Bead · darts game rules
Cut-Throat Cricket darts rules
Cutthroat Cricket, reverse Cricket
Cut-Throat Cricket keeps the targets and marks of standard Cricket but flips the scoring on its head. When you score on a target you have closed, the points are added to every opponent who has not closed it. You want a low score, which turns every visit into a choice about who to punish. It shines with three or more players.
- Players
- 3 to 6
- Length
- ≈ 25 min
- Difficulty
- Demanding
- What you need
- A dartboard (steel tip or soft tip) and 3 darts per player.
Rules
Setup
- The active targets are 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and the bull.
- Every player starts on zero and takes turns, three darts each.
How to play
- Hit the active targets to add marks: single 1, double 2, treble 3.
- A target is closed for you once you have 3 marks on it.
- Extra marks on a target you have closed give points to every opponent who has not closed it yet.
- Once all players have closed a target, it no longer scores.
Scoring
- Points given are equal to the number hit: an extra treble 19 gives 57 points to each open opponent.
- The outer bull counts as 1 mark and the inner bull as 2 marks.
Winning
The first player to close every target while having the lowest score (or tied for lowest) wins.
Tips
- Close the targets where you are exposed first, especially the 20s.
- Aim your points at the player who is leading, rather than spreading them around.
- With three or more players, informal alliances against the leader are part of the fun.
FAQ
- What is the difference between Cricket and Cut-Throat?
- Same targets, same marks. In Cricket your points go on your own score and the highest wins; in Cut-Throat they go on opponents who are still open and the lowest wins.
- How many players for Cut-Throat Cricket?
- Three to six. With two players it is almost standard Cricket, since there is only one person to load up.
- How do you win Cut-Throat Cricket?
- Be the first to close all seven targets with the lowest score, or tied for the lowest.
