Around the world (also known as ‘around the clock’) is a fun darts game to play with friends and regardless of experience, you can all play together. This game is simple to learn but can provide hours of entertainment or focused practice time.
Table of Contents
How to Play
- Each player takes turns throwing three darts at the dartboard.
- The goal is to hit each number on the board in order, starting at 1 and moving all the way around to 20.
- If you miss a number, your turn ends and it’s the next player’s turn.
- The first player to hit 20 wins the game.
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Ready to give it a try? Check out these tips for mastering Around the World darts.
How Many Players Can Play Around the World Darts?
You can play with as many players as you like! You can even play around the world on your own as it is excellent practice for moving around the dartboard.
Why is Around the World Darts Good For Beginners?
Darts can be intimidating to a beginner with all the complicated math that goes along with it. However, around the world is the perfect game for brand new players to pick up and play immediately.
As long as you can count to 20 you can play this game! It is the perfect game for a new player to learn where the numbers are on the dartboard as you’ll have to find them to hit them.
Get our free printable scoresheet for Around the World Darts.
What Happens if I Hit a Double or Triple in Around the World Darts?
Hitting a double or a triple of a number just counts as a hit and you move on to the next number.
How to Win – Tips For Playing Around the World Darts
This game is about the consistency and flexibility of your aim. Using every segment on the board each number target will require a slightly different aim, making the player tune into how small changes to a throw can affect the likely target of your dart.
These tips will help you play well in around the world darts:
- Keep your stance consistent. Moving and standing in a different position each time you throw adds to the number of variables in your technique. Keep the same stance and don’t move for different sides of the board.
- Aim about the center of the upper single segment (as illustrated). This part of the segment is almost at its widest point but not too close to the top – aiming too near the edge although wider, you increase your chances of missing entirely.
- Focus on follow through. Your throwing action is not complete once you release the dart. Let your hand follow the dart, fully extended, and point towards the target number.
- Take your time. Think about where your target is and line up your line of sight properly.
- Visualize. See it in your mind hitting the desired number. It may seem silly, but you’d be amazed at how effective this can be.
Another article on an easy game for beginners is how to play gotcha darts.
Who Throws First?
Decide between yourselves or each take a shot at the bullseye – the closest dart goes first. This is a fair way to decide as it’s skill-based.
Remember to decide if you want to play first to 20 wins or make sure each player has the same number of turns and first to 20 wins. This way of playing makes a draw possible but it does eliminate the advantage of a player going first.
How to Keep Score
One of the beauties of this game is you don’t have to keep score as all each player needs to remember is the number they are on. However, above is a simple scoreboard in the event of beer forgetfulness.
Is Around the World Darts a Good Practice Game?
Yes! It’s an excellent practice game because:
- Makes you practice hitting all the different numbers on the board.
- Helps you learn your strength and weaknesses with the different numbers.
- Easy to adapt to make it more difficult.
Suggested Game Variations
The wonderful thing about this game is that it’s easy for different abilities to play and have fin together while introducing handicaps to more able players.
For eg you could try the following rules for more skilled players:
- Only doubles count
- Only triples count
- Only doubles AND triples count
- Get only 2 darts per turn
- Must throw from further away
- Never go first
- Blindfolded (for fun of course)
Final Thought
Around the World is a terrific game to play by yourself for practice or with a group of friends at a party. It’s versatile, easy to learn, and not intimidating to new players. You can add handicaps for more experienced players or just make the game harder for everyone.
Our favorite variation is to play hitting either doubles or triples only (singles don’t count) and you must start and finish on a triple.
Another fun game to try is Darts Baseball.
Sue has been playing darts since her 20’s when she played in weekly tournaments and she enjoys writing about darts. She’s also a great teacher, and she enjoys helping others learn how to play the game well. When Sue isn’t throwing darts, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
The easy way to keep track of your score is with our printable darts scoresheets. Easy to download and keep on your phone or computer or print straight off from our website. Pop your email address into the box and we'll send them straight to you.
