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Game modes · Mini game · unrated

Higher or Lower

In Higher or Lower darts you play against two bars at once. Your visit has to score more than the high bar or less than the low bar, and it becomes the new bar. Land anywhere in between and you lose a life. The classic start is 41 and 26.

  • Two or more players, also in teams or with bots
  • One life by default, up to five
  • Start bars 41 / 26, 60 / 41, 100 / 60, random or your own
  • Unrated, so it never touches your average
Play Higher or Lower
How it works
Higher or Lower · 41 / 26 · 1 life Ben wins
AnnaBest visit 180
BenBest visit 180
High 180 · Low 19 21 Anna
  1. 5Dart 1
  2. 1Dart 2
  3. 15Dart 3
Caught in the middle, life lost
High180≥ 180
Low19≤ 19
Anna and Ben, one life each, start at 41 / 26. Anna throws 120 and Ben 180. Anna matches the 180, so Ben goes under the low bar with 19. Anna’s 21 lands between 19 and 180, and Ben wins.

The rules

How Higher or Lower darts works

Every visit is three darts against two bars, a high one and a low one. Go over the high bar or under the low bar and you set a new one. The space between them costs a life.

  1. Over the high bar sets a new highScore more than the high bar and your visit is the new high bar. Against 41 / 26, a 60 makes it 60 / 26.
  2. Under the low bar sets a new lowScore less than the low bar and your visit is the new low bar. A 19 turns 60 / 26 into 60 / 19.
  3. In between costs a lifeAnything between the two bars loses you a life, and both bars go back to where the leg started. With one life, the default, you are out.
  4. Exactly on a bar is safeMatch the high or the low bar and you stay in, and both bars stay where they are. You can switch this off.
  5. Every dart has to scoreA dart outside the scoring area ends your visit and costs a life. That makes three single 1s, a total of 3, the lowest visit possible.
  6. The last player with a life winsPlay a single leg, or first to 2, 3 or more. Every leg starts again from the start bars.

At a glance

What your visit does against 41 / 26

The app draws the bars on a scale from 0 to 180. Green is the way out at either end, red is the middle.

High41≥ 41
Low26≤ 26
  1. 85
    New high bar: 85

    More than 41: your 85 is the new high bar.

  2. 41
    Equal, that’s enough

    Exactly the high bar: safe, and both bars stay.

  3. 33
    Caught in the middle, life lost

    Between 26 and 41: one life gone.

  4. 26
    Equal, that’s enough

    Exactly the low bar: safe as well.

  5. 19
    New low bar: 19

    Less than 26: your 19 is the new low bar.

Five visits against the start bars 41 / 26. Red is the middle that costs a life, green is the way out at either end.

An example game

Five visits from 41 / 26 to a winner

Anna and Ben play with one life each. Every card shows the bars before the visit, the three darts, where the score lands and the bars it leaves for the next player.

  1. Bars41 / 26AnnaT20 · 20 · D20120New high bar: 120Next: 120 / 26
  2. Bars120 / 26BenT20 · T20 · T20180New high bar: 180Next: 180 / 26
  3. Bars180 / 26AnnaT20 · T20 · T20180Equal, that’s enoughNext: 180 / 26
  4. Bars180 / 26Ben3 · 7 · 919New low bar: 19Next: 180 / 19
  5. Bars180 / 19Anna5 · 1 · 1521Caught in the middle, life lostBen wins

Why the third visit still counts: with the high bar on 180 nobody can go higher. Anna matched it with another 180, which is safe by default. Ben then had only one way left and went under the low bar.

Settings

Six rules you can change

The defaults are the classic game: 41 / 26, one life, a match is safe, every dart has to score and the bars go back to the start after a lost life.

  • Start bars41 / 26 by default
    41 / 26 Classic
    60 / 41
    100 / 60
    RandomCustom

    The pair every leg starts with. The wider the middle, the harder it is to escape. Random draws a new pair each leg, with a high bar from 40 to 100 and a low bar at least 20 below it. Custom lets you set both, the high bar at least 2 above the low one and under 180.

  • Lives1 to 5, 1 by default
    1Classic
    3Longer
    5

    One life is the classic: caught in the middle once and you are out. With more lives the bars go back to the start after each lost life, so a long game has many fresh starts.

  • Equal is enoughOn by default
    High180=Visit180
    OnEqual, that’s enough
    OffEqual isn’t enough, life lost

    Hitting a bar exactly keeps you in, and both bars stay where they are. Switch it off and you have to go strictly over or under, so a match costs a life.

  • Every dart must scoreOn by default
    1. 1Dart 1
    2. 1Dart 2
    3. 1Dart 3
    3The lowest visit possible
    1. 2Dart 1
    2. MissDart 2
    3. –Dart 3
    A dart didn’t score, life lost

    A dart outside the scoring area ends the visit at once and costs a life, so the lowest visit possible is three single 1s. Switch it off and a miss counts 0, so the low bar can drop to 0.

  • Keep the barsOff by default
    Off120 / 1941 / 26
    On120 / 19120 / 19
    On180 / 1941 / 19
    Each row: the bars when a life is lost, then the bars for the next visit.

    Normally both bars go back to the start after a lost life. With Keep the bars they stay, except a high bar of 180 or a low bar at the lowest visit possible. Those go back anyway, or nobody could ever get past them.

  • A life for maxing outOff by default
    180over the high bar
    3under the low bar
    Bonus life!

    A 180 over the high bar, or the lowest visit possible under the low bar, wins back a lost life. Matching a bar doesn’t count, and nobody gets more lives than they started with.

In the game

What you see on screen

The visit, both bars and the scale sit together on the left, the board on the right shows where to aim.

Higher or Lower in Sridu, the left side of the game screen: high bar 120 and low bar 19, Anna’s first dart scored 5, the hint reads Still open: over 120 or under 19, and on the scale her dot sits left of the red middle.
Anna’s first dart at 120 / 19 scored 5. Both ways are still open, and the line under the hint tells what Ben’s visit did.
  • The two bars: one tile for High and one for Low. Underneath, ≥ 120 or ≤ 19 tells you what gets you through. With Equal is enough off it reads > and <.
  • The scale: from 0 to 180, red between the bars and green outside them. After every dart a dot shows where your visit stands.
  • The hint: it tells you which way is still open, for example Still open: over 120 or under 19 or Only down from here: 14 more at most. A bar you can no longer reach fades.
  • The board: the treble 20 lights up while the high bar is in reach, and a single lights up for going low.
  • After the visit: a line says what it did, such as Ben: 19 · New low bar: 19. After a lost life it also says where the bars went.
  • A wrong dart? Tap its chip and correct it, as in every other mode. Bars and lives follow the correction.
The end of a leg of Higher or Lower: Anna wins against Ben, with lives, high bars set, low bars set, best visit and darts side by side.
At the end of the leg: lives left, how many high and low bars each player set, the best visit and the darts thrown.

Setup

Start a game

Open Party & duels in the game setup and pick Higher or Lower. The rest works like any match.

The rules of Higher or Lower in the game setup: start bars 41 / 26, 60 / 41, 100 / 60, Random and Custom, the lives slider on 1, Equal is enough and Every dart must score switched on, Keep the bars and A life for maxing out switched off.
The rules card with the defaults.
  • PlayersTwo or more at your board, plus bots at your level if you like. Each bot picks a way for every visit, high or low, whichever gives it the better chance. With teams on, teammates share their lives and take turns.
  • Start bars41 / 26 (the default), 60 / 41, 100 / 60, Random or Custom. See start bars.
  • Lives1 to 5 on a slider, 1 by default. See lives.
  • Equal is enoughOn by default. See equal is enough.
  • Every dart must scoreOn by default. See every dart must score.
  • Keep the barsOff by default. See keep the bars.
  • A life for maxing outOff by default. See a life for maxing out.
  • HandicapsGive each player their own number of lives, up to 10, for example three for a beginner and one for everyone else. A bonus life never takes anyone above their starting number.
  • LegsOne leg, first to 2, first to 3, or more. Every leg starts from the start bars with full lives, and Random draws a new pair. There are no sets in mini games.
  • Who throws firstThe first player in the list, a bull-off or random.
  • UnratedHigher or Lower doesn’t count towards your average, statistics or leaderboards. Only your wins are recorded.

Tips and tactics

How to stay out of the middle

Two bars can each end up where only a perfect visit matches them. Know these two dead ends and you know which way to go.

  • High bar at 180180 / 26
    High180≥ 180
    Low26≤ 26
    Only a match:T20 · T20 · T20

    Nobody can get over it. A second 180 matches it, and everyone else has to go under 26.

  • Low bar at 3120 / 3
    High120≥ 120
    Low3≤ 3
    Only a match:1 · 1 · 1

    Nobody can get under it. Three single 1s match it, and everyone else has to go over 120.

  • Decide before the first dart. Look at both bars and pick the easier way for your game. Against 41 / 26 a normal visit at the 20 gets you over. Against 120 / 26 most club players have a better chance at 26 or less than at 120 or more.
  • Let the first dart decide for you. A treble 20 first up usually rules out going low, so commit to the top. A small single keeps both ways open for one more dart.
  • Going low, stay on the board. Every dart has to score, and a miss costs as much as landing in the middle. Aim for the big single of a small number, well inside the double ring.
  • Push a bar to its end. A 180 leaves the next player only the low bar or another 180. Three single 1s leave them only the high bar or another 3. Either squeezes them into one way.
  • Know when the bars reset. After a lost life both bars go back to the start, unless you play with Keep the bars. Even then a bar at 180 or at 3 goes back, so the dead end never lasts.
  • Play with Equal is enough off for a tougher game. A bar at 180 or 3 then can’t be matched either, so the next player has exactly one way out.

FAQ

Questions about Higher or Lower

Is Higher or Lower the same as Beat It?

No. Beat It has one bar, the visit before yours, and you have to beat it. Its Up / Down option only switches the direction after a lost life. In Higher or Lower both ways are open on every visit, and there are always two bars.

What happens if I score exactly the high or the low bar?

By default you are safe and both bars stay where they are. Switch off Equal is enough and a match costs a life like any score in the middle.

Why can’t the low bar go below 3?

Because every dart has to score, and three single 1s make 3. Switch off Every dart must score and a miss counts 0, so the low bar can drop all the way to 0.

What happens when the high bar reaches 180?

Nobody can go over it any more. Another 180 matches it if a match is safe, and everyone else has to go under the low bar. As soon as someone loses a life the bars go back to the start, and with Keep the bars the 180 goes back anyway.

Which start bars should we use?

41 / 26 is the classic and suits most groups. Strong scorers can try 60 / 41 or 100 / 60, where the middle is wider and going low gets more attractive. Random gives every leg a new pair.

Can I play Higher or Lower on my own?

You need at least one opponent, but a bot will do. Bots pick high or low for every visit to suit their level.

Does it count towards my average?

No. Higher or Lower is unrated, so only your wins are recorded.

Game modes

More ways to play

More games played for lives: in Beat It you only have to beat the visit before yours, and in Last One Standing everyone throws at the same target. The darts party games guide puts together a whole evening, and darts games sorts every game by players and level.

Who gets caught in the middle tonight?

Open the app, pick Higher or Lower under Party & duels and throw the first visit against 41 / 26. Play with friends at your board, in teams or against a bot at your level.

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