Official Rule Set for BowDarts

Setup and turns

  1. Two shooters (or two teams) play head to head.
  2. Shoot for order; the closest arrow to the bullseye shoots first.
  3. Each turn is 3 arrows. Shooters alternate turns until the game ends.
  4. The playable numbers are 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and the bullseye. Any other number is a miss.
  5. An arrow scores where its shaft enters the target. An arrow that falls out or bounces off before it is scored counts as a miss.
  6. Shooters may close numbers in any order.

Marking and closing numbers

A shooter closes a number with 3 marks, and once closed that number is dead to that shooter for the rest of the game.

Hit

Marks

Single

1

Double (outer ring)

2

Triple (inner ring)

3

Outer bull

1

Inner bull

2

Any mix that adds up to 3 closes the number: three singles, a double and a single, or one triple.

  • Closed means closed. After you close a number, further hits on it earn you no marks and no points.
  • Your closing is yours alone. Closing a number does not close it for your opponent. They keep shooting it until they close it themselves.
  • No extra credit on the closing arrow. Marks beyond the 3rd are lost. A triple on a number where you already have 2 marks closes it; the extra 2 marks do not score.

Scoring points

Every mark you earn on an open number scores that number's face value, so points come only from hits on the way to closing.

  • A single 20 scores 20; a double 20 scores 40; a triple 20 scores 60.
  • Outer bull scores 25 per mark; inner bull scores 50.
  • Marks lost past the 3rd (see above) score nothing.
  • Hits on a number you have already closed score nothing.

Example: you have 2 marks on 18 and hit a triple 18. You earn 1 mark (18 points) and 18 is now closed for you.

The Killshot

The target has two Killshots, one at the top and one at the bottom, and a called hit on either one triggers a sudden-death answer.

  1. Call it. Before releasing, the shooter says out loud "Killshot top" or "Killshot bottom." An uncalled hit, or a hit on the Killshot not called, does not count.
  2. Hit it. If the called Killshot is hit, play stops immediately. Any arrows left in that turn are not shot.
  3. The answer. The opponent gets one arrow at the other Killshot. If the first shooter hit the top, the answer must go to the bottom, and vice versa.
  4. Answer missed. The first Killshot shooter wins the game.
  5. Answer hit. The shooter with more points at that moment wins. If points are tied, the first Killshot shooter wins.

A called Killshot that misses is simply a missed arrow. The shooter's turn continues as normal.

Winning the game

The game ends one of two ways: a Killshot sequence, or a shooter closing all seven numbers.

  • By Killshot: decided as described in The Killshot above.
  • By closing out: when a shooter closes all seven numbers, the game ends at the end of that turn. The shooter with more points wins. If points are tied, the shooter who closed out first wins.