X01 scoring
501, 301 and 701 all work the same way: each player or team starts at the number in the name and subtracts the total of each turn's three darts. First to exactly zero wins the leg — with one condition that changes everything about how the last few turns are played.
Bust rules
Under double-out — the standard for competitive and most club play — the final dart that brings your score to zero must land in a double or the bullseye (which counts as double 25). Three ways a turn goes bad:
- Going below zero — a turn total that exceeds your remaining score is a bust.
- Leaving exactly 1 — 1 can't be finished on a double, so reaching it is a bust regardless of how you got there.
- Reaching zero on a non-double — hitting the right total but not on a double still busts the turn.
A bust reverts your score to what it was at the start of the turn, not the value before the one dart that caused the problem. Score 60 and 60 with your first two darts, then bust the third, and all 120 is wiped — not just the third dart's contribution.
Some casual and pub rulesets play straight-out, where any dart can finish the leg — no double required. Under straight-out, leaving exactly 1 is fine, and the bogey numbers below don't apply.
Checkouts
A checkout is the sequence of darts that finishes a leg. The highest possible three-dart checkout under double-out is 170 — treble 20, treble 20, bullseye. Not every number below that has a finish, though: 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169 can't be finished in three darts at all under double-out. Land on one of these and the next dart needs to move you to a different number rather than attempt to finish.
The checkout chart covers every legal route for every score from 2 to 170, ranked by convention with every alternative shown.
Cricket
Cricket uses a different seven numbers — 20 down to 15, plus the bull — and a different objective: close each number before your opponent does, and outscore them on the numbers you close first.
- Marks: a single scores one mark, a double two, a treble three. Three marks on a number closes it.
- Bull: the outer bull (25) counts as one mark, the inner bull (50) counts as two.
- Scoring: once you've closed a number and at least one opponent hasn't, every further mark on it scores its face value — a treble 20 scored after 20 is already closed adds 60 points.
- Winning: close every number while holding the highest score. Closing everything while behind keeps the leg alive rather than ending it.
Cut-throat inverts the incentive: points from an already-closed number go to every opponent who hasn't closed it, not to you, and the winner is whoever closes everything with the lowest score. The cricket scorer handles both variants and tracks marks automatically.
Terminology
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Leave | The score remaining after a turn, used when discussing what's needed to finish — "a leave of 32." |
| Ton | A single turn totalling 100 or more. "Ton-80" is the maximum, 180. |
| Oche | The throwing line, positioned 2.37m from the board face. |
| Leg | One complete game to zero (or to closing all numbers in cricket). |
| Set | A group of legs — matches are often best-of-N sets, each set best-of-N legs. |
| Shanghai | Hitting single, double and treble of the same number in one turn — an instant win in the Shanghai variant. |
| Bull-off | Both players throw one dart at the bull to decide who throws first. |
Questions
What happens if I go below zero, or leave exactly 1?
Both are a bust under double-out. Going below zero busts immediately; leaving 1 busts because 1 can't be finished on a double. Either way, the whole turn is void and your score reverts to its value at the start of the turn.
Which checkout numbers are impossible to finish?
159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 168 and 169 have no legal three-dart double-out finish. Land on one and you need to change your remaining score rather than try to finish.
What's the difference between standard and cut-throat cricket?
In standard cricket, scoring on a closed number adds points to your own total and the highest score wins. In cut-throat, the same hits add points to your opponents instead, and the lowest score wins.