Darts Rules: 301, 501, 701, Cricket and Gotcha

How dartboard scoring works

The numbered wedges are worth 1 to 20 points. The narrow outer ring is the double ring and the narrow inner ring is the triple ring. The two central circles are the bulls.

Board area	Score	Example
Single	The printed number	Single 20 = 20
Double	Twice the number	Double 20 = 40
Triple	Three times the number	Triple 20 = 60
Outer bull	25 points	Also one Cricket mark
Inner bull	50 points	Also called the bullseye
Outside the doubles ring	0 points	Recorded as a miss

What counts as a turn?

A player throws up to three darts, then play moves to the next player. A turn ends early when a player wins or busts. A dart that misses or does not remain in the scoring area scores zero and is not thrown again.

How to play 301, 501 and 701

X01 games all work in the same way. Every player begins with the chosen starting score—301, 501 or 701—and subtracts the value of each turn. The first player to reach exactly zero wins the leg.

A match can contain several legs and sets. EasyBoard Darts rotates the starting player between legs and keeps the match score automatically.

Double out and busts

With double out enabled, the final dart must land in a double. The inner bull counts as double 25, so it is a valid 50-point finish. A triple is not a valid double-out dart, and the outer bull is worth 25 but does not count as a double.

A turn is a bust when a player:

scores more points than remain;
leaves 1 while playing double out; or
reaches zero without finishing on a double.

After a bust, every dart from that turn is cancelled. The player returns to the score held at the start of the turn, and play passes to the next player.

Example: A player has 32 remaining. Double 16 wins. A single 16 followed by single 16 reaches zero on a single, so the entire turn is a bust and the score returns to 32.

How to play Cricket

Cricket uses only 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and the bull. Each target needs three marks to close: a single earns one mark, a double two and a triple three. Outer bull earns one mark and inner bull earns two.

Once you close a number, extra marks score that number's point value while at least one opponent still has it open. When every player has closed the number, nobody can score on it. To win, close every target and have at least as many points as every opponent.

Example: You already have two marks on 20 and hit triple 20. The first mark closes 20; the two extra marks score 40 points if an opponent still has 20 open.

How Gotcha mode works

Gotcha is an optional twist for 301, 501 or 701. If your completed turn leaves you on exactly the same remaining score as another player, that player is “gotcha'd” and returns to the game's starting score. If several opponents share that score, they are all reset.

Useful double-out checkouts

A checkout is a route to exactly zero. There can be several valid routes; these common examples favour familiar doubles.

Remaining	Suggested finish
170	T20 · T20 · Bull
121	T20 · T11 · D14
100	T20 · D20
80	T20 · D10
50	Bull
40	D20
32	D16

EasyBoard Darts shows a checkout suggestion when a practical finish is available with the darts remaining.

Competition and local house rules can vary. Confirm the format before a match begins. EasyBoard Darts lets you switch double out and Gotcha on or off when setting up an X01 game.

This guide follows recognised steel-tip X01 conventions from the Darts Regulation Authority rules and standard Cricket scoring described in the DARTSLIVE official rulebook. Gotcha is an EasyBoard Darts game option.

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