Killer Darts Rules: The Best Group Game | Oche

Killer is the darts game for a crowd. It’s loud, tactical, and ruthless — alliances form, scores get personal, and the last player standing takes it all. If you’ve got three or more players, this is the game to reach for.

Step 1: claim a number

At the start, each player gets a personal number. The traditional way is for every player to throw one dart with their non-dominant hand — whatever segment they hit becomes their number for the game. (If two players hit the same number, the second player throws again.)

Each player starts with a set number of lives, usually 3 or 5, agreed before play. The full setup and life-count options are on our Killer rules page.

Step 2: become a killer

You can’t attack anyone yet. First you must earn killer status by hitting the double of your own number. Until you do, your darts are just practice — you can’t take lives from anyone.

This rule is the great equaliser: every player has to prove their accuracy on their own double before they’re allowed to start eliminating opponents.

Step 3: take lives

Once you’re a killer, every time you hit the double of an opponent’s number, that opponent loses a life. Lose all your lives and you’re out of the game.

Here’s the twist that makes Killer so tactical: a killer can hit their own double and accidentally (or deliberately, when challenged) lose a life — and players gang up on whoever’s in front. Being the early leader paints a target on your back.

Winning

The last player with at least one life remaining wins. Simple to state, chaotic to achieve.

Strategy that wins

• Get to killer status fast. You’re defenceless until you hit your own double, so prioritise it.
• Don’t lead too early. The front-runner gets ganged up on. Sometimes it pays to lurk.
• Know the doubles. Killer is a doubles game at heart — drilling them in doubles practice makes you dangerous.

Run the game without the bookkeeping

Tracking everyone’s number, killer status, and remaining lives across five players is a headache mid-game. The Oche Killer mode assigns numbers, tracks who’s a killer, and counts lives automatically — so the only thing players have to manage is the rivalry.