17 Factors That Make a Great Steel Tip Dart Bar
What exactly is a dart Bar? More importantly, what makes a great steel tip dart bar?
It might take more thought and effort than you think to make a bar appealing to steel tip dart players.
Every steel tip dart player has their favorite steel tip dart bar. But what makes a great steel tip dart bar? It may not be close to their home or their team bar, but it’s their go-to place to play darts. It’s the place where dartboard are always available, never locked in cabinets, and where fellow dart players go to play. Generally, it’s the place where everything feels right, adding up to a great atmosphere and enjoyable dart playing experience.
When it comes to steel tip dart players, it’s no secret they have certain preferences, habits, quirks, and superstitions. They’re also very particular when it comes to showing their loyalty to a bar they would call their preferred, or favorite steel tip dart bar.
Steel-tip dart players are loyal patrons.
Becoming a great steel tip dart bar in the minds of a steel tip dart player sometimes isn’t so obvious. Dart players are quick to recognize when a bar or pub employs these factors, and also when they don’t. At the same time, bar and pub owners may not even be aware of what dart players appreciate and seek when it comes to providing a great dart playing experience.
So what does it take for a bar to labeled a good or preferred ‘steel tip dart bar’ in the minds of dart players? And what can bar or pub owners do to improve the darting experience at their establishment to attract new players and patrons?
This list of the top 17 factors can help with those efforts.
What Factors Makes a Great Steel Tip Dart Bar?
Based on research, playing darts for over 30 years, and feedback from dart players from all around the world, below are the top 17 factors that make a great steel tip dart bar.
1. Ample Dartboards:
The physical location, city, and size of the bar can sometimes limit the amount of available space for dartboards. But at a minimum, having 3 steel tip dartboards is a good start to be considered a serious dart bar. Having four or more boards is ideal and can benefit the bar and the general darting community in several ways. But if there’s only enough room for two or three boards, that’s always better than one.
2. Availability and Access:
Whether a bar has 1, 10, or 20 dartboards, they’re useless and serve no purpose if they’re locked in cabinets. Of course, if the bar participates in a dart league, the boards may not be available on those nights. But outside of league night, dart players who just want a place to practice will appreciate being able to play. In return, becoming loyal patrons.
It’s important to note there are many great dart bars that never have dartboards locked away in a dartboard cabinet. These smart bar owners understand the many benefits to always having dartboards openly available for use. Most importantly, when the dartboards are openly available for use, patrons will play as long as they can. As a result, patrons will buy more drinks and food, and in turn, generating revenue for the bar.
3. Professional Set-Up:
Equally important to having the dartboards accessible and available, is how the boards are set up. There are several elements that constitute a professional dartboard set up and throwing area. Some factors include having the boards freely available for use, properly installed, proper lighting, and a good scoreboard. There are many small, but very important steps go into proper dartboard installation. Follow this link for a detailed guide on how to install a dartboard in your home, bar or pub.
4. Enough Space:
The physical location, city, and size of the bar can sometimes factor into the amount of available space to hang dartboards. At a minimum, having at least 3 steel tip dartboards is a good start for a bar to be considered a serious dart bar. Having four or more boards is ideal and can benefit the bar, participating leagues, and the darting community in several ways. But if there’s only enough room for two or three boards, that’s always better than one.
Along with ensuring the boards are set up in a professional manner, is ensuring a good location for the boards. The best location for a dartboard in a bar or pub is usually determined by the amount of available space.
Specifically:
- There must be adequate space around the dart-throwing area including both sides of the dartboard, and the scoreboard.
- The dartboards should be clear from high traffic areas, doors, restrooms, exits, and where servers pick up food and drinks.
- The space behind the oche should also have adequate space.
- The dartboards should not be installed next to, between, or too close to electronic/soft tip dart machines and pool tables.
- The dartboards should stay of clear jukeboxes and other objects or distractions that can interfere with play.
Besides the dartboards and the oche, having proper space in other areas is also important. Specifically:
- A good rule is to ensure at least 2ft. – 3ft. of space on both sides of the oche. This accommodates players who shoot from the far right or far left of the oche.
- This also prevents players from having to lean up against or get too close to a wall to throw a dart.
- Finally, there should also be adequate space on both sides of the dartboard to accommodate a scorekeeper and a scoreboard.
5. Quality Dartboards:
It’s quite common for bars and pubs to hang the ‘best/better dartboards’ on league night. For example, as soon as the league match ends, the best/better dartboards are then swapped out for the ‘not-so-good’ dartboards.
Naturally, it’s understandable to want to provide the best dartboards to league teams. Conversely, it’s important to not forget about the not-so-good boards hung up the other six days of the week. Because both casual and serious players use those boards on non-league nights, those boards usually need to be replaced first. Unfortunately, the not-so-good boards are not seen as important and often forgotten about. That’s a huge mistake. It’s important for bar owners to remember that league players expect a great darting experience on both league, and non-league nights.
“The quality and condition of the dartboards are critical to providing an enjoyable darting experience.“
– Sean brennan
Don’t be a cheapskate!
Dart players of all levels appreciate a bar (and owner) who’s not afraid to invest in new dartboards. They also appreciate when the boards are rotated on a regular basis and kept in good shape. It doesn’t matter whether the bar hosts teams, leagues, tournaments, or caters to the casual dart player. It’s easy to tell when the dartboards are neglected.
And when the boards are in poor condition, right or wrong, dart players typically point to the bar or pub owner as being ‘too cheap to buy new boards’.
What are the best dartboards that would provide a great darting experience? Here are a few top choices to consider:
- Winmau Blade 5 Dartboard – Dual Core with Rota Lock
- Unicorn Eclipse Pro 2 Dartboard
- Nodor – Professional Level – Supamatch 3 Dartboard
Not sure how often to replace dartboards in a bar or pub?
A good marker to use is the start of the league’s fall season. If a bar participates in a league, all boards should be replaced with new/newer boards at least every 9-12 months. Of course, it also depends on how much the boards are used on non-league nights. Remember, dart players, especially serious league players, are finicky when it comes to a great darting experience. Dart players are quick to become loyal patrons to bars and pubs that provide a great darting experience. At the same time, they’re also quick to recognize and remember the bars that don’t provide a good experience.
6. Good Lighting:
It’s hard enough to hit a triple-20, so there’s no need to make it more challenging with poor lighting. Having well-lit dartboards, scoreboards and throwing area, is as important as the quality of the boards. Dartboard lighting has come a long way over the past 5-10 years. The days of lighting a dartboard with yellow light bulbs and aluminum clamp lamps from Home Depot, are over. There are so many more effective, affordable, and easy to assemble lighting systems. Whichever you choose, remember that LED lights/lighting work better than yellow lightbulbs/lighting. The better the lighting, the better darting experience.
7. (Good/Professional) Scoreboards:
Often overlooked, scoreboards play an important role in providing a great darting experience. All scoreboards are not the same, and throwing any old scoreboard up on the wall won’t do.
So, what makes a good/professional scoreboard? Here are a few tips.
1. No chalkboards. Generally considered to be an old-fashioned method of keeping score, chalk is messy for the bar, messy for the players, and creates a lot of dust.
2. No Cabinets: Since many dartboard cabinets come with preinstalled and very small chalk/scoreboards, this is also one of several reasons to avoid dartboards cabinets. While dart players tend to tolerate the use of chalk if that’s the only option, it’s definitely not their preferred method to keep score. As such, chalk and a chalkboard should be thought of as a last option. If dry erase boards and markers are used, remember to also keep a lot of new/spare dry erase markers behind the bar.
If not chalk, then what?
Most bars and pubs use dry erase boards with dry-erase markers. The Unicorn Marker Board – Large Dry Wipe Scoreboard – 57cm x 40cm – Whiteboard Kit is one example. Additionally, computer tablets and online or mobile apps are a great 21st-century option becoming more and more common in bars across the country.
What are some good online scoring apps and websites? While there are many options, here are a few solid choices to consider:
Dartbot (Free)
Dart Connect (Small fee)
N01 (Free. Select ‘n01 for Web – Darts Score and Statistics’)
All of these options are generally a good choice and acceptable by dart players.
Size matters!
Finally, besides the type of scoreboard, the size of the scoreboard is also important. Before slapping a random scoreboard on the wall (preferably anything other than chalk), make sure the scoreboard can accommodate ’01 and Cricket games.
Check to ensure the printed numbers on the scoreboard are large and easy to read, and devoid of decorations, unnecessary stickers or other distractions.
The length of the scoreboard is also important. Long/tall scoreboardS are better than shorter scoreboards. Taller and wider scoreboards can accommodate a high scoring Cricket game or a full 501 match without having to erase the score midway through the match and continue from the top of the scoreboard. Here’s one example of a good/professional scoreboard.
8. Other Dart Players:
If you live in an area where the bars have steel tip boards and there’s an active dart player community, that’s a great start. Understandably, a bar or pub can never fully control the number of patrons interested in playing darts. However, bar owners can do a lot to draw players to their establishment and grow a darting community.
“In addition to points #1 – #7 in this post, here’s another simple and inexpensive way to spark interest in potential players and grow a darting community: Offer steel tip bar darts to patrons!”
– Sean Brennan
Make Steel-tip ‘bar darts’ available to patrons.
Steel tip ‘bar darts’ are usually kept behind the bar for patrons to use in exchange for their driver’s license. When the patron is done using the bar darts and returns them to the bar, their license is returned. The concept of providing (steel tip) bar darts is commonplace in New York City and other cities. But in certain areas of the US (particularly in the Tampa Bay region of Florida), this concept is not only foreign, but also freighting to some bar owners due to conjured fears that someone will get drunk and start throwing darts at patrons. (I’ll save ‘the fear of offering bar darts’ for another post.) But if a bar owner wants to build a community of loyal steel tip dart players, providing steel tip bar darts for patrons to use is definitely an easy, first step to take.
9. Tournaments:
Hosting smaller tournaments such as a weekly or monthly Luck of the Draw is a great way to grow the darting community. The tournaments don’t have to be massive in size. But if a bar or pub has at least 3 steel tip boards and enough space to accommodate a large crowd, hosting small tournaments is an effective way to generate revenue on a non-league night and be thought of as a serious dart bar.
10. Cleanliness:
Despite the images and stereotypes of decades ago, dart players appreciate and expect to play darts in a clean bar or pub. No one expects the level of clean found at a 5-star restaurant or hotel. lean enough to not be an embarrassment would be nice–especially when it comes to the restrooms. There’s nothing that says a good dart bar has to be a shit hole. It’s worth repeating…dart bars don’t need to shit holes, nor should they be.
11. Smoke-Free:
Despite the images and stereotypes of decades ago, dart players appreciate and expect to play darts in a clean establishment. No one expects the level of clean found at a 5-star restaurant or hotel. But clean enough to not be an embarrassment would be nice–especially when it comes to the restrooms. There’s nothing that says a good dart bar has to be a shit hole. It’s worth repeating…dart bars don’t need to shit holes, nor should they be.
12. Music or a Jukebox:
While not a direct impact on providing a great dart playing experience, dart players of all levels always appreciate the availability of a jukebox with a wide range of music genres to choose from. Just remember not to place the jukebox near the dartboards or the oche.
13. Food and Drink Specials:
It’s understood that not all bars and pubs offer food. But if food is available, offering some food options that aren’t fried is a nice touch. As for drinks, dart players naturally appreciate the availability of diverse beers beyond the standard Anheuser Bush and Coors products. Food and drink specials, and a diverse choice of locally brewed and draft beers, along with a good wine selection, is always appreciated.
14. Attentive Staff:
Having an attentive bartender and wait staff always makes for an enjoyable atmosphere and darting experience. Besides checking on food and drink needs, the best wait staff know to not interfere with a game in progress or come too close to the board or oche when a game is in progress.
15. Natural Light:
It’s hard to believe that there are still bars and pubs that have few, or sometimes no windows or access to natural light from the outdoors at all. As much as that’s a thing of the past, no bar owner is going to rebuild or redesign their bar and add windows to accommodate dart players. However, dart players can decide where to play, and dart leagues can decide if a caveman bar is good for the league.
It’s hard to believe some bars have a few, or no windows, or no access to natural light at all. Building a bar with no natural light or window is certainly an old mindset. At the same time, bar owners aren’t going to add window, rebuild or redesign their bar to accommodate dart players.
However, dart players can decide where to play, and leagues can decide if caveman bars are right for their league.
16. Dart Supplies:
There’s no need for an entire dart supply store. But having small quantities of darts, shafts, flights and related supplies for sale is a good sign of serious dart bar. Selling dart supplies won’t be a big moneymaker for the bar. But when a dart player is in a bind and low on supplies, they’ll be grateful and appreciative to see that case of supplies.
17. Easy to Find Location and Ample Parking:
Hosting smaller tournaments such as a weekly or monthly Luck of the Draw is a great way to grow the darting community. The tournaments don’t have to be massive in size. But if a bar or pub has at least 3 steel tip boards and enough space to accommodate a large crowd, hosting small tournaments is an effective way to generate revenue on a non-league and be thought of as a serious dart bar.
A bar or pub that is easy to find with ample parking are nice-to-haves, but also something a bar or pub owner may have no control over. Also, these factors may not apply to bars and pubs such as those in New York City, Chicago or other large, walkable cities with a robust public transpiration system.
However, if the bar or pub is dependent on patrons having to drive to the venue, anything that can improve visibility, accessibility, and available parking is always appreciated by dart players.
How does your favorite dart bar compare?
How would you rank the bars in your league? Do any employ all 17 factors? What have you experienced? Leave a comment below.
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About the Author:
Sean Brennan is the VP of Branding and Marketing for the Arlington Dart League. He designed the new ADL identity, the league website, and never hesitates to lookup local dart bars whenever he travels. Sean has been playing darts since he was 15 years old, and forged some of his fondest dart memories at that age including playing in a weekly Luck of the Draw at a local New Jersey tavern with his father, and having the honor of playing against John Lowe. If you have questions or comments about this article, you can email Sean directly or follow Sean on Twitter.