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OK. Now I'm ready for a more interesting game.(:-)) How do I play American Cricket?

OK. Now I'm ready for a more interesting game.(:-)) How do I play American Cricket?

The game of Cricket differs from the games just described in that there is an element of strategy used against the opponent rather than just individual scoring subtractions. Let's take a closer look at it:  

  1. The purpose of the game is to "close" (or to make it impossible for one's opponent to score points) the numbers 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, and the bullseye by scoring three hits (usually called "marks") in each of these designated areas of the board. These numbers, including the bullseye, may be closed in any order. A dart in the triple or double counts as three or two hits respectively.
  2. When three hits have been scored in a number, that number is "closed" and additional hits score points only if the opponent has not yet scored his three hits in (ie; "closed) that number.  
  3. Your opponent cannot receive points on a number you have "closed", but can prevent you from scoring additional points by scoring three "marks" thereby "closing" it too.

In more depth (provided by Vicky):

"Cricket is a 2 or 4 player (team) game. The object is to "close out" with the most points. You close a number by hitting it three times: either three singles, a single and double, or a triple. Once a player closes a number, if he (or she, but from now on I'll say "he") hits it again and his opponent has not closed it, he scores that many points. The numbers involved are 20,19,18,17,16,15 and the cork (bull).

Let me try to walk you through a game. This is really hard without a board to show you on! We shoot for "diddle" or closest to cork; I win (Hey, my game, I win). The scoreboard is set up like this:  

Vicky   You
20
19
18
17
16
15
B

There are no requirements for getting 'in', like in x01 (i.e., no double required).

I shoot

two 20's and one 5. I put two slashes next to the 20 in my column to mark my two hits. Traditionally, they form an X.

You shoot

and hit a triple 20, a single 20, and a 19. You put an X and then circle it in your column next to the 20 and a / next to the 19. You have also scored 20 points so you write 20 in the points area in your column.

I shoot

a 20, a 19, and double 19. I have now closed out both the 20 and 19. Now you can't score any more 20s because I have them closed and I can score on the 19s because you still have them open.

You would try to close them on your next turn.

The game is over when one person closes all their numbers including Bull and has more points. (This variation allows for ties. It is the general view in alt.sports.darts that ties are not allowed and the person who closes all numbers first wins if he has the same or more points than his opponent.) If no points are scored the first person to "close out" wins. You might want to start by playing without points to get the feel for the game.  

You can play with many variations: 'no slop' which means that you must close out the numbers in succession, i.e. 20, then 19. etc. and darts which 'waft' into (hit without meaning to) numbers don't count; Reverse Cricket which is kind of stupid but after a few beers sounded great one night, instead of hitting the 20s on down, start with the 1s and work your way up the board to the 20s. WARNING this takes forever but is really good practice."  

Cricket is a really popular league game. There are many strategies involved so feel free to ask any questions about the game even if you think they're stupid. Other variations of Cricket are discussed in Part 2 of the FAQ.