Darts Practice Games: Round the Clock, Shanghai, Bob’s 27 and More
Playing leg after leg of 501 is not the most efficient way to improve. These six games isolate specific skills — raw accuracy, doubles under pressure, or scoring at speed — and most need nothing more than a board, a scoreboard and a bit of patience.
Why Play Practice Games Instead of Just 501
A standard leg mixes scoring, doubling and decision-making together, which makes it hard to tell exactly what is going wrong when you miss. Practice games strip that down to one skill at a time — Round the Clock isolates single-target accuracy, Bob’s 27 isolates doubles, and Cricket adds a tactical layer on top of scoring. Working through a rotation of these before or after normal games is a common habit among club and league players.
| Game | Players | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| Round the Clock | Solo or group | Basic accuracy, board awareness |
| Shanghai | Solo or group | Accuracy under a strict number of darts |
| Bob’s 27 | Solo | Doubles and finishing pressure |
| Cricket | 2+ players | Scoring plus tactical shot selection |
| Killer | 3+ players | Doubles, under social pressure |
| Halve It | Solo or group | Mixed targets, consistency across a full round |
Round the Clock
The simplest and most common warm-up. Start by throwing at number 1; once you hit it, move on to number 2, then 3, and so on up to 20, with some versions finishing on the bullseye. It can be played solo against a personal best, or as a race between two or more players. To raise the difficulty once straight hits become easy, require a double or treble of each number before advancing.
Shanghai
Played over 20 rounds, one for each number from 1 to 20 in order. Each player throws three darts per round at that round’s number only, scoring whatever they land — a single, double or treble of it. Landing all three in the same round (single, double and treble of that number) is a “Shanghai”, and in most rule sets it wins the game outright regardless of the score. If nobody hits a Shanghai, the highest total after 20 rounds wins.
Bob’s 27
Named after former world champion Bob Anderson, this is the standard solo doubles drill. Start on 27 points. Your first target is double 1: throw three darts at it, and every dart that lands adds double the target’s value in points, while missing with all three darts subtracts that same value. Move on to double 2, then double 3, and so on through double 20 and finally the bullseye. If your score drops to zero or below at any point, the game ends there. A maximum clean run scores 1,437 — in practice, simply finishing the sequence with a positive score is a solid result, and the game rewards consistency across all 21 targets rather than any single double.
Cricket
A tactical scoring game using only the numbers 15 to 20 and the bullseye. A number is “opened” once it has been hit three times in total (a treble opens it in one dart, a double in two, or three singles) and “closed” the same way. Once you have opened a number your opponent has not yet closed, every further hit on it scores points; once both players have closed a number, it is dead and scores nothing more. The game ends when all numbers are closed, and whoever has the equal or higher score at that point wins. It needs at least one opponent, since scoring depends entirely on what they have and have not closed.
Killer
A social, multiplayer elimination game that works best with three or more players. Each player throws one dart with their non-throwing hand to randomly assign themselves a number on the board. Hitting your own number as a double turns you into a “killer”, after which you can eliminate other players by hitting their assigned numbers — and once you are a killer, hitting your own number again eliminates yourself, adding an extra layer of risk. The last player standing wins. It is less about isolated technique than about doubles practice combined with reading the table, and it only works with a group.
Halve It
Each round has a specific target — for example, a chosen number, a double, or a section of the board — agreed in advance for a fixed sequence of rounds. Hitting the target with any of your three darts in that round adds to your running score; missing with all three darts halves your total score outright. It punishes a completely blank round hard, which makes it a good drill for maintaining focus and hitting at least one dart on target every single round rather than settling for occasional big scores.
Building a Practice Routine
A simple rotation many players use is Round the Clock to warm up single-target accuracy, followed by Bob’s 27 to sharpen doubles, then a few normal legs of 501 to apply both under scoring pressure — see our guide to darts scoring formats if you need a refresher on how legs and sets work. Once a checkout route is second nature, cross-reference it against our darts checkout chart to make sure you are picking the most efficient path to the double, and revisit grip and stance fundamentals if misses are clustering in one direction rather than spreading randomly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best darts practice game for beginners?
Round the Clock is the standard starting point — working through numbers 1 to 20 in order builds basic accuracy without the pressure of a full leg. Shanghai is a good next step once single-number accuracy is solid.
How do you play Round the Clock in darts?
Throw at number 1, and once you hit it, move to number 2, then 3, and so on up to 20. Some versions finish on the bullseye, and the difficulty can be raised by requiring a double or treble of each number before advancing.
What is a "Shanghai" in darts?
Players throw three darts per round at each number from 1 to 20 in turn. Landing a single, double and treble of that round’s number with three darts is a Shanghai — in most rule sets it is an instant win.
How does Bob’s 27 help with checkouts?
It starts you on 27 points and sends you through every double, D1 to D20, then the bullseye. Hitting adds points, missing with all three darts subtracts them, and the game ends if your score reaches zero or below — recreating the pressure of needing a specific double to survive.
Can Cricket and Killer be practised alone?
Not really — both depend on competing against at least one other player. For solo practice, Round the Clock, Shanghai, Bob’s 27 and Halve It all work with just one player.
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