Jumpers (Darts)
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Jumpers is a variation on the games of Darts, a close relative of Round The Clock. The object of the game is to work your way through the board in numerical order, throwing first a 1, then a 2, then 3 etc. The winner of the game is the player who climbs the order and finishes by hitting the centre circle. (As Jumpers is intentionally meant to be a swift playing game, the 25 and the bull are usually considered to be as one and are collectively referred to as the 'Boss'). However, unlike 'Round the Clock', players can utilise the doubles and trebles to advance more quickly. If the multiple value doesn't exceed twenty then that is the number you have effectively hit, so hitting treble 4 means that the next number you will be aiming for is 13. When the multiple value is over twenty, then you are 'bust', and must use the additional value instead, this being two for a double and three for a treble. For example, hitting treble 9 (the multiple value being bust at twenty-seven points) would take you to a next target of 12.
To begin a game of jumpers, the two players throw for the bull with three darts. The most accurate thrower, (using the bull, 25, inner circle, treble circle, outer circle and double circle as a guide), is the who who gets the advantage and goes first. All subsequent games are started by the loser of the previous game.
The best players of Jumpers can achieve a 4-dart finish by hitting double 1, treble 3, double 10, Boss. As these numbers are all to be found on the right hand-side of the board, the victor in a Jumpers match is often referred to as the 'Oriens', Latin for 'east'.
Jumpers is chiefly played in Asia where there are even some Jumpers leagues. The most well organized of these and the league that most amateurs look to for any disputes concerning the rules of the game, is the Bangkok Jumpers League. A link is included at the foot of the page to the BKJL website where the rules and traditions are explained in further detail and a glossary of terms supplied for the readers convenience.
