How to set up a dartboard at home: a step-by-step guide

Hanging a dartboard takes ten minutes. Setting one up properly is another matter: a wall that doesn't end up riddled with holes, a floor that doesn't blunt your points, lighting that doesn't hide treble 20 in shadow. Here's the order to tackle it in.

1. Pick the spot

This is the decision that matters most, and the most annoying one to change later.

How much room you need

From the face of the board to the throw line you need 2.37 m for steel tip. Add room to stand behind the line and move: allow a little over 3 m in length in total. Widthways, leave enough to throw without catching your elbow, and somewhere for a spectator or two to stand well clear of the line of fire. The exact figures, and how to measure them, are in dartboard height and throw distance.

Not in a walkway

Nobody should be able to walk between the oche and the board. Avoid doors between the two, hallways and the route to the kitchen. A door opening on the board side at the wrong moment means a dart in someone's arm.

A solid wall

A solid wall (brick, concrete, block) holds a board without complaint. On a plasterboard partition, use proper cavity fixings, or better still, fix a wooden backing board to the studs first and hang the dartboard on that. Avoid walls that shake on every impact: the board moves and you get more bounce-outs.

2. Hang the board

Most bristle boards come with a central mounting bracket: a plate screwed to the back of the board and a matching piece that goes on the wall, which slot together.

1. Mark the height the centre of the bull needs to sit at: 1.73 m from the floor.
2. Work out where the wall bracket has to go so the bull lands at that height once the board is hung.
3. Screw it in, hang the board, then measure again to the centre of the bull with the board in place.
4. Make sure the 20 is at the top and the board doesn't rotate. If it does, fit the stabilisers or anti-rotation brackets that came with it.

A dartboard cabinet (the two-door unit that closes over the board) does the same job more neatly and protects the wall immediately around the board.

3. Protect the wall

Even good players miss the board. A surround (a foam or EVA ring that fits around the board) stops stray darts and soaks up some of the bounce-outs. It's the best-value accessory in the whole set-up. Failing that, a large cork or wooden panel behind the board will do.

4. Protect the floor (and your points)

Darts that bounce out land on the floor point first. On tiles or concrete the points blunt or bend; on wooden flooring, the floor takes the damage.

A throwing mat solves both. Dedicated mats often have the oche printed at the right distance, so you don't have to mark it yourself. Just check the printed line matches how you play (2.37 m for steel tip) and that the mat doesn't slide about.

5. Light it

A single ceiling light in the middle of the room is a poor way to light a board: the darts cast shadows over the segments, and your own body throws a shadow when you're at the oche. What you want is light coming from several directions around the board, such as an LED ring that fits around it. The details are in dartboard lighting.

6. Stand a phone up to keep score

Last but not least: who's counting? Instead of doing subtraction on a chalkboard between visits, you can stand a phone beside the board and let Throw keep score for you. Throw is a free web app you install from your browser, on iPhone or Android.

To place the phone well:

• Off to the side, not facing the board head on: it mustn't be in your throwing line or in the path of a bounce-out.
• Around 1.5 to 2 m from the board.
• The whole board in the frame, with a bit of margin around it.
• Steady: a small tripod or a shelf, so it doesn't shift with every impact.

At the start of a game Throw finds the board on its own, then scores each dart as it lands. If it misreads one, a tap fixes it. The app works offline, so a garage with no signal is fine. You can play 501, cricket, Halve It or Shanghai, and hook up a TV or computer as a living-room screen so everyone can see the score.

The checklist

• A little over 3 m of length, out of any walkway
• Centre of the bull at 1.73 m, 20 at the top, board that doesn't rotate
• Oche 2.37 m from the face of the board, diagonal 2.93 m
• Surround or panel behind the board
• Throwing mat on hard floors
• Light around the board, no shadows
• Phone off to the side, whole board in the frame

And to make your board last, rotate it every so often: it's all in dartboard care.