Players have been competing in the Mon Youngh Dartball League since 1928. Wisconsin formed a State Dartball Committee in 1951. Still, many people have never heard of the game of Dartball, however they have had the opportunity to play.
Although Dartball is a game played with darts and a board, it is nothing like the more familiar versions of darts. For example, instead of being rounded out with 20 scoring areas called “innings”, a Dartball backboard is a four foot by four foot square with scoring areas directly related to the game of American baseball.
The board is placed two feet off the ground and tilted so that it is in a diamond shape. It is also angled so that the bottom edge is eight inches closer to the handle than the top edge. This makes it easier for the board to accept darts that land at the lower end of their flight path.
Players stand twenty to twenty-five feet from the board and throw darts at it. Each dart will have a scoring zone that has an associated action. For example, it may land in a strike area or a foul ball area. Play proceeds as it does in a baseball game, with one player throwing darts until he gets an out, gets a hit, or walks.
There are sections on the board that score as a double play, a sacrifice, and a “two-base single.” A two base single advances any base runner two bases and places the batter on first base. Dartball is essentially a game of baseball, played with darts.
The exact rules of the game will differ slightly from Dartball league to Dartball league. For example, some leagues will have a twenty foot throw line, others twenty five. Other leagues will have two pitching lanes, a closer one for kids and seniors, and a standard lane for all other players. Wisconsin has a set of rules that the leagues share, which allows them to have an official state Dartball tournament.
Unlike other forms of darts that have taken up residence in taverns and pubs, Dartball has been adopted as a favorite pastime of church social organizations. Many of the oldest and most active Dartball Leagues are church leagues where games are played in church halls, making Dartball a family activity.