Good for any playing strength, this is just a shortened version of 501, and most of you will know it. Just like 501 it is 170 straight start, finish on a double. The game focuses on finishing (doubles!) and a bit of score. It is encouraging because 170 is that big outshot you are looking for, and the result can be measured perfectly by the amount of darts needed to finish. Play a couple of 170s in your practice sessions and write down the darts you needed for each of them. You can watch progress by calculating averages for each day.

For the beginner this is a perfect basic game. Throw for singles from 1 to 20 plus bull. Throw for each number until you hit it and count the darts you needed. Round the board can be played in exactly this form with doubles and trebles. If you don't find it boring, it is a perfect game for practising. One alteration used heavily by pros is to shoot 3 darts at each number's treble from 1 to 20 and bull. Hitting the number's single scores 1 point, hitting the treble 3 points. This game is simple but very good, because it lets you go round the board, lets you group darts around trebles and lets you always aim at a new high score. If you are beginner, you may find your first score falls below the 60 region. When you get better you may have 70+ or 80+ which is superb, and if you get above 100 you've reached expert/pro level. This game is a good practice for trebles (heavily used in cricket), but unfortunately doesn't do anything for doubles (except generally improving your accuracy).

This game is a bit more demanding. You start from 60 points and try to shoot it out with 3 darts. If you fail to shoot out with 3, then you go down 1 point for the next go (i.e. start on 59). If you hit it, you go up 10 points (i.e. start on 70 for your next go) and so on as long as you like or until you reach more than can be shot out with 3 darts (let us know if you get that far).

Example:

• Throw 1: 60 - not finished (subtract 1)
• Throw 2: 59 - finished (add 10)
• Throw 3: 69 - not finished (subtract 1)
• Throw 4: 68 - not finished (subtract 1)
• Throw 5: 67 - finished (add 10)
• Throw 6: 77 - not finished (subtract 1)

...And so on. Just see how far you can get. This game is less worthy for your scorebook, but it is encouraging and demanding. A danger is that it may lead you to frustration, but it's very good practice for 501 and 301 doubles.

This is a very tough game suitable for good players. You start from 25 points and shoot 3 darts (3 darts = one throw in this case) at each double from 1 to 20 + bull (remember, bullseye is double 25). Add the values of the hit doubles, and subtract the double's value once if you fail to hit with 3. If you fall below 0 the game is over (players of a lesser standard can play with minus points allowed or start with more than 25 points to avoid frustration). If you reach bull and have a considerable score afterwards this is very good.

Example:

• Throw 1: Double 1 hit once    25 + 2 = 27
• Throw 2: Double 2 missed    27 - 4 = 23
• Throw 3: Double 3 missed    23 - 6 = 17
• Throw 4: Double 4 hit twice    17 + 8 + 8 = 33

...And so on.

Great game to play. Very good doubles practice and very competitive.
(And of course, any other games you like that meet the requirements are great!)


The above games are mainly meant for your longer practice sessions (40 minutes and more), with 170 being an exception. This game is also very good for your short-term practice. You can also play just one or two round the board variations in short term practice. Generally, it is best to start with some doubles then go for some score and then go back to doubles or trebles. The main objective is to get some 'feeling' for the dart and your throw. In a short-term practice session it is not so important how much you actually hit, concentrating and getting the right feeling are much more important.