Shanghai darts rules
Shanghai is easy to pick up and a great way to sharpen your accuracy around the whole board. Every round has its own target, and one perfect visit, the Shanghai, can turn the game in a single throw.
The goal
The game is played over rounds, each with a number to aim at: 1 in the first round, 2 in the second, and so on. At the end, the player with the most points wins, unless someone hits a Shanghai in sudden death first.
How a round works
Each player throws 3 darts at the round's number. Only darts in that number count, everything else scores 0, the bull included.
| Dart in number N | Points |
|---|---|
| Single | N |
| Double | 2 x N |
| Treble | 3 x N |
In the 7 round, a single 7, a treble 7 and a 12 make 7 + 21 + 0 = 28 points.
The Shanghai
A Shanghai is hitting the single, double and treble of the round's number in the same visit, in any order. It's worth 6 times the number (N + 2N + 3N). What happens next depends on the option you pick:
- Sudden death (default): a Shanghai wins the game on the spot, whatever the scores.
- Bonus: the Shanghai is worth 3 times its points (3 x 6N, so 90 points in the round of 5) and the game carries on to the last round.
Winning the game
Without a sudden-death Shanghai, the game goes the distance and the highest total wins. Tied players share the same rank.
Options in Throw
| Option | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Long (20 rounds, 1 to 20) or Short (7 rounds, 1 to 7) | Long |
| Shanghai | Sudden death or Bonus | Sudden death |
| Penalty | On or off | Off |
Penalty: score 0 in a round (no dart in the number) and your total is halved (rounded up: the penalty never takes you to 0). With this on, a blank round late in the game really hurts, and the order of the rounds matters.
With Throw
Your phone films the board and scores every dart by itself: it knows which number is in play, crosses out the darts that don't count and spots a Shanghai. A misread dart is fixed with a tap on its slot. From 1 to 8 players.