How to Play 301 and 501 Darts

01

Overview

X01 is a countdown game. Every player begins on the same starting score, usually 301 or 501, and subtracts the value of each dart. The goal is to be the first player to reach exactly zero without busting.

The name “X01” covers games whose starting total ends in 01. Scorefly also offers 701 and 901 for longer matches.

02

Setup

• Choose a starting score: 301, 501, 701, or 901.
• Add the players and choose who throws first.
• Choose a maximum of 10, 20, or 50 rounds.
• Decide whether Double In, Double Out, or Gotcha will be used.

Scorefly starts classic games with Double In, Double Out, and Gotcha switched off. Every player starts with the full selected score.

03

Turn flow

1. The current player throws up to three darts.
2. Record each single, double, triple, bull, or miss as it happens.
3. After three darts—or after ending the turn early—play passes to the next player.
4. After every player has taken a turn, the next round begins.

A winning dart ends the game immediately. A bust also ends the scoring part of that turn; Scorefly records the remaining darts as unused misses when the turn is finalized.

04

Scoring and busts

A single scores the segment number, a double scores twice the number, and a triple scores three times the number. The outer bull scores 25 and the inner double bull scores 50. Each accepted score is subtracted from the player’s remaining total.

Straight Out

With Double Out switched off, Scorefly uses Straight Out: any legal single, double, triple, or bull can take the remaining score to exactly zero. Going below zero still busts the turn.

What counts as a bust?

A turn busts when a dart would:

• take the remaining score below zero;
• leave a score of 1 while Double Out is active; or
• reach zero without a double while Double Out is active.

On a bust, the player’s score returns to what it was before the turn. Any Gotcha resets caused earlier in that same turn are reversed too.

Double In

With Double In active, darts thrown before the first double count as zero. The opening double itself scores normally. If the player later busts during that turn, the scored points roll back, but the player remains doubled in for future turns.

05

Winning

The first player to reduce the selected starting score to exactly zero wins. With Double Out active, the dart that reaches zero must be a double. A double bull can be that finishing dart because it is a double worth 50.

If nobody reaches zero before the selected round limit is complete, Scorefly ends the match without choosing a winner; the lowest remaining score does not win automatically.

06

Scorefly options

How Gotcha works in Scorefly

Gotcha compares upward progress from zero, even though the ordinary X01 display counts down. After each accepted dart, Scorefly compares the current player’s total progress with every opponent’s current progress. If they match, that opponent resets to the starting score.

The comparison happens after each dart, not only after the final three-dart total. If the current player later busts in the same turn, Scorefly restores every opponent reset by those darts.

07

Worked examples

Gotcha collision

08

301 and 501 FAQ