Soft Tip Darts: Rules and Differences from Steel Tip | Oche

Soft-tip darts are the electronic cousin of the traditional game. The targets, the numbers and the popular formats like 501 and cricket are the same — but the equipment and a handful of practical rules differ. If you’re moving to a soft-tip board, here’s exactly what changes.

The throwing distance

Soft-tip is thrown from 2.44 m (8 ft), measured horizontally from the board face — about 7 cm further back than the 2.37 m steel-tip oche. The board height is identical: the bull sits at 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) for both. These are the WDF and PDC figures, and our oche guide shows how to mark the longer line.

Automatic scoring

The defining feature of soft-tip is the electronic board. It’s dotted with holes; when a dart lands, the machine detects which segment it hit and scores automatically, showing the running total on a display. There’s no adding up by hand — which is the main reason soft-tip is so popular in bars and casual play.

The darts themselves

Soft-tip darts use a flexible plastic point that bends rather than sticks into a metal board. They’re lighter than steel-tip — typically 16–20 g versus 18–26 g — to stop the point snapping on impact. Never put a steel point in an electronic board; it will destroy the plastic segments. Our steel-tip vs soft-tip guide covers the equipment side in full.

The practical rule differences

• Throw line: 2.44 m, not 2.37 m.
• Scoring: done by the machine, so there’s no scorer and no maths.
• Bounce-outs: because the machine has already registered a miss, a dart that bounces out usually isn’t re-thrown — the score stands as recorded.
• Weight caps: many soft-tip leagues cap total dart weight, so check your league’s rules before buying.

The game logic — finishing 501 on a double, the cricket numbers, busting if you overshoot — is unchanged. If you know the steel-tip games, you know the soft-tip games.

Tracking your soft-tip play

An electronic board shows the score, but it won’t track your three-dart average across sessions or your checkout percentage over time. The Oche X01 scorer does — log your legs and watch the trends, whether you play soft-tip or steel-tip. For a side-by-side of the two formats, see our steel tip vs soft tip article.