The game of darts is simple enough ... aim, throw and then add up the points ... 7, 15, 6, a double 12 for 24, then an inner bull's-eye good for 50.
A winner? Maybe. There are more than three dozen games of darts and several variations of each ... add or subtract, high score, the right sequence of numbers, right placement, right pattern — it all depends on which game is being played.
That's one reason the game of darts is regaining popularity — it's easy and there are a lot of dart games to be played, along with the fact it's inexpensive.
In the early 1980s, however, darts was falling out of favor. Its image, as a barroom game, tarnished its clean-cut image as a family game.
But it is gaining new interest in the family market, said Lina Recupero, owner of Lina's Dart Shop.
"I'd say close to 70 percent of the people who come into the store are families looking for a game they can take home," she noted.
The game of darts is buried somewhere in the military of the Middle Ages. Different views have soldiers throwing everything from spears and arrows and other weapons of war at barrel lids and later at cross sections of a tree, with the natural rings representing targets. Some suggest they started throwing out of boredom and as a means of staying alert while on guard duty. In the winter, they took their game indoors and eventually came up with the shorter darts, which were easier to throw.
It gained world attention when England, believing dart throwing was therapeutic for the stresses of war, gave a set of darts to each of its soldiers headed off to World War II.
Since then, said Recupero, its popularity has fluctuated.
Some credit for its current rise is due to the equipment, be it ever so simple — board and darts.
The two main choices for boards are composed of either cork or sisal. There are, of course, inexpensive boards for kids that are metal and attract magnetic darts. Good boards, ones families can put in their home and throw at for years, are made of sisal. There are also electronic boards, which come with implanted sensors to keep automatic score for up to 16 players at a time.
The main arsenal of darts come with either soft tips, which means they bounce off walls, furniture and windows, or steel tips, which are as the name implies: sharp, pointed, steel tips.
Along with the different tips, there are also different barrels, shafts and flights. The darts of choice today are made primarily of synthetic materials. Few of the new darts use feathers as flights.
New boards, a choice of darts and learning the game that is easy to play and very little setup time are all key elements in the growing popularity of darts.
"It's funny, but I see people who threw darts on a regular basis for several years, then stopped, and are now showing up again. Often it's with their kids or grandkids and they want to get back into darts. Then we get people who went to a friend's or family member's home and played darts, and now they want to get a board and darts for their home," said Recupero.
"Where it used to be darts was a game played mostly in clubs and bars, more and more it's becoming a family game."
And just what is the key to good darts?
Jim Gunderson, who will represent Utah and Idaho in a national event this month, said the secret is "consistency."
"You need to duplicate each shot. You put the same amount of power into each throw. And when you aim, you look at a specific point. It's funny, but when you're throwing well the target just seems to get bigger," he offered.
It was, of course, the soft tip that made the game more appealing to families. When thrown, the darts slide into a premade holes in the board.
Putting electronic sensors in the soft-tip boards made it possible for computer companies to step in and introduce automatic scorekeeping. Traditionalists, however, prefer steel-tip darts.
As far as how to throw a dart, Recupero said she never tells people how to throw, "only that they need to be consistent.
"There is no one way to hold or throw. The part of the arm you use is from the elbow to the fingers, then it's a matter of a smooth follow-through."
In selecting the right dart, here again it's a matter of personal feel. The barrel and shaft come in a variety of weights and materials. One combination may suit the throwing style of one person better than another.
High score is probably the easiest of dart games to play. Each dart thrown in the right direction hits within numbered pie-shaped areas with each piece of the pie valued from 1 to 20. The outer bull's-eye is usually worth 25 and the tiny inner bull's-eye is worth 50. There are also two small rings called double and triple.
In the game of darts, the hat-trick or grand slam or hole-in-one is the nine-dart finish. The objective is to get from 501 to zero with the least number of darts. The quickest way is with a nine-dart finish. It is considered the ultimate achievement for a dart thrower. It starts with the player throwing three darts in the triple 20 rings, followed three more in the same tiny area. The most common finish is to throw a treble 17, treble 18 and a double 18. This has only been done on live television six times.
Another popular game is "01." The basic game involves assigning numbers to players, who then subtract the value of each thrown dart until the total is zero. If they go below zero, a player either loses the game or misses a turn.
Another is "cricket." In this game the different numbers represent innings. The object is to close all of the innings before the opponents.
And another is called "Shanghai." The objective is to be the first to hit each numbered sector — one through 20 — in sequence.
As for the future of the game, there is talk of trying to get darts a recognized Olympic event, along with archery and shooting, in the 2012 London Games. And England is, even to this day, at the very heart of dart-throwing country.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com