Again the provision of a dart board is similar to that of a pool table – they take up space (when being played anyway) and although it won’t cost as much to maintain (apart from a steady supply of chalk, darts, stems, flights) it can generate as much trade as a pool table.
Simple really – keep the area well lit, the board maintained (for instance every month rotate the wire divisions so that no one area gets over used – and when the board bulges or is otherwise damaged replace it).
As with pool – if you don’t have a team then start one up – the house rules applied to pool teams apply here. (See my separate guide to Pool)
Variations of the traditional dart game are plentiful and here are a few of them to get you started …
KILLER
Killer is a really fun game designed to be played with 3 or more people. The more people playing the more fun it is. It is a great game to play when there are an odd number of people and everyone wants to play darts. This is also an excellent way to practice your out’s for normal darts.
To win killer you must simply be the last person on the scoreboard with a life left.
All players names are placed down the left side of the score board in any order. Generally, after the first game is played, the player who was knocked out first gets to throw first in the next game. For the first game, I usually do a closest to the bulls eye with one dart each. Next to each name, three tally marks are placed to indicate the number of lives each player has left.
Play begins with each player, in order, throwing one dart left-handed (or right-handed if that player is a lefty). This is to set a random number and that number will be the player’s number for the rest of the game. Whatever number is hit is written next to that player’s name. No two players may have the same number, so if a player hits a number that was already taken that player should throw again.
The next step in the game is to become a “killer”. You become a killer by hitting the double (the thin outer ring) of your number once. When you hit a double of your number, write a “K” next to your name to show that you are a killer. Note that if you hit a double with your left-handed throw, you automatically become a killer, provided no one else already had that number.
Once you become a killer, the job now is to kill all your opponents. You accomplish this by hitting the double of their number and they kill you by hitting the double of your number. One important note, if you hit your own double after you have become a killer you do kill yourself! Each time a kill occurs, one life is erased from that player’s tallies. Once the player has no lives left that player is out of the game. Play continues until the only one player has any life left.
Variations of this game can be played to adjust to the players’ level. You could use all triples for stronger players or require a double bull to become a killer. For weaker players, use the thin inner wedge of the number. On occasion, I have had several average players and one “I never picked up a dart before” kind of person (notice they always seem to win!?!). So what I do is set that the “new player” only has to hit the thin or thick single wedge to become a killer or kill while the rest of us have to hit doubles. With all the combinations available it’s easy to balance the play to be fun for everyone.
There really isn’t much strategy to this game but I can offer a couple of tips. First, try not to hit a number right next to someone else’s. If you do, you will get accidental kills from people who were trying to kill the other player. Also players will tend to aim at that spot with the thought that there is more chance to kill someone if they don’t yet have a favourite enemy yet.
Another tip is to try to stay neutral and to kill people evenly. If you blast someone, while ignoring other players it will be remembered for several games and that player will be out to get you.
Often the players try to take out the stronger players who have a better chance of killing them than the weaker players. This can often lead to the worst player wining the game because when the smoke clears, the stronger player will probably only have one life left. The weaker player, on the other hand, probably has all three lives left because that player was left alone. The weaker player now only has to hit one dart to win the game.
If you throw a bulls-eye left-handed and you can manage to hit the double-bull, you will probably win the game.
Continue reading … page 2