By John Paul
If you want to get good at playing darts, then you need to develop your skill for the game. This is not something you can do just by randomly throwing darts at the dartboard for fun. The only way you can develop your darts skill is by actually playing darts games which have rules. It also helps to be playing darts against other human opponents, especially if they’re professionals who can give you pointers and tips along the way. The more you play darts games, the better you will develop your hand and eye coordination. This will give you the ability to better control over the spot on the dart board where your darts will strike after you throw them.
Below are the top 8 darts games that you can play to develop your darts skill further.
1) Cricket
Many novice dart players will play cricket to develop their darts skill. Since this is the most common darts game that people play, practicing at cricket is the best way to become a better player. The rules of the game are quite simple too, so you can focus more of your energy on throwing accurately and less on following the rules. Since you’ll likely be a beginning darts player, you should visit the Peak Picker blogging website and find yourself a suitable dart board. You’ll want to discover a good bristle dartboard because they’ll last the longest. Besides, that is what professional players use anyway for tournaments and to practice at home.
2) Killer
Killer is a unique game because it is designed to be difficult and challenging. There are many variations to a killer, but the basic concept is that you must choose one numbered segment to strike and use your opposite hand to throw the dart at it. For most people, this will be their left hand. The goal is to hit the double value zone in their chosen number. This will turn the player into the killer. Then they go after the double zones of their opponents’ numbers. This game develops your skill on so many different levels. Most importantly, it teaches you to improve your throwing ability with a hand that you don’t normally throw with. That way, your hand coordination will be greatly improved when you go to use your normal throwing hand.
3) 301
Most darts games are about scoring points, but 301 is about losing points. You start with 301 points and you want to hit the numbered segments on the board to lower your points to 0. To be successful, you start off by hitting the higher numbers in the beginning and then the lower numbers at the end, since the last number you subtract must land exactly on 0. This will teach you about targeting certain numbers and coordinating your hand throw skills for this purpose.
4) 501
Once you have developed your skills at 301, you can move on to the more advanced version of the game called 501. The concept of 501 is the same, except you will be starting with 501 points instead of 301 points. This game is designed to further enhance your ability to target certain numbered segments, particularly higher numbered segments, and to be able to hit them more frequently than before.
5) Bullseye 500
Every skilled player knows that being able to hit the bullseye will showcase their skill to the rest of the world. Bullseye 500 is the perfect way to build your skill up to this kind of advanced level. The rules of the game require you to only hit the bullseye area, which includes the outer and inner bullseyes for 25 points and 50 points; respectively. The player who scores 500 points first will win the game. Make sure you choose a good dartboard with good material so that your darts can stick well into the small bullseye hole. Visit the Peak Picker website to find solid quality dart boards like this.
6) Shanghai
The hardest part about darts is when you must focus your attention on one particular numbered segment, especially if it’s a specific zone within that segment. When you play Shanghai, your objective is to focus only on one number per inning and to try to hit the double or triple zones within that number. If you’ve mastered your skills at the Bullseye 500 game, then you can build up your skill further by learning to target zones within various numbered segments.
7) 121 in 6
A skilled darts player will always be able to score a lot of points with each throw. 121 in 6 is a game designed for players with this much skill. With 3 throws per turn, you need to score at least 121 points within 2 turns. However, if you can do this within 1 turn, you will advance in the game and now must score 122 points. You keep going until you must score 170 points. Once you do that, you win the game. As you can imagine, this will take you a very long time but it will certainly turn you into a professional darts player if you can win it.
8) 80 Plus
If you’re ready to call yourself a professional darts player because you think your skills are that good, then try playing a game of 80 Plus. The objective is to score 80 or more points in just 1 turn with 3 throws. To do this successfully, you’ll need to aim for the double and triple values of the higher numbered segments, like 10 through 20. If you score 80, then you go to 90. If you score 90, you go to 100. You can stop at whatever number you think is appropriate, although it needs to be a number that you can really score within 3 throws. The highest such number would be 180 by scoring a triple value of 20 with each throw.