Do you think that darts would increase in popularity(in the US) if 01 wasn't the standard game played? Is 501 too difficult for beginners to learn and does all the mathwork involved turn new darters away from the game? most of the folks i've taught to play and myself included, tend to shy away from games of 01 in the beginning. It is much easier for me to find a cricket match than an 01 match. whenever i have guests at home the game of choice is always cricket or killer. This question got me thinking as to why i see more soft tip boards set up rather than traditional steel tip. Is the way we score a game perhaps the reason for lack of interest? let me know your thoughts! All ideas opinions are welcome.

I'm guessing the reason you see more soft tip boards in the USA is because you have to pay to play them - so the suppliers and venues get more money that way. If they installed steel tip boards then they are free to play on so the suppliers/venues wouldn't get anything.

As for 01 games, I wouldn't have a clue on this as we don't play what you guys call cricket over here in the UK - at least not in match conditions, maybe as a friendly game after a match (although I don't have a clue as to the rules so I don't play it lol).

thats a really great point about soft vs steel and the revenue it adds. I think the softies attract more users cause they're too lazy to keep score.

rumandcork wrote:

Do you think that darts would increase in popularity(in the US) if 01 wasn't the standard game played? Is 501 too difficult for beginners to learn and does all the mathwork involved turn new darters away from the game? most of the folks i've taught to play and myself included, tend to shy away from games of 01 in the beginning. It is much easier for me to find a cricket match than an 01 match. whenever i have guests at home the game of choice is always cricket or killer. This question got me thinking as to why i see more soft tip boards set up rather than traditional steel tip. Is the way we score a game perhaps the reason for lack of interest? let me know your thoughts! All ideas opinions are welcome.

Good post,
we play 01 but most the time guys wanna practice cricket. Myself I work hard at 01 just because most folks don't. I like both games but spent lots of time on 01 . Yep its the math I think that turns them away really. That and double in and out.

I've never seen a cricket game between two professional players. I would suspect at that skill level, the games are either very quick with straight closing and few points or they're really long pointfests. Neither would be very enjoyable for spectators. It's definitely the math that scares most Americans away from '01. One of my teammates and I are the official scorekeepers in practically every match we play because almost no one can/wants to do the math. If you made them, the matches would last almost twice as long. I've always thought it should be more popular with beginners. If you don't DIN, you start scoring right away and even if you miss your target, you score something. The electronic scoring and revenue generation are the two biggest reasons for soft-tip popularity. And the darts are less dangerous in the hands of drunkards. I really do think that cricket suits the American taste better too. It's more of a him vs me game. You have to play off your opponent, you have to respond to what they do. cricket vs '01 is like tennis vs golf or poker vs blackjack.

Here ya go

Anastasia plays both cricket and 01 games in soft tip as well - she's very good at both codes winning the IDF World Championship cricket and runner up in the 501 championship at the same tournament in Shanghai last November

don't know anyone here who plays cricket other than just for fun. i play cricket at home for practicing my grouping, but i rarely ever play it when i'm out. we play n01 everywhere up here and i'll admit when i started the math was daunting (as someone who didn't even use simple math on a day-to-day basis) but it took me a week before i was comfortable scoring. i can see why it might put someone off, but it is very simple math. crickets fun and all, but personally i prefer n01.

rumandcork wrote:

Do you think that darts would increase in popularity(in the US) if 01 wasn't the standard game played? Is 501 too difficult for beginners to learn and does all the mathwork involved turn new darters away from the game? most of the folks i've taught to play and myself included, tend to shy away from games of 01 in the beginning. It is much easier for me to find a cricket match than an 01 match. whenever i have guests at home the game of choice is always cricket or killer. This question got me thinking as to why i see more soft tip boards set up rather than traditional steel tip. Is the way we score a game perhaps the reason for lack of interest? let me know your thoughts! All ideas opinions are welcome.

When I practice with people I like to bull off and who wins calls the game. So I do call 01 games often. To answer your question "NO" cricket is too popular here as you well know.

When playing in league I see 3-4 times cricket practice then 01. I feel that if I can play say cricket games even and win most of my 01 games I'm ahead of the game. Just my opinion.

I guess its how the game developed over the years really, I think George would have a good insight into it.

But the 01 game in the U.K. has been played since the early 1900's maybe even earlier, so I guess its just what we got used to the most.

I think the U.S. Cricket game is more a strategy exercise than maths and can see why so many like it for that reason, not many kids like to do maths at school do they? But I cant imagine that the maths side would be putting people off entirely, after all there is lots of electronic scorers available and its easy to check an out chart for help.

Am forcing more 01 legs when I practice with others now.

SilverSaber wrote:

Am forcing more 01 legs when I practice with others now.

Our practice has turned mostly into 301 and 501