If you’re a beginner dart player or just looking for a simple darts game to practice or have a casual throw, Count up darts could be the ideal darts game for you!
How to play Count Up darts? Count Up darts can be played with 1 – 8 players and is a great practice game for beginners. The objective is to score the highest number of points with 8 throws (24 darts).
The concept for count up darts is very simple and easy to grasp. Therefore, below I’ll run through how to play Count Up darts with some easy-to-follow examples and tips.
Table of Contents
Number of Players
1 – 8 players
Count Up darts can have 1 – 4 people for solo play or 2 – 8 for doubles.
This wide range of players leaves a lot of room to enjoy this simple game of darts in any setting, whether you are practicing alone or an enjoyable game in a large group.
Optimum gameplay usually sits around four people, as the more players there are, the fewer turns you will get. Matches of 4 or more people are ideal for social settings as there is a long time to wait between each of your turns.
The number of players is flexible to your setting and preference.
Count Up is a great solo game for those wishing to practice their aim and skill of darts. At the end of a solo game of Count Up, you will total a score. Having a solo score in your practice allows you to set goals and achieve a high score each round. This extra motivation helps many players make the most of their solo practice.
Count Up Darts Rules and Scoring
The rules and scoring of Count Up darts are pretty simple, making this game suitable for all levels of skill and knowledge of darts.
The rules can be simplified to basically: Score the highest number of points from 24 darts.
A game of Count Up consists of 8 rounds, each round consisting of 3 darts and three throws for each player.
The score is counted up from where your dart lands: the number, double, treble, and bullseye.
The collective score from all 24 throws over eight rounds is added to provide the final score for each player, and the highest total score is the winner.
The reason this is a good practice game is that 24 darts is generally considered to be a very decent darts average.
Having the ability to score highly within 18-24 darts is something that will significantly improve your chances of winning competitive games. While the concept of Count Up darts is quite simple, relevance to game-type situations is definitely beneficial – especially for beginners.
Count Up Darts Objective
The objective of Count Up darts is to score the highest number of points possible with just 24 darts (8 rounds/throws). The player with the highest score at the end of the game will be declared the winner.
How to Play Count Up Darts
The game can be played two different ways, depending on preference:
- By round limit – this is the traditional gameplay. At the end of a set amount of rounds, the player with the highest total points wins.
- By points – alternatively, players can choose a point goal, and the game will end with the winner being the first person to achieve the point goal, regardless of how many rounds it takes.
For players, the objective of the game is to accumulate the highest score at the end of the set rounds. Using three darts to throw in a single round.
A common strategy is to aim for an approximate average of 63 points per round (based on an 8 round game). Reaching this achievable goal, round after round will provide a score of a total of 500 which will put you in good standing to win the game (depending on your opponent(s), of course!
It is recommended to aim for the bullseye due to the decent surface area and satisfying point reward of 50. If a bullseye is achieved in one of your rounds, then your other two darts will only need to total 13 points to reach the goal of 63 per round.
If this area is too difficult for you to aim for, the next best place is the 19-7-16 area of the dartboard.
In this area, missing the bullseye or the triple will allow for a consistent accumulation of points over the game to gain a decent overall score.
A steady score is more preferred than alternating between good and poor scoring rounds as the key is to get the highest score over many rounds.
It’s a straightforward game to play and one of the better ones for improving your darts aim if you’re throwing at the bullseye. It is important to remember that luck sometimes overrides skill, and you could lose at any moment!
Count Up Darts Example Game
Let’s go over a quick example of a Count Up darts game!
This example will consist of 2 players and three rounds. Both players will get three throws each round. The winner will be decided by the one who gathers the most points over the three rounds, a total of 9 throws each. Players will start at a score of 0, and both have equal and alternating rounds.
| Round | Player #1 | Player #2 |
| 1 | Treble 7, 19,12. Round total: 52 | Double 3, Bullseye, 19. Round total: 75 |
| 2 | Bullseye, 6, Double 7. Round total: 70 | 20, 19, Treble 6. Round total: 57 |
| 3 | 14, Double 12, 6. Round total: 44 | Double 20, Treble 3, 7. Round total: 56 |
| Totals: | 166 | 188 |
Count Up Darts Tips and Strategies
The main reason or benefit of playing Count Up darts is to use it as a practice game to improve your scoring. In darts, the players that can score highly each throw will give themselves a better chance of winning the game as they can get down to a finish much quicker than their opponent.
This is mainly true in X01 games like 301 darts or 501 darts where maintaining a high scoring average will give you the best chance of winning a game.
Therefore, this game can be used for solo play to practice trebles (mainly 20s and 19s) whilst also focusing on accuracy and grouping your darts.
In a competitive game, you should completely ignore your opponent’s throw and not try to “chase” points. While trebles and bullseyes will offer the highest scoring potential, that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily the best at hitting these numbers!
For beginners, you are best aiming for numbers that you feel comfortable with and offer a consistent scoring potential. There may be players reading this that are capable of scoring 100+ points per throw but for most, a treble will be a bonus.
If you throw for the treble 20 but consistently hit the 5 or 1 beds, you may be better aiming or a number you a more comfortable with like 16 or 19 to improve your average score each round.
It’s also worth avoiding doubles. Throwing for a double will give a higher score than a single but if you miss the board completely, you’ve essentially wasted a dart and given your opponent the advantage.
Other than some general throwing tips, Count Up darts is very straightforward so practice scoring and you’ll do well!
Summary
Despite the name, Count Up darts is a simple game that requires minimal darts math and is easy for anyone to pick up and play – regardless of your playing ability or experience.
To play Count Up darts, you only need to throw 24 darts and the highest scorer at the end of the 8 rounds will be declared the winner. I can’t think of many games better suited for beginners and this is definitely a great game to make use of when playing with larger groups.
If you like this game or want to check out some other darts games to try out, you can find numerous dart games here which are ideal for solo play, group play, or even dedicated practice games.
