The sport of darts springs back from the medieval times. It originated from the art of archery (modified archery that is). It was a way of teaching archery students by shortening the arrows and letting them throw at the bottom of an empty wine barrel.

Until then, soldiers turned the idea into a game and soon began playing during their drinking sessions. The game eventually turned into a pastime where soldiers showcased their throwing skills while having fun during the course of the game.

The empty wine barrel that early dart players previously used soon became obsolete as one of the players brought in a cross-section of a tree which had rings on it. The dried portions of the tree provided segments separating the sections. This board later evolved into the form of dart board that we are using now.

In the 19 th century, darts became a famous pub game. It was during this time that colored circles were placed on the dart board and a system of scoring was developed. The highest score came from that of a bullseye, located at the center of the board and the lowest score was given if the darts would fall on the lowest edge. It was also during this time that Britain’s royal families joined the public to enjoy the fashionable sport. In 1937, both the king and queen toured a social club in Slough , Berkshire and casually threw darts at a dartboard.

The evolution of darts also brought about changes in the equipment especially the dartboard. Although the “ London ” board is what we picture now to be the ones in use today, there are still other types of boards being used namely, the Yorkshire, Manchester, and the Saffordshire boards. The design of the London board, with the segmented numbering scheme, was derived from the above mentioned boards. Although the distinct number scheme doesn’t have an exact record of its origin, it was believed to have come from Northern England .

Today, Darts is played by 6 million people regularly and is frequently featured on sports broadcasting networks.