Dartboard height and oche distance — the regulation setup
The two measurements that matter when you hang a dartboard: the bull at 1.73 m and the oche at 2.37 m. Plus every dimension of the board itself, in millimetres.
Open the appTwo numbers hang a dartboard, and everybody gets one of them slightly wrong. The centre of the bull is 1.73 m off the floor, and the throwing line — the oche — is 2.37 m from the face of the board, measured along the floor and not to the wall.
The board is not flat against the wall at the bottom: it leans in very slightly because its own thickness means the face is a few millimetres forward of the wall. Measure to the face, not the plaster.
The two measurements
- Bull height: 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) from the floor to the centre of the bullseye.
- Oche: 2.37 m (7 ft 9¼ in) from the face of the board to the near edge of the throwing line.
- The diagonal, if you want to check both at once: 2.93 m (9 ft 7⅜ in) from the bull to the near edge of the oche.
The diagonal is the honest check. Height and distance can each be right while the board is hung out of true, and a tape from the bull to the oche catches it in one measurement.
Getting the numbers right
Hang the board first, then measure down. 1.73 m is roughly eye level for a tall adult, which is why a board hung by eye is almost always too high — you put it where it looks right to you rather than where it is.
The 20 goes at the top, in the black bed. If the board came with a bracket that lets it rotate, that rotation is deliberate: turning it a few sectors every so often spreads the wear, because most of your darts land in the same small piece of sisal.
Lighting and the floor
A single overhead light throws your own shadow across the treble twenty, which is the one place you least want it. Light the board from the front and slightly above, or from both sides; a proper surround with a light ring does both and stops a bounce-out taking a chunk out of the wall.
Put something on the floor in front of the board. A dropped dart lands point-down every time, and a hard floor blunts points faster than the board ever does.
The board itself
Everything below is generated from the same geometry the app scores by — the radii in its board module, multiplied out to millimetres. So the treble band on the page is the treble band the app registers a treble in.
The rules of the games played on it →
Step by step
- Find the height Mark a point 1.73 m up the wall from the floor. That is where the centre of the bull goes, not the top or the bottom of the board.
- Hang the board Fit the bracket so the centre of the bull sits on your mark, with the 20 in the black bed at the top. Check it is level across the 6 and the 11.
- Measure the oche From the face of the board, measure 2.37 m along the floor and mark the near edge of the throwing line. Measure to the board, not to the wall behind it.
- Check the diagonal Run a tape from the centre of the bull to the near edge of the oche. It should read 2.93 m. If it does not, one of the other two is wrong.
| Part of the board | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Scoring surface, across | 340 mm |
| Inner bull (50), across | 12.7 mm |
| Outer bull (25), across | 31.8 mm |
| Treble ring, from the centre | 99–107 mm |
| Double ring, from the centre | 162–170 mm |
| Sectors | 20 |
| One sector | 18° |
Clockwise from the 20 at the top: 20 · 1 · 18 · 4 · 13 · 6 · 10 · 15 · 2 · 17 · 3 · 19 · 7 · 16 · 8 · 11 · 14 · 9 · 12 · 5.
Common questions
How high should a dartboard be?
The centre of the bullseye is 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) from the floor. That is the only height that matters — the top and bottom edges of the board follow from it.
How far do you stand from a dartboard?
2.37 m (7 ft 9¼ in), measured along the floor from the face of the board to the near edge of the throwing line. Measure to the board itself, not to the wall behind it.
Is the distance different for a soft-tip board?
Yes. Steel-tip is 1.73 m high and 2.37 m back; electronic soft-tip boards are usually hung a little higher at 1.75 m and thrown from 2.44 m. Check what your board says.