How to Play Scram Darts? (Great for Beginners)
Key Takeaways
- Scram darts is a game best for 2–4 players
- It is a quick and fast-paced darts practice game
- Fun and easy to play for beginners
- Players split into teams (Stoppers vs Scorers)
- The objective of the stopper: To close off numbers to stop the scorer scoring
- The objective of the scorer: To score as many points as possible in the numbers that the stopper hasn’t closed off
What Is Scram Darts?
You will love scram darts, if you like quick and easy to play practice games, that is tones of fun. Players compete, in an attempt to outscore one another.
The game is not designed for solo practice, so you will need at least 1 other player to play against. However, it’s best suited to 2–4 players, but if you have more players, you can create a couple of teams,
Any more people playing, and it can almost feel like you haven’t thrown a dart in a long time.
Whether you play on soft tip or standard dartboards, the game can be played on either, providing it has the standard numbered segments.
How to Play Scram Darts?
To play scram darts, it requires two teams:
- The stopper(s)
- The scorer(s)
Both players, or teams, will take it in turns to play both roles, at the end of the first round.
It is usually played over 2 rounds, and each round ends when the scoring team has no numbers left to score points in.
- The stoppers have to block, or close off numbers on the board, so the scorers cannot score highly and are limited by the numbers they hit
- Players score points (scoring team) when their dart lands in a number that has yet to be closed
What is the Objective in Scram Darts?
As the game of scram darts is design to being played by two players (teams), each team have a different objective.
- The objective of the stopper is to close numbers and prevent the scorer from scoring high
- The objective of the scorer is trying to score as many points as possible
If you start as the stopper, you should be looking to close off all the high numbers on the board as early as possible with each dart.
As the scorer, your goal is to take advantage of any high scoring numbers still available on the board, to get the highest score possible.
What Are the Scram Darts Rules?
If a dart is thrown into closed off numbered segments during the game, no score can be registered for the dart.
Just like if a dart falls out of the dartboard, or misses the board, zero points are awarded to that dart.
When the scorers cannot score anymore because all the numbers have been closed off, the team’s roles are reversed between stopper and scorer.
- The stoppers always goes first in scram darts
- Whoever throws closest to the bull decides who plays as the stopper
The amount of points scored by the scoring team are added up at the end of the round.
How to Score Scram Darts?
Write the numbers 1 – 20 plus the bullseye down the middle of the scoreboard and the players names in columns to the right.
- Whatever the scorer throws in each round, add the points to their running total
- When the stopper closes out a number, place an ‘X’ in the number
The point values in the game follow the traditional scoring system in popular X01 games:
- Singles are worth the value of the number
- Doubles are worth double the numbered segment
- Triples are worth 3x the value of the segment
- Outer bullseye (green ring) is worth 25 points
- Inner bullseye (red ring) is worth 50 points
An example game:
- Triple 17 is worth 51 points (3×17) to the scoring team
- Double 11 is worth 22 points (2×11)
- Single 20 is worth 20 points (1×20)
What Happens During Tie Games?
Scram darts is generally a game where teams or players with the highest score wins, like for instance cricket darts.
Usually, if it ends in a tie, players will another two rounds of the game, adding the scores of both games to determine a winner.
However, you can also leave it there and call the game a tie.
