Baizewick guide
A short history of darts
Darts is a British pub game with a long and murky history. Some of its best-known stories are hard to prove, but its modern form was settled by the early 20th century.
Early origins
Throwing games are very old, and darts is often linked to soldiers and archers throwing short arrows at a target. Firm evidence for the early history is thin, so treat the stories with caution.
The board layout
The standard clock board, with 20 at the top, is often credited to Brian Gamlin, said to have devised it in 1896. Historians have found little evidence that he existed, so this story is disputed.
Whoever designed it, the layout is clever: high numbers sit next to low ones, so a slightly missed throw is punished.
Regional boards
For a long time there was no single board. Different parts of Britain played on their own designs, and some survive in local leagues. The Yorkshire board has no trebles ring. The Manchester log-end board is smaller, with very narrow doubles, and was traditionally made from elm.
The clock board with trebles, now often called the London or standard board, eventually became the one used in competition.
Is darts a game of skill?
A popular story says that in 1908 a Leeds landlord proved in court that darts was a game of skill, not chance, by having a player hit chosen numbers on demand. It is often told, but the evidence for it is thin, so treat it as a good pub story rather than settled history.
How far to throw
Throwing distances once varied from region to region, and even from pub to pub. The steel-tip standard settled on 7ft 9¼in, or 2.37 m, from the face of the board, with the bullseye 1.73 m from the floor.
Where the word “oche” comes from is uncertain. Several neat stories are told about it, but none is well supported.
Elm boards and bristle boards
Early boards were often made of elm. They had to be soaked to stop the holes from drying out and cracking. Bristle boards made from compressed sisal fibres came into use from the 1930s and eventually replaced elm.
That history is why you should never soak a modern bristle board. It is built to close up on its own.
Darts on television
Darts became a television sport in the 1970s and 1980s, which made the game and its players household names in the UK. Today professional darts draws large crowds and television audiences.
Television also made the nine-dart finish famous. It is the fewest darts that can win a leg of 501: two maximum 180s followed by a 141 checkout, such as treble 20, treble 19 and double 12.
What it means for your setup
Modern home boards, surrounds and soft-tip boards all build on this history. See our dartboard height and distance guide to set yours up.