There are dozens, if not hundreds, of ways of playing darts. Different games, of course, have different rules of play, as well as different ways of scoring. In my opinion, this is one of the sport’s greatest qualities because it makes it possible for just about anyone to find new ways in which to enjoy the game.
However, this can also create s problem for players; especially for those who are new to the sport. And that problem is that tracking the score of a game of darts can be quite complicated and, in some cases, counterintuitive and messy.
Thankfully, plenty of companies have given a good amount of thought to ways in which to simplify scoring a game of darts, regardless of the rules. And the answer, it turns out, is to take the task away from players, and give it to a machine!
Electronic Dart Scoreboards are a wonderful thing, and once you use one you may not want to go back to chalk or dry erase scoring ever again.
But, if you’ve never used one before, it may be a bit daunting trying to pick one out from the bunch. So, we’ve done our due diligence and arrived at what we think are the best three electronic dart scorers out there. This is our picks for the best electronic darts scorers
Table of Contents
Quick Comparison Of Our Electronic Dart Scoreboard Picks
The Best Electronic Dart Scoreboards
Viper DigiScore Digital Dart Scorer
Viper is a well-established name in the world of darts, and when you get a Viper product you can rest easy that it will be a quality item. This is why we are not at all surprised to find a couple of Viper products in our list of the best electronic dart scoreboards.
The first of these is the Viper DigiScore Digital Dart Scorer.
The DigiScore from Viper allows you to enjoy the hundreds of dart game variations out there, while still being able to play on authentic bristle dartboards with steel-tipped points.
We love the large LCD screen which gives you a very respectable degree of visibility, even out beyond the oche. The scorer features more than 40 games pre-programmed and allows enough granularity to the rules that Viper boasts at more than 650 game options.
The keypad is very soft, but it feels quite sturdy, and each button has a very tactile feel. Even though the DigiScore is Viper’s entry-level electronic dart scorer model, it feels premium and we have yet to have a single issue or hiccup, even after hundreds of games played.
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Viper ProScore Digital Dart Scorer
Next on our list, we find Viper’s ProScore Digital Dart Scorer, a product designed to improve the already outstanding performance offered by the DigiScore above.
The ProScore electronic dart scoreboard gives you the same excitement you get from playing hundreds of games with vastly different rules and scoring criteria with the carefree reassurance of not having to worry about keeping track of anyone’s score.
But does the ProScore differ in any significant ways over its smaller brother? We think it does. While Viper did not mess with the basic functionality in any immediately noticeable ways, it did add a couple of small changes that generated a marked improvement in the end-user experience.
First of all, the large LCD screen is now backlit with a bright red light. This makes the already respectable visibility even better, with the score now visible from even farther away, even in dimmer lighting conditions.
The device is also slightly larger, for easy handling, and more secure mounting to any surface.
In case you are wondering which games are pre-programmed, here is a partial list provided by Viper:
21, Double Down, Big-6, Forty-One, Overs, Unders, Shoot Out, 9 Lives, Hi-Score, Killer, Count Up, Shanghai, Cricket, with Singles, Doubles, and Triples Only variations, Cut-Throat, Low-Pitch, as well as more standard fare such as 301, 501, and even 901 League.
As you can see, there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy. On top of that, the ProScore allows you to set up custom handicaps and scoring rules for even greater freedom.
The ProScore, like its smaller sibling, is battery-operated. But, the various power-saving sleep modes work great and will help you to save you money in the long run.
Simply activate the sleep mode or auto-off functions to conserve the batteries while away from the board.
The build quality of the hardware is very good, as is to be expected of Viper products. The plastic case feels very solid in the hands, and the buttons are very tactile and soft to the touch.
Arachnid Touch Pad Dart Scorer
This next electronic scoreboard is from the lesser-known brand Arachnid, but it does what it does well enough that it merits a spot on our list. Arachnid makes some of the most popular soft-tip boards so they have a lot of experience in electronic scoring.
The TouchPad Dart Scorer has a bright LED display and offers an electronic touchpad functionality that allows you to automatically and easily track and calculate scores for up to 8 players at once.
While this scorer does not offer quite as many games and options as the models above, it does feature something very unique: the ability to track score by simply touching the segment of the dartboard where your player hit. There’s no numerical input to mess up; if a player hits a triple 20 during his turn, you simply tap the triple 20 section in the scorer, and voila, the throw is tabulated.
We also love the voice prompts for the next player, player rankings, and handicapping.
These are the scoreboards we recommend. Your decision will likely come down to price. While the ProScore offers the most games and variations, the Arachnid Touch was still our first choice. Either way, you can’t go wrong with any of these three, we think you will be happy you made the move to digital.
