Teaching Kids How to Play Darts: Fun and Easy Dart Game

A couple of months ago hubby dug out the old dart board from the back of the garage and made a pretty little dart cabinet for it… complete with a dry-erase scoreboard.

Would you be surprised that I am the one most excited about our new dart area?

Darts was one of my favorite things to play as a young adult. Moving babies made throwing sharp objects around a bad idea as life progressed. So the dartboard came down, and I fell in love with more family-friendly games.

Well, Big M is 9, Little M is 8, and we are free to resume our love of playing darts! The kids want to play, too, of course. Who could blame them? Playing darts is AWESOME!

We’ve started teaching them some of the easy dart games we love, but most take quite a bit of skill. This can be tricky and not fun for beginning dart players. Yesterday we came up with a game that is really fun, really easy, and perfect for getting some practice on aiming the darts. (I could not wait to share it with you!)

I will mention that safety is always a factor. We are teaching them to be responsible with the darts and shoot carefully. Also, this post contains affiliate links. Anything purchased using these links helps support confidencemeetsparenting.com. Thanks! 

DARTS: Fun and Easy Dart Game for Beginners

Big M played a big part in creating this game (bravo, little buddy!) and took a lot of pride in our excitement. The game plays out much like the game HORSE for basketball.

Set up:

• You’ll need a dartboard and some darts.
• You may want a dartboard cabinet.
• On a scoreboard (dry-erase board or piece of paper), write out the players’ names.

How to play DARTS:

• The first player throws one dart and sets the number for the round.
• The next player and each player that follows try to hit that number. If they do not hit it, they write a D under their name. The first player tries to hit the number again. If they hit it, play moves on. If they don’t hit it, they get a D as well.
• The second player takes a turn throwing one dart and sets the number for that round.
• Each player follows, trying to hit that number. If they do not hit it, they write a D under their name. If they already have a D, they write an A under the D. Once all the other players have had their turn, the player who set the number for the round tries to hit it again.
• Play continues like this.
• The goal is to avoid being the first person to spell DARTS. When someone does spell DARTS they are out of the game.
• The winner is the last player standing after all other players have been eliminated.

Extra tips:

• Even the playing field a little bit by varying the number of tries to hit the set number. It should feel like anyone has a chance to win. For example: give the kids three darts while them more advanced players have one. This advantage would also go to less experienced adults and can be adjusted as skill increases.
• Make a closer throw line of kids.
• Don’t score doubles or triples. The set dart only calls the number not the placement of the number (use doubles and triples if everyone is an experienced dart player).

I should add that I used a fake score for the picture. I am the champion of DARTS and usually in the lead. Hee hee.

Now I am very curious… did we really make up this game, or have you played a version of it before?

More Easy Dart Games for Beginners

I’ve collected a list of different easy dart games for beginners. Cricket has always been our favorite, I would love to hear which dart games you love. Share in the comments.

• Cricket – I wouldn’t exactly call this a beginner dart game, but we’ve taught a few people how to shoot darts using this game. When someone is starting out, we tell them to always aim for the bullseye. Most likely, a few darts will hit one of the correct numbers. This is a good breakdown of the rules of Cricket.
• Shanghai Darts – This is great for practice because it focuses on one number at a time. This game also lends itself to many variations. Learn how to play Shanghai darts.
• Baseball Darts – This game uses the numbers 1-9 and is played in “innings.” Grab an opponent and play baseball darts.
• Tic-Tac-Toe Darts – This dart game is great for increasing skill. For instructions, tips and strategy check out how to play Tic Tac Toe Darts.

Grab some darts, toss a coin to see who goes first, and aim for the bull! Have fun with these easy dart games for beginners.