Adding a darts mat to your darting setup at home or in the pub is the perfect way to keep your matches fair and accurate while protecting your floor from stray darts. Our range of darts mats all have the official tournament throw line measurements clearly marked  on them, so you can easily make sure you and your opponent are playing from the correct distance.

In this blog, we will explore the different darts mat options available to help you choose the mat that is right for you. Whether you opt for a carpet darts mat or a rubber darts mat, picking from our collection will ensure your floor and darts are protected and you are throwing from the right place.

How do you protect the floor when playing darts?

The main function of a darts mat is to act as a constant marker for the distance of where you should be throwing your darts from, but it also has several other purposes.

Using a darts mat also protects the floor from any damage when playing darts. If any of your darts fall out of the dartboard, a darts mat will act as a layer of protection and cover the area directly in front of your board. This is particularly useful if you are playing in a room with a hard floor. A mat will also prevent the tips of your darts from breaking; instead of hitting the hard floor the tips will land on a carpet or rubber mat surface, protecting both your darts and the floor underneath from being damaged.

If you are looking for extra protection of your floor, the Shot T-Mat Carpet Dart Mat is the ideal choice for you. This mat comes in a T-shape so it will cover a larger area of the floor directly in front of your dartboard. The Shot T-Mat is a popular option for beginners who might have more darts fall out of the board.

What are the lines on a dart mat?

The lines on a darts mat represent the throw line and how far away from the dartboard you should stand when you play darts. More commonly known as an ‘oche’ in darts terms, the throw line has been precisely measured out on our darts mats to make sure you are throwing from the correct distance.

The official throw line for professional steel tip tournaments is 2.37m (often referred to as 7 feet, 9 and a ¼ inches). This measurement has been standard practice in steel tip darts since as far back as 1977 when the World Darts Federation (WDF), along with its member countries, in a meeting at Wembley together agreed a world standard length of throw line.

Where do you stand on a dart mat?

The answer to where do you stand on a dart mat mostly depends on what type of darts you are playing. If you are playing on a steel tip dartboard you need to throw from the line that says 2.37m, while if you are using a soft tip dartboard you will have to throw further back from the 2.44m line.

If you mainly play soft tip darts, then you will need to choose a darts mat that displays the 2.44m measurement. Most, but not all, of the darts mats on our site will show the throw line for soft tip darts, so make sure you pick one that has this displayed on it.

Why are there different lines on a dart mat?

While the 2.37m throw line is by far the most used in steel tip darts, including in all of the major televised tournaments, there are some instances when players will throw from different measurements. Some of our darts mats will have more than one line displayed on them and there are certain examples of when they will be used in play:

The 2.44m (8ft) throw line is most commonly used these days in soft tip darts. This oche measurement is perhaps most famous in steel tip darts for being adopted during the now defunct News of the World Championship. This iconic event is known as the first major in darts and was played under a best of three legs format from the first round all the way up to and including the final.

The 2.29m (7 feet and 6 inches) throw line was used under the old National Darts Association of Great Britain (NDAGB) regime up until the 1970s and is rarely used now in official tournament play. With this line being slightly closer to the board than the other throw lines, this could be utilised by very young players who are new to darts to make it easier for them to reach the board.

Can you lean over the line in darts?

Now that you have your darts mat set up and you are ready, it is important to know the rules when it comes to using one. During matches you can step on, but not over, the throw line you are using otherwise this will be classed as an illegal throw and your score will not count.

You are allowed to lean over the throw line, so long as both of your feet are behind the oche. It is not uncommon for players to lean their body closer to the board to shorten the distance their dart has to travel, but their feet are still behind the throw line.

If you want to take your darts setup to the next level, and give it a more professional feel, then consider purchasing a Bulls NL Heavy Duty Rubber Mat With Built In Oche. This rubber darts mat comes equipped with a built in wooden oche, so you won’t have to worry about your feet going over the throw line. This is because the mat has a wooden oche where the throw line is which your feet will rest up against when you throw.

The Mission Pro Raised Steel Oche is another option to go with to also prevent any foot faults. It is easy to fit and remove after play, comes complete with floor fittings and mirrors a professional setup.

How do I keep my darts mat from slipping?

A question that often gets asked when it comes to using a darts mat is: will it not keep slipping during play? Whether you decide to choose a carpet mat or a rubber mat, our range of mats have been designed to be non-slip and will attach well to the floor.

For example, the Mission Carpet Darts Mat features a hardwearing nylon that has been woven into a durable rubber non-slip underlay, meaning the mat will not move around while it is in use. Some mats are more suited to certain types of floor, so a rubber darts mat or rubber backed carpet mat will work better with a hard floor surface.

Alex Moss is a content creator for Darts Corner and the co-host of the Weekly Dartscast podcast. Alex co-founded the Weekly Dartscast in 2017 and has helped produce 350+ episodes of the podcast, with their list of previous guests on the show a who’s who in the world of darts.

Alex also writes content for the Darts Corner blog, including the weekly darts news round-ups and how-to guides.