The rules we score against

Table football, played 2v2 by default — one player on the attacking rods, one on defence — or singles where the venue runs it that way.

Match format

• Length. Set when the match is created. Most bars run a single game to 5 or 10 goals; tournaments run best of three.
• Sides and first serve. Coin flip, lag, or whatever the house does. The loser of the flip picks either the side of the table or the serve — not both.
• Serve. From the centre of the 5-bar. After a goal, the side that conceded serves the next ball.

Fouls

• Spinning. A rod may not rotate a full 360° before or after striking the ball. Possession goes to the opponent, and a goal scored off a spin does not count.
• Jarring. Shoving, lifting or slapping the table to move the ball. Same penalty as spinning.
• Reaching in. Touching the ball by hand while it is in play. The opponent restarts from their 5-bar.
• Own goals count. A ball into your own goal scores for the other side, however it got there.

Dead balls and time

• Dead ball. A ball that stops out of reach of every figure is re-served by the side that did not touch it last.
• Off the table. The serve goes to the side that did not knock it off.
• Shot clock (optional). Competitive venues cap possession at 15 seconds on the 5-bar and 10 seconds on every other rod. Ask before you assume it is being enforced.

Straight in, double out. Both players start on 501 and subtract what they throw; the first to land exactly zero with a double wins the leg.

Match format

• Legs. Best of three by default. Longer formats are set when the match is created.
• Who throws first. Closest to the bull takes it. The loser of each leg throws first in the next one.
• A turn. Three darts, thrown one at a time. Score them together, then retrieve.

Scoring

• Rings. The outer ring doubles a segment, the inner ring trebles it. Outer bull is 25; inner bull is 50 and counts as a double for the checkout.
• Bust. Score below two, land on exactly one, or reach zero without a double, and the whole turn is void — you go back to the score you started it on.
• Bounce-outs. A dart that bounces out or drops out scores nothing, and is not re-thrown.

Setup

• Board height. Bullseye 1.73 m from the floor.
• Oche. 2.37 m from the face of the board, measured along the floor.

Steel-tip and soft-tip both score the same on BarSport. Note which one you played if a machine is doing the counting — the two rarely agree on bounce-outs.

Two groups of seven, then the black. Bars run either spots-and-stripes or reds-and-yellows; the frame plays the same either way, and the differences that matter are called out below.

Frame format

• Match length. Race to two or three frames. The winner breaks the next frame unless the house alternates.
• The break. At least four object balls must reach a cushion, or a ball must be potted. Otherwise the opponent may re-rack and break.
• Table open. Groups are not assigned until someone legally pots after the break. Potting one of each on the break leaves the table open.

Fouls

• What counts. Potting the cue ball, hitting the opponent's group first, hitting nothing at all, or failing to send any ball to a cushion after contact.
• The penalty. Blackball and most European pubs give two visits. American bar rules give ball in hand anywhere on the table. The venue decides — agree before the break.
• Jump and push shots. Deliberately jumping the cue ball off the bed of the table, and pushing rather than striking, are fouls under both conventions.

The black

• Last, always. You may only play the black once your own group is cleared.
• Nominate. Call the pocket for the black. Potting it anywhere else loses the frame.
• Instant loss. Potting the black early, potting it with a foul, or knocking it off the table loses the frame outright.

Every bar has a dead cushion, a rod that sticks, or a board in a corner you cannot square up to. Local rules exist for a reason, and they take priority over everything above.

• Agree first. Settle the format and any house variations before the first serve, throw or break — not after a disputed shot.
• Write it down. Whatever you agreed goes in the match notes when the match is created. It is the only record if a result is challenged later.
• Staff have the final say. A verified venue admin can settle any rules argument on their own tables, and their call is the one that gets recorded.

A match does not touch anyone's rating until both players agree on what happened. That confirmation step is the whole reason the ladder is worth reading.

• Both sides confirm. Each player confirms the final score on their own device. Only then does Elo move, faction XP bank, and the result join the venue's permanent history.
• Disagreements freeze. If the two reports conflict, the match is marked disputed and both players' ratings are held until it clears.
• Nothing is edited quietly. Confirmed results are permanent. Corrections are made by a venue admin and leave a visible trace.

The full dispute procedure, queue timings and faction scoring are in the rules of engagement.