Around the Clock darts: rules and progress tracking

Hit 1, then 2, and keep going through 20 before finishing on bull. Around the Clock gives every part of the board a turn. Here, your challenge is to complete the sequence using as few darts as possible.

The order and the finish

Start with 1 as your current target. Any single, double or treble of that number advances you one step. A double does not skip two numbers and a treble does not skip three. The next dart in the same visit can be aimed at your new target.

After 20, hit either outer bull or inner bull to finish. Bull is a separate twenty-first target. An early bull does not count towards the finish. A wrong number or miss uses a dart but leaves your current target unchanged; progress never resets just because you miss or finish a visit.

A worked sequence

Your first dart hits single 1, so your target becomes 2. Your second hits treble 2, which advances you to 3, not 5. Your third hits 7: you stay on 3. Record three darts used, two targets cleared and 3 as the next target. At your next visit, double 3 clears just 3 and you move to 4.

The shortest possible game here is 21 darts: one hit for each number plus one for bull. The game ends as soon as the final bull lands; you do not need to use all three darts in that visit.

Play on a physical board

For solo practice, use the same sequence and count every dart, including misses. With friends, give each person their own next-target entry and take three-dart visits in turn. The first person to finish wins under the rule you agree before starting. Take darts out only when everyone has finished checking the visit.

A simple paper tracker

Write “1 2 3 … 20 BULL” across the page, leaving room to tick each target. Underneath, keep a visit log with darts used and the next target. Tick only the target you were actually trying to hit at that moment.

After those visits, tick 1, 2, 3 and 4. Keep a running dart total even on a visit where nothing is cleared. At the finish, compare your total with your previous attempts; a consistent method matters more than a complicated scoreboard.

Agree real-board variations first

Around the Clock has house rules. Some games stop at 20; others require a final bullseye or restrict practice to doubles or trebles. The Target Darts games overview describes another version with a reset rule. This site keeps progress through misses and accepts either bull at the end. Agree the target areas, advancement and finish before comparing scores with someone using a different version.

Useful practice habits

• Find the next number on the board before your visit. The sequence follows number value, not neighbouring segments.
• Aim at the broad single area while learning. A difficult treble brings no extra advancement here.
• Keep counting misses. A lower total next time is a clearer improvement than remembering only good visits.
• Spend a few separate practice darts on targets where you often get stuck, then try the full sequence again.