Darts

Darts is a pub-style darts game on a standard dartboard, with the numbers in their usual order from 20 at the top, plus singles, doubles, trebles, the outer bull and the bullseye. Play 501, 301, Cricket or Around the Clock against the computer or a friend. You can play darts online free in your browser with no download, using a mouse, a keyboard or a phone’s touch screen.

How to throw

Every turn is three darts. Where each one lands depends on your aim, how steady you are and how much power you use.

• Aim: move the mouse over the board, or use the arrow keys (hold Shift for fine aim). On a phone, drag anywhere on the board to nudge the crosshair. It moves in the same direction as your finger, a little slower, so your finger never covers it.
• Steady your arm: the crosshair drifts in a slow loop, like a real arm. Keep the aim still for about a second and the drift shrinks to a third. After about two and a half seconds your arm starts to shake and the drift grows again. The ring around the crosshair shows how far it moves.
• Power: hold the mouse button, Space or the power bar, and the power climbs and falls. Release it in the white zone. Too little power drops the dart below your aim, and too much sends it high.
• Flick on touch: on a touch screen you can also flick up on the board to throw. A medium-fast, straight flick is right. A slow flick drops low, a hard one flies high, and a flick to one side pulls the dart that way.

Game modes

• 501 and 301: both players count down from 501 or 301 and the first to reach exactly zero wins the leg. With double out on, the final dart must hit a double or the bullseye. Going past zero, leaving 1, or reaching zero on anything else is a bust, and your score goes back to what it was at the start of the turn. You can switch double out off for a straight finish. For any score of 170 or less, the game shows a checkout route for the darts you have left, such as T20 T20 Bull for 170.
• Cricket: only 15 to 20 and the bull count. A single is one mark, a double two and a treble three. The outer bull is one mark and the bullseye two. Three marks close a number. Extra marks on a number you have closed score its value, or 25 for the bull, until your opponent closes it too. Close everything with at least as many points as your opponent to win. After 20 rounds, the higher score wins.
• Around the Clock: hit 1, then 2, and so on up to 20, then either bull to finish. Any ring of the right number counts. The first player around the board wins.

Play the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard, or pick 2 Players to take turns on the same device. On Hard it averages roughly 85 to 90 points per three darts, on Medium about 60 and on Easy closer to 40. The scoreboard shows every turn’s total and what is left, or each player’s marks in Cricket. Your best 3-dart score, your checkout percentage (darts thrown at a finishing double that hit it), your fewest darts to win a 501 game and your wins against each level are saved in your browser.

Tips

• Settle, then throw. Throw within a second or two of your aim going steady. If it starts to shake, move it a little and let it settle again.
• Don’t chase the treble when you’re shaky. The single 20 bed is far bigger than the treble, and a miss to the side lands on 1 or 5.
• Plan your finish. In 501, try to leave an even number you can take with one double, like 32 (D16) or 40 (D20).
• In Cricket, close before you score. Points only count while your opponent has the number open, so close their best numbers too.

FAQ

Is this darts game free?

Yes. It is free to play with no account and nothing to install. Pick a game and an opponent and press Start.

Does it work on phones and Chromebooks?

Yes. On a phone or tablet, drag to aim and flick up to throw, or hold the power bar. The board won’t scroll the page while you play. On a Chromebook or laptop, use the mouse or the keyboard in any modern browser.

What is the highest checkout in 501?

170, finished with treble 20, treble 20 and the bullseye. Some scores under 170 can’t be finished in three darts, such as 169, 168, 166, 165, 163, 162 and 159, and the game tells you when there is no checkout.

Like aiming games? Try Bowling to roll for strikes, or Mini Golf to line up bank shots. For more, see the best browser sports games.