Seven quick rounds, one number each: round 1 is the 1s, round 2 the 2s, all the way to the 7s. Most points wins — unless somebody pulls off a Shanghai.
Your turn
Three darts, and only the round’s number counts. Anything else is a blank. A single scores the number, a double scores twice, a triple three times.
Walk through one
Round 5. You throw T5, 5, and a miss — that is 15 + 5 = 20 points. Everything else that round is noise.
The Shanghai
Hit the single, the double AND the triple of the round’s number in the same turn and you win instantly — the game stops right there, whatever the scores were.
On the 7s that is 7 + 14 + 21, but the win is the win no matter which round it lands in.
Winning
No Shanghai? Then it is most points after round 7. If two players tie the game plays on up the numbers until one of them is clear.
How to win at Shanghai
Aim at the treble. Only the round's number scores, and a treble is worth three singles. Missing low into the single still scores.
Know when to chase a Shanghai. If you have hit two of the three segments with your first two darts, your last dart has one job. When you are well behind on points, a Shanghai is the only way back.
Early rounds are cheap. The 1s, 2s and 3s are worth little, so a Shanghai is most tempting there — it wins the game outright regardless of the scores.
Variations and house rules
Dart Keeper plays seven rounds, the 1s to the 7s. Other groups:
Twenty rounds. The full board, 1 through 20, for a long game.
Nine rounds. A middle-length version.
Shanghai questions
What is a Shanghai in darts?
Hitting the single, double and treble of the same number in one turn. In the game Shanghai it wins immediately.
How many rounds are in Shanghai darts?
It varies — seven, nine and twenty are all common. Dart Keeper plays seven.
What happens if Shanghai ends in a tie?
In Dart Keeper the game continues up the numbers until one player is ahead.
DART KEEPER
