How is the game of darts actually played?
Different games have different rules. The two most popular in North America, the x01 games and American Cricket, are discussed in this FAQ, the rules to other games (variants) are provided in part 2 of the FAQ. In general, each player has a turn or throw consisting of three darts. To determine who will play first, each player (or one player from each team) will throw one dart at the bullseye. The player who’s dart is the closest to the center of the board plays first. Often the order of play is determined by a toss of a coin instead. This procedure of throwing at the bull to see who plays first is often called “diddling for the middle” or “one up”. In the event of a tie throw, both players must throw or “diddle” again in reverse order. If both darts land in the same area of the bullseye is considered a tie even though one dart may be noticeably closer to the center of the dart board. In competition, it is common to allow each player a warm up of three throws, taken one throw at a time
