Darts etiquette: the unwritten rules, at the pub and beyond

Darts has its official rules, and then there's everything nobody writes down but everybody expects. Knowing them is the difference between the player people want a rematch with and the one they politely avoid. Here are the essentials, from the club to the pub to online games.

While your opponent is throwing

This is rule number one, and the one most often forgotten.

• Keep quiet. No comments, no jokes, no "come on, hit the double!" as they draw their arm back. Talk between visits, not during them.
• Stand behind them. Stay back, behind the oche, never next to the board or in their line of sight.
• Keep still. No pacing about, no phone waved in the air, no clinking glasses. Any movement in the corner of their eye can put them off.
• No distracting warm-ups. Loosening your arm or throwing air darts right beside them is a no.

The day you're on the oche needing a double to win, you'll be glad of the same courtesy.

On the oche

• No toes over the line. Lean as far as you like, but your feet stay behind the oche.
• Don't dawdle. Take a moment to settle, but not whole minutes of aiming before every dart.
• Stick to the order. No sneaky fourth dart "just to see".

For the actual regulations (distance, height, equipment), we've rounded them up in the official darts rules.

Pulling your darts

• Wait until the score has been counted before yanking your darts out. If they vanish before anyone has seen where they landed, the arguments start.
• Only take your own. You don't touch your opponent's darts unless they ask.
• Be quick. Pull them out, walk back, make way. Your opponent shouldn't have to wait while you admire your treble 20.
• Dropped darts and bounce-outs don't score: pick them up and don't throw them again.

Keeping and calling the score

In competitions, a scorer calls out each visit and what the player has left. Among friends, people often keep their own score, or whoever isn't playing runs the chalkboard.

A few customs:

• Call your score clearly, and check it with your opponent if there's any doubt.
• Don't shout out the checkout to a player who hasn't asked. Working out the route to the double is part of the game.
• If there's a mistake, put it right, even when it was in your favour. Reputations are built quickly, both ways.

In Throw, the phone does the scoring: it counts every visit, and a referee voice calls the scores. It doesn't mean you shouldn't keep an eye on it: one tap fixes a misread dart.

Before and after the match

• Shake hands with your opponent before you start, and wish them a good game.
• Shake hands again at the end, win or lose. A simple "well played" does the job.
• Win gracefully. Celebrating your 180 is fine. Celebrating your opponent's missed double, much less so.
• Lose with dignity. No snapping darts, no blaming the lighting.

At the pub: a few extra rules

A pub board is shared, and safety comes first.

Waiting your turn

• Find out how it works there. In some pubs you chalk your name on a board; in others you just ask the people playing.
• Don't hog the board. If people are waiting, invite them to play you or hand over after your game.

Safety

• Never walk in front of the board while someone is on the oche, not even "really quickly".
• Nobody throws while someone is near the board pulling their darts.
• Drinks stay out of the way, well away from the oche and never on the floor where people walk.
• Keep a clear head. A steel-tip dart thrown off line is no joke.
• Keep an eye on children and onlookers who wander a bit too close.

Look after the kit

Don't twist darts out at an angle, don't throw damaged darts at the board, and tell the landlord if the board is properly worn.

Behaving well online

Playing online is no excuse to forget your manners, quite the opposite: your opponent only sees your board and your score.

• Correct honestly. In Throw, every correction shows up on your opponent's side, with a fresh image of your board. It might as well be right.
• Don't quit mid-match. If your connection drops, the game waits about 3 minutes before handing the win to the other player. Leaving on purpose to dodge a defeat doesn't go unnoticed.
• Be on time when you've sent a challenge, and let them know if you can't play any more.
• Say something at the end: a "well played" sent after the game, even by text, is as good as a handshake.

Fancy a go? It's all explained in playing darts online with friends. And if some of the terms here passed you by, the darts glossary has you covered.