How to Play Around the World Darts — The Pressure is On!

As your friend in darts, we love introducing our customers to new games to incorporate into your practice routines, like the Game of 9 and more. We're back with another practice game that you may have heard of before — Around the World darts! It's a fun and challenging game that puts your aim and accuracy to the test. If you're looking for a new practice game, we're here to teach you how to play Around the World darts.

Around the World darts, also called "Around the Clock", is a practice routine game where you throw darts in order from 1 to bull on your dartboard. Because the numbers are not quite in numerical order, your darts are traveling "around the world" from one side of the board to another with each subsequential number. In the standard version of Around the World darts, you simply need to hit anywhere on each segment from 1 to the bull. You don't earn a score; you just need to keep track of the numbers you're successfully hitting.

It's wildly entertaining and addicting to play, and while it sounds easy, Around the World darts can definitely be adjusted to put pressure on your dart skills. In this blog, we'll discuss two different variations of Around the World darts — singles and doubles — and which version you should play.

The singles edition of Around the World darts requires you to only hit the single segment of each number, from single 1 up to the single bull (outer ring). It doesn't matter which part of the single segment you hit, since each number has two, as long as your dart lands safely in the single.

If you're a visual learner, Will Stuart from USA Darts has got your back. Watch his breakdown of the Around the World darts singles game below:

Aiming for only the singles in Around the World darts may sound easy, but the rules will really put your accuracy to the test. Hitting anything else besides your intended target — like a triple, double, or the wrong number — will require you to start over from the beginning. You won't want to miss a target, especially if you're on the last part of the practice routine, the bull!

The best part about Around the World darts is that it builds on the skills that set you up for success in darts 501. Although the stars of darts 501 may be the doubles and triples, hitting your singles is also important for your setup shots.

With multiple chances per turn to hit your intended double, there's a chance you'll end up hitting your target and the next double in that same turn. Getting two or more doubles in one turn is called "banking a reserve double". For example, if you hit a double 1 and a double 2 in one turn, you bank the double 2 and reserve its place if you mess up in the future. For example, in the next round if you fail to hit double 3 you do not need to start over on double 1 since you "banked" double 2 — you would start again on double 2 instead. Focus hard on hitting multiple doubles each round for the rest of your Around the World darts game!

There's no right answer when considering which variation of Around the World darts to play since it really depends on your skill level and comfort. The doubles version is more challenging since doubles are hard to hit, so it's best suited for intermediate and up players looking to work on their 501 checkouts. Meanwhile, the singles version of Around the World darts is great for beginners practicing their general aim and advanced players practicing their checkout set up shots where a single pie miss can cost you the leg!

Eventually, as improve your skills over time, you'll be able to incorporate both versions into your practice routine. Start off with Around the World darts singles and then work your way towards playing Around the World doubles once you feel like you've mastered the singles variation.

Looking for more games (besides Around the World darts) to add to your darts routine? We're constantly covering tons of new practice routines for you to try out on our Youtube channel and right here on our blog. Check out the other darts games we've covered on our blog below:

Beginners and pros alike love Around the World darts and we hope you'll love the game too! Don't forget to have fun while you practice, and stay tuned for the next practice game we share on our blog!