut in half.

Once all players have thrown at the 20’s, they throw at the 19’s. Then at the triples. (Any triple will count. If you hit no trips, your score gets halved.) Then 18’s, then 17’s. After the 17’s, players throw at doubles. (Similar to triples, any double will count.) Then at 16’s, then at 15’s. After 15’s, you throw at Bed’s. You want to get all three darts in the same number. Any number will work as long as all three darts are in the same number. Bigger numbers score more, of course, but if you slop a one on the first dart, hitting two more ones will add three points – as opposed to getting your score cut in half. Once everyone has thrown at beds, they throw at bulls.

High score wins. Note that what your opponents have doesn’t really matter – your strategy remains to score as many points as possible. If you played often, you would probably start getting a feel for what is a good score for you, and what’s a bad one. So this could be used as a practice or warm-up game solo.

In the early part of the game, missing doesn’t cost you many points. Miss 20’s, and you lose 20 points. But if you’re at 280 going into beds, then miss beds and bulls, you’re at 70, because you are losing half your points each time you miss. That means that there are often sudden changes at the end of a game. The leader missing, while another player has a big throw, can completely change the game.

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