301 Darts, With a Drinking Rule

Straight darts scoring, played properly, with one house drinking rule: miss the board completely, take a drink. Add your own on top if your table wants more.

Players

2 players or 2 teams, standard darts format

You'll need

A numbered dartboard, darts, something to keep score, drinks (optional)

How to play

1Start everyone, or both teams, on 301. Use 501 if you want a longer game.
2Take turns throwing three darts, subtracting your total from your remaining score.
3Agree your checkout rule before you start — DartUp doesn't specify one, so decide whether you need to finish on a double.
4Bust it: go below zero, or land on a score you can't legally finish from, and that turn doesn't count.
5First to reduce your score to exactly zero wins.
6The house rule is miss-the-board-take-a-drink. Tables that want more add drink-on-bust — your call.

Tips

→ Write scores down or use a scoring app — nobody's doing "301 minus 47 minus 60" in their head after three rounds.
→ Agree the checkout rule up front. It ends more darts nights than any bad throw.
→ Keep the drinking rule light if there's anyone new to darts in the group — missing a lot is normal at first.

By Arnis & Edgar — the two who built DartUp in Newry. 18+. Eat first, drink water, know when to stop.

Keep the night going

Dart Up Mode

The mode DartUp's built around. Throw a dart, do what the section says, pass it on. House rule: first to five completed forfeits wins — or skip the score and just play rounds.

Team Up Mode

Same board, different target. In Team Up mode, whatever your dart lands on, the other team does it — and you get to pick who.

Beer Darts Mode

Not the outdoor game with a can on a stake — DartUp's Beer Darts runs entirely off the board. One throw gives you a number, then the game plays itself.

This is DartUp's Normal mode: proper 301/501, forfeits switched off, for when you just want to play darts.

See the boards

The promise:under 100 pre-orders by 15 Sept, everyone's refunded automatically.

Pre-order