How to Play Cricket Darts: Rules, Scoring & Strategy
Dart Meister
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Cricket

How to play Cricket darts

Cricket is the bar game. Only seven targets matter, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and the bull, and the whole thing turns on closing them before the other side while quietly building a points lead.

It is also the game people score wrong most often, because marks and points move independently and a number can flip from scoring to dead mid-turn. Here is the whole thing.

Written and maintained by Timothy Moose, who builds Dart Meister. On the App Store since 2012. These are the commonly played rules, not sanctioned tournament rules; how we write these pages.

Nobody wants to track marks in their head

Dart Meister does the marks, the points and the dead numbers while you throw. Free for up to eight players.

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Which parts of the board count

REGULATION GEOMETRY · CRICKET TARGETS HIGHLIGHTED

Cricket only uses 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and the bull. The dimmed segments are live on the board but score nothing in this game.

The rules, in order

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Worked example

You throw a triple 20, a single 20, then a 5. That is four marks on the 20, and a dart in the 5 that counts for nothing.

  • The first three marks on the 20 close it. Nothing scores yet.
  • The fourth mark scores 20 points, but only because your opponent hasn't closed their 20.
  • The 5 is not a Cricket number, so it does nothing at all.
Cricket scoreboard showing marks and points for two players with the 20 closed

The same board in the app: marks, points, MPR and PPR tracked live

How to read a Cricket scoreboard

Read down the middle column. The marks either side show how close each player is to closing that number. Points on the outside only build on numbers you have closed and your opponent hasn't.

TIM VS. ANDREW · ROUND 5 · MID-GAME

Three ways to play it

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Strategy that actually wins Cricket

Most bar players throw at the 20 until it's closed and then wander. That's how you lose to a worse thrower.

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The unwritten rules

Nobody prints these on the board, and everybody notices when you break them.

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Things worth knowing

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Common questions

How do you play Cricket in darts?

Only 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and the bull score. Three marks closes a number: a single is one mark, a double two, a triple three. Once you have closed a number, further hits score its face value until your opponent closes it too. Win by closing all seven numbers with a points total equal to or better than everyone else.

What is a mark in Cricket darts?

One hit on a Cricket number. A single counts as one mark, a double as two and a triple as three, so a single triple closes a number outright.

What is cut-throat Cricket?

A variant where extra marks add points to every opponent who has not closed that number, and the lowest score wins. It punishes running up a lead.

What is the bull worth in Cricket?

The outer bull is one mark and 25 points. The inner bullseye is two marks and 50 points. Three marks closes the bull like any other number.

Can you win Cricket by closing everything first?

Not on its own. You need all seven numbers closed and a points total equal to or greater than every opponent, so if you are behind on points you have to keep scoring.

Where these rules come from

Cricket is played to house rules more often than not. The versions on this page are the ones most bars and casual leagues use. For the sanctioned versions, the American Darts Organization publishes the tournament rulebook most US steel tip events run on, and the American Darters Association covers soft tip league play.

If your league does it differently, your league wins. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.

Somebody always ends up keeping score

Set the phone on the table, tap what you hit, and get back to throwing. Standard, cut-throat or no points, free for up to eight players, and Pro keeps your averages if you want them.

Download free on the App Store