A Brief History of Lawn Darts

The USLDA approved version

Lawn Darts is a child of Jarts in the same way the Baseball is a child of Cricket and Football is a child of Rugby. So, a history of Lawn Darts begins with a history of Jarts.

After WWII millions of American returned to the United States having spent numerous hours , days, weeks and years of their time off in English Pubs. In those pubs many Americans were introduced to and often schooled in English Darts. In true American fashion those GI’s thought how can we take this game home with us and make it bigger and play it outdoors. In the 1940’s, In the small upstate New York hamlet of Fort Edward a group of enterprising ex GI’s did just that. They formed a corporation, designed and manufactured the equipment, and laid down the first set of rules and marketed the equipment and game, they called Jarts. In the Post war boom Americans in droves where moving to a new life in a place called the suburbs. In these new communities, people had neighbors and backyards and leisure time. Since most of these family’s where producing baby’s like it was a sport, they also couldn’t go very far. So Backyard games flourished. In the tossing game segment, Jarts the game (and the manufacturer) dominated the market for the next 20 years.

Not surprisingly as the 1960’s wore on young people began to question all of the traditions, morays and activities of their parents. Is applied to the game of Jarts too. First they questioned, why are we doing all of this math? And then they asked, why do these Jarts fly like rocks? Into this opening jumped a small group of manufactures who saw the opportunity to profit by improving the flying characteristics of the “Jarts” and simplifying the rules. Since Jarts was then the name of the game, as well as the brand name; these other manufactures had to come up with new names for their products. This is where box of, Javelin Darts, Yard Darts, Yardarts, and Lawn Darts to name a few came from. It was at this time, that the term Lawn Darts began to be used to describe the equipment used to play the game. The sliding spinning design eventually dominating the market to the point that Jarts were redesigned to do it also. In the 1970’s a series of injuries to children prompted manufactures to add a child safety warning to most boxes, and “Lawn Darts” were moved from the toy department to the sporting goods department in most stories. There was an uneasy peace for the next 10 years. In the late 1980’s a few highly publicized, heartbreaking tragic accidents, purely the result of negligent adults, resulted in the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission banning the manufacture and sale of “Lawn Darts” in the United States. Canada followed the next year.

Ever since, freedom loving Americans of all stripes have been able to purchase and wield potentially dangerous products such as a gun, bow and arrow, slingshot, Javelin, knife, fork, hammer, chain saw, hockey stick…but cannot purchase this simple backyard game…unless on the fringes of the law.

Types of scoring:

Traditional – From the original Jarts box. Math heavy, arguably less skillful.

Hardly Cup – Developed by Jarts in response to the math backlash

Rally – Scoring in every round to speed play and simplified math. Maybe less strategy, But more skill.

Game specific – Usually defined in the specific game rules.

Rules from different manufacturers:

Jarts Missile Game - For 2 or 4 players, From the original box

“Unique scoring rules for Jarts

Place the two yellow circles on the ground about 35 feet apart. Stand behind circle, holding Jart by handle in the palm of the hand. Toss at the other circle with UNDERHAND motion. Toss with high enough arc to let Jart stand nearly upright when it strikes the ground.

Red plays first in first round. In each subsequent round the player scoring most points plays first Players toss Jarts in ALTERNATE turns.

In Jarts, you can score 1-2-3-4 or 6 points in each round. A game consists of EXACTLY 21 points. Point Scoring:

3 points for each Jart IN THE CIRCLE

1 point the Jart nearest circle.

Scoring possibilities:

1 point – nearest circle but none in circle.

2 points – one Jart in the circle less one point if opponent is nearest circle

3 points – one player with 2 Jarts in circle and opponent with one in circle.

4 points – player with 1 Jart in circle and other Jart nearest.

6 points – 2 Jarts in circle, opponent none.

If your score for a round takes you over 21 your score total score for that round is deducted instead of added. To win you must score exactly 21 points.”

Jarts – Handly Cup style

Very similar to original Jarts scoring, with the following changes:

2 points – If the same player has the 2 closed Jarts to the circle and the opponent has none in the circle.

The game is won when one teams total score is 21 or MORE points.

Yard Darts - From the Box

“PLAYING RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS

Select an obstruction free, flat grassy area for play

Place the target rings approximately 35 feet apart.

Toss a coin or use a similar method to determine the first player. Players stand behind one of the target rings and, aiming carefully, throw the dart UNDERHAND towards the other target ring. Yard Darts are designed to remain upright in turf when thrown underhand.

Players alternate throws, the first player to score 21 points wins the game.

A dart inside the ring is a “ringer” and scores 3 points, the dart closest to the ring scores 1 point.

Spectators and waiting players should be kept a safe distance from the active playing area and at least 20 feet from the target ring.

Do not use darts for any purpose other than the game described. Serious or fatal injury could result from improper use. Keep out of reach of children/

YARD DARTS IS AN ADULT GAME OF SKILL NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN”

Lawn Darts From the box

“Game 1

Place the two rings approximately 25 feet apart.

Player: The game may be played for two or four players (singles or doubles) Each side throwing alternately.

Throwing: All throws must be underarm with the forward foot inside the throwing circle. After all the darts have been thrown and the scores recorded the target circle becomes the throwing circle and the throwing circle becomes the target circle.

Scoring: The first side to score 21 points wins the game. A match may be 3 or 5 games. Three points are scored for every dart which sticks into the ground within the target circle. One point is scored by the dart nearest the circle when all darts have landed outside the circle.”

Lawn Darts From the box

“Game 2

Place one ring 20 feet away from the throwing point and the other ring 30 feet away. Score 5 for hitting the furthest target and 2- points for hitting the nearest. The first player to score exactly 51 – points is the winner.” Safety warning followed

Other Lawn Dart games:

Daddy – Was a common game in the 50’s and 60’s. With so many baby boomers having children, male players were required to hold a baby while playing. Not surprisingly this game was very popular with women, however despised by Irishmen.

The game was usually played in singles matches and rally scored.

Irish – This game is usually rally scored. It requires that all players must be holding a beverage container and consuming that beverage during the course of each match. In these matches a third party is usually required to keep score and the peace.

It was the Irish under the guise of safety concerns, who successfully lobbied the USLDA to ban Daddy on the coattails of the 1988 USCPSC ban.

Baseball – Is a rally scored game often used in large round robin cumulative score tournaments. It consists of only 9 rounds per game. The score after 9 rounds is it, ties are possible.

Australian rules, or 21 – Is a game where only ringers are scored. Can be rally scored or negations can be used to slow the game.

Bullseye – Is usually rally scored and requires smaller rings placed inside the target rings. The value of the Bullseye ring varies depending on the size (difficulty) of the smaller ring. This game is often played to 51.

Tic Toc – Is a game played for a predetermined length of time. The game can have a lot of strategy thru quick play or stalling, so a toss clock is usually also used.