The Dartboard

!±8± The Dartboard

The standard dartboard is without doubt a national institution, instantly recognised the world over and used in homes, pubs, clubs and professional tournaments worldwide. This dartboard is known as the clock board and its number layout was designed by a Carpenter from Bury in Greater Manchester called Brian Gamlin. The logic behind the way Gamlin set out the number segments is quite simple. The highest numbers on the board are all flanked either side by lower numbers, for example the 20 has the 1 and 5 either side, the 19 has the 3 and 7 and the 18 has the 1 and 4 and so on. This layout makes the game of darts both captivating and challenging as you are rewarded for greater accuracy and punished for loose and sloppy shots.

In the early nineteen hundreds as the popularity of darts increased, carpenters used to make a little extra money by making dartboards out of elm or poplar wood and selling them to local pubs. Lots of regional boards (with varying designs) such as the Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Lincoln and Tunbridge boards were in use following the second world war and even though a couple such as the Yorkshire board are still around, it was the clock board that grew in popularity to become the standard board for the game of darts. The reason for this was because of the innovative treble ring it had which was not a feature of the regional boards I have mentioned. This made the clock board very distinctive and gave it more versatility. The treble ring meant that the clock board allowed higher scoring, a greater variety of finishes and the opportunity to play a wider variety of games.

The majority of dartboards used today, including the ones used in professional tournaments are bristle dartboards. They are made of vegetable matter, from African sisal which is cut up and compressed into the dartboard shape. back it with chipboard, add the colouring and wire mesh and you have a dartboard. In the past boards have been made using cork and plasticine, the latter had to be rolled flat regularly and smelled. This led to a company (Nodor) making boards out of an odourless clay in the east end of London. This was the company who went on to produce the first bristle dartboards and still do to this very day. Elm boards also proved popular for a long time but they had to be soaked on a regular basis to stop them going to hard and blunting the darts.

In modern times manufacturers have reduced the amount of staples and wire on their boards, this has vastly reduced bounce-outs for players. Another recent innovation is the Champions Choice dartboard. This is the same size as a regulation board but the double and treble beds are only half the width. A lot of serious darts players like to practice on these boards to increase their accuracy and skill levels.