Darts is one of the most recognizable group games today, popular all around the world. You can hardly go on a night out at the bar without seeing at least one group of cheerful people throwing darts at a board and trying to outdo each other. Have you ever considered how this all came about, and where the roots of the game lie?
It's a bit tricky to pinpoint the precise events that lead to the creation of the game in its modern form, but there's a lot of speculation that the dartboard most likely originated from tree trunks, which used to be cut in disks and used as the first dartboards due to the concentric circle pattern featured on them. This theory is being debated though, but most people nowadays agree with it. According to some accounts, soldiers used to throw shortened arrows at such disks for practice, and the constant wear and tear on them lead to the development of cracks, which eventually emerged into the sections on the board today.
There have been different variations of the dartboard popular in different parts of the world, such as the Mealy Manchester board recognized for its small size, or the London Fives board which only features segments numbered in increments of five (e.g. 5, 10, 15, 20, etc). In general, various people have made attempts to improve the design in one way or another, each claiming that a certain pattern of arranging the numbers is the best and most optimal one, though a precise consensus is yet to be reached.
Today, darts have evolved beyond a simple hobby and relaxing game, being practiced professionally and enjoying great popularity in some parts of the world, with a world championship taking place regularly. England is a very prominent nation in the sport, taking the championships by storm year after year, having recently secured yet another victory through the well-known Martin Adams and Adrian Lewis.
You don't have to treat it so seriously though - after all, it started out as a simple way for people to break away from their monotonous duties, and it doesn't have to be anything more if you don't want it to. A relaxing night at the bar throwing darts at a board with your friends is certainly a great way to relieve yourself from some of the week's stress though, so never be shy to pick up those darts.
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If you are looking to buy darts check out DartProShop.com.