How to Play Warfare Darts?
Key Takeaways
- During a game of warfare darts, the board is divided into two halves, similar to tennis darts
- Number of players: Can be played with two players or in teams
- The aim of the warfare darts: To close all the numbers on your opponent’s side of the dartboard
- Each number is described as a soldier and the entire half referred to as an army in the game
What is the Warfare Darts Game?
Warfare darts is one of those games that require lots of strategy, like for instance prisoner darts, but is tonnes of fun and very easy to play.
The game doesn’t require you to specifically hit any doubles, triples or any advanced kinda shots.
As such it is a very good game for beginners, however it is not just a game for new players.
- The simplicity of the game allows plenty of variation to the rules among players
- You can make warfare darts harder if you wish, to make it more challenging, or to just mix things up a little bit
You can think of warfare darts and the dartboard itself much like a battlefield, that is divided into two halves, which can be either:
- Top and bottom
- Left and right
Each number on both sides of the battlefield (board) represent soldiers in the game.
The Objective
Each player, or teams, objective is to close off each of the numbers and eliminate your opponent’s soldiers by hitting an open number on their side of the board.
How Many Numbers of Players Is Needed for Warfare Darts?
Warfare darts require AT LEAST two players to play the game.
You can also set up teams with your buddies to play against each other.
What Are the Warfare Darts Rules?
The rules of warfare darts are very simple to understand, so let me explain:
- Player’s have three darts per turn
- The board must be split into two equal halves (Ten numbers on each half)
- When a number is hit, ‘a soldier is eliminated’ and the number is closed
- The first player/team to close all their opponents 10 numbers wins the game
- If you hit your own number (friendly fire) this eliminates your own soldiers in the game
How to Play Warfare Darts?
Warfare darts is one of the simplest games to play:
- Decide who goes first: Closest to the bullseye is the most popular method
- Each player or team takes turns trying to remove the other side’s soldiers (numbers) from the game
- The first team that lose all their soldiers, loses the game
Splitting the Board
As I mentioned previously, warfare darts is played over two halves of the board.
When the dividing the board, the two teams have specific numbers (army’s) depending on whether you split the board top and bottom or left and right.
Splitting the Board Top and Bottom
The bottom army numbers on the board are:
6, 10, 15, 2, 17, 3, 19, 7, 16 and 8
The top army numbers on the board are:
11, 14, 9, 12, 5, 20, 1, 18, 4, 13 and 6
Splitting the Board Left and Right
The Left side army numbers on the board are:
3, 19, 17, 16, 8, 11, 14, 9, 12 and 5
The right side army numbers on the board are:
20, 1, 18, 4, 13, 6, 10, 15, 2, and 17
How to Score Warfare Darts?
There is no actual scoring, and you don’t need to keep account of the running totals to add or subtract like there is in other games like for instance in games of 501 or games of scram darts.
To keep a track, a simple list of all the numbers is needed and as each number is removed from the game, place a strike through it or a circle around it.
And that’s it, warfare darts is one of the simplest games to score.
Strategy and Tips
Like I said earlier, warfare darts can be a strategic game among players.
One of the most important things to remember about the game is the risk of hitting your own soldiers, which counts as a hit for the other player.
Considering this, a good strategy you may want to consider is to:
- Avoid aiming for the outer edge numbers – these are the outer numbers that are close to your side of the board, also known as the border numbers
- Start with the middle numbers and work your way out to the edge numbers
Going for the outer numbers early in the game while your own edge numbers are still to be closed, means if any of your darts go astray, you could end up eliminating your own end soldiers.
The other team/player may have already eliminated your outer numbers by the time you need to hit the risky numbers, effectively giving you a free shot.
Other tips to playing warfare darts include:
- Aim with caution towards the outer edge of the segment when the edge numbers of both teams are still in play
- Know where your strengths lie – eliminate the numbers you are strongest on first
What Are Some Ware Darts Variations?
One of the best things about warfare darts, is the simplicity of it to play. However, you may find it too easy, or the games ending relatively quick, depending on your skill levels.
Because the rules of warfare darts are straight forward and simple, there are some easy variations to make it more challenging and harder by:
- ONLY counting doubles and triples as hits
- Dividing the soldiers’ health over the different segments in the number, i.e a single is worth one health point, a double is worth two health point and triple is worth three health points – three health points need to be taken away for a soldier to be eliminated
- You could also ‘treat‘ your own soldiers to health – limit this to a certain number of times in the game, like for instance two times each player
