Play darts online with friends, each at your own board

October 27, 2026

Your favourite opponent has moved away, or simply lives too far for a midweek match? With Throw you can play darts online, each of you at your own board, with your own phone keeping score. Here's how it works, what it doesn't do yet, and how to get the most out of a game.

The idea: two boards, one game

Each player stands their phone beside their board, just as for a normal game. Your phone scores your darts, and the Throw server links the two of you: it receives every visit, applies the rules and keeps the score up to date on both sides.

The game is played live, turn by turn: you throw your visit, your opponent watches your score drop, then it's their go. Just like down the pub, except the other board is in another town.

What you need

A free Throw account: it's how you find your friends, invite them and keep your stats. You don't need one to watch a public game.
A steel-tip board with your phone beside it, side-on, 1.5 to 2 m away.
An internet connection during the game (the rest of the app works offline, but online play obviously needs the network).

If you haven't got the app yet, install it from your browser, no app store required.

Starting an online game

Challenge a friend

Add your friend by their username. Once you're friends, you can see when they're online, and a Challenge button creates the game and invites them in one go. They get a notification, even with the app closed, if they've turned notifications on. You can also send someone the game's invite link, even if you aren't friends yet.

Join the public lobby

No friends around? The public lobby lists games waiting for an opponent. Before joining, you can see the rules (starting score, in and out rules, number of legs...) and each player's level, based on their x01 average. Handy for avoiding someone far too strong, or far too weak.

Public games can also be watched by spectators.

During the game

You see your opponent's board

There's no video. Instead, your opponent's phone sends an image of their board with every dart, with the impact marked. So you can see where their darts landed, visit after visit.

Corrections are visible

If a dart is scored wrongly, each player fixes their own visit with a tap, as in a normal game. The difference: the correction shows up on your opponent's side, with the details of what changed and a fresh image of the board. Everything is in the open, nobody quietly tweaks their score.

If the connection drops

The game is paused and the other player is told. You have about 3 minutes to come back, otherwise your opponent wins by forfeit.

Current limits

We'd rather be upfront about them:

no video: you see the darts in the board, not the player or their throw;
one on one only: no three-player games or online teams yet;
one game at a time: starting a new one cancels any game still waiting for an opponent;
trust: each player's phone scores their own darts. Corrections are visible, but there's no way to dispute a score.

Tips for a good online game

Get the calibration right

Before you start, make sure your phone is steady (a tripod or a fixed stand is ideal) and can see the whole board. A phone that moves mid-game means recalibrating. The more accurate the scoring, the less time you spend correcting, and the smoother the game is for both of you.