Bullseye 501

Controls

Press and hold on the board to aim, then let go to throw. On a touch screen the aim mark sits a little above your finger so you can see it. With a mouse, move to aim, hold the button and release. Keys: arrows aim, hold Space and release to throw, Y or Enter takes the extra-dart offer and N turns it down. P or Esc pauses.

How to play Bullseye 501

Your hand is never perfectly still. When you press and hold, the aim ring settles for a moment and turns green, which is the steadiest it gets. Hold too long and your arm tires and the wobble comes back. Let go to throw. A quick flick throws at once, but with a shakier hand.

Each player starts on 501 and throws three darts a turn. Every dart takes its score off what you have left. You must finish on exactly zero, and the last dart has to land in a double or the bull. Go below zero, leave yourself on 1, or reach zero with a dart that is not a double and the turn is a bust: your score goes back to where the turn started. On 170 or less the board shows a checkout route.

The ladder and Around the Clock

The ladder is 16 opponents in three venues. Ten regulars in The Rusty Anchor and the Neon Lounge stand between you and the title of pub champion, then six pros wait in the Grand Arena, ending with world number one Zed Zero. Early matches are first to two legs, the later ones first to three, and the final is first to four. Each win opens the next opponent, and your three-dart average sets your stars.

Around the Clock is practice. Hit 1, then 2, and so on up to 20, then finish with the bull. Fewer darts means more stars, and your best count is kept.

Tips and tricks

• Wait for the green ring before you let go. Throwing during the first wobble or after your arm tires costs more points than it saves time.
• Leave yourself an even number. 32, 40 and 16 split cleanly into doubles, so a near miss still leaves a finish.
• Do not chase a big score when you are close. Use the checkout route on screen and aim for the double it suggests.
• If your third dart leaves a one-dart finish, you can watch a short ad for a fourth dart, once per leg, and after a lost match you can watch one to replay the last leg. Skip it and you get nothing, but the button stays so you can try again.