Dartboard

Darts is a popular sport played between two or more player teams and individual setups. The objective of the game is to score more points by aiming at a circular disc, known as the dartboard. The dartboard has particular marked areas where the darts are hit by players and points are scored. The game is considered to be originated from archery. The standard numbering and point system was created for the first time by Brian Gamlin in 1896.

Official Dimensions of a Dartboard

According to official regulations, a dartboard has a diameter of 17.75 inches (451 mm). It should be placed on the wall such that the bull’s eye is at a height of 5 feet 8 inches from the ground.

The dartboard has 20 equal segments with a separate region known as bull’s-eye. Further, the sections and the bull’s-eye are divided into various parts. The diameter of the target area on the board is 13.25 inches. The distributed areas of the dartboard are regarded as beds. The segments are further divided into skinny inner division and fat outer singles division. The inner ring present in the dartboard dividing the inner and outer singles segments is known as the “triples area”. The outer ring on the dartboard that divides the outer singles section from the board is known as “doubles”.

The bullseye has two divisions - the outer segment called the outer bull and a central inner bull region. If the darts hit the bullseye, then 50 points are scored in some formats of the game. In other variants, 25 points are scored for outer bull ‘single’ region and 50 for inner bull ‘double’ region.

Manufacturing of Dartboards

A dartboard is circular with 20 segments divided on an entire 360 degrees board. The centre lines of each section bisect both the horizontal and vertical axes of the circle. The boards are usually dyed after manufacturing. Typically, a black colour dye is preferred with silver wire.

The beds or segments divide the dartboard with the aid of spider which is basically metal or plastic dividers that help in isolating the beds from their neighbouring regions. The soft tip boards may not have spiders. The dartboard has alternate numberings with high and low-value targets. The lowest-value targets surround the high-value targets.

Types of Dartboards

• Regular Board - A regular board is the most standard variant of a dartboard. It has a uniform structure with all essential manufacturing details. The design and template used are simple and basic. The beginners widely use regular boards.
• Yorkshire Board - It is also regarded as Kent doubles and is a forerunner of the London fives. The Yorkshire board lacks an outer bulls-eye and a treble bed. The target region is smaller in size than a regular board but it still follows a standard numbering system.
• Irish Black Dartboard - The Irish black dartboard is similar to the Yorkshire board but differs in colour. The Irish board is entirely black in colour.
• Electronic Board - The electronic board was first used in 1977 in the United States of America. The board features a large number of holes on the surface, and scores are automatically recorded. The electronic boards reduce the chances of human error and are being used by professional players too.
• Lincoln Board - The Lincoln board doesn’t have the typical 25 surrounding points or the outer bullseye. It is an all-black board.
• Ipswich Board - It is also regarded as London fives, east end fives, narrow fives and wide fives. The board consists of 12 equal segments with an inner and outer bullseye. The board also has double and treble plus region. The total game is of 505 instead of the standard 501. These boards are primarily used in the East End of London.
• Manchester Log-end Dartboard - The Manchester log-end dartboard is considered as the hardest variant of dartboards. They are manufactured from wood and are double-sided. Usually, the boards are hand-made, also prepared from UK Elm. The board consist of a smaller playing area and thus regarded as the hardest board to play in the history of darts.

History and Evolution of Dartboards

Initially, before World War I, the dartboards were made from elm or other solid blocks of wood. It was constructed with the aid of soaked log-end and metal strips and wires were incorporated to create the segments.

In earlier times, the spiders were made from wires tied in the bristle board. With recent modifications, the spiders are composed of triangular wires which help in reducing bounce-out of darts. With advanced technology, the usage of thin metal blades has overshadowed the use of spiders. The blades are cut into the bristle board and provide least divider size with additional target space. Blades have also decreased the rate of bounce-outs of the darts.

The Arachnid Galaxy boards have a large spider size, and the Valley Cougar boards have very small spiders. In previous times, the dartboard was referred to as “butt” that comes from a French word “but” meaning target. In 1919, Edward (Ted) Leggat invented a new clay variety called "Nodor". By the early 1920s, Nodor clay was used to prepare the dartboards but its quality wasn’t satisfactory. Later in 1931, Frank Dabbs suggested Ted for the modification of the dartboard by using ropes. So the new dartboard was manufactured from short rope pieces that were bound tightly to form the board surface and were known as Nodor Original Bristle dartboard. Those dartboards were manufactured from fibre obtained from the Sisal plant. Till now, the sisal dartboards are widely used with very little modifications in the construction process.