The advent of the internet on a mobile setting has led to a decline in the popularity of pub games. A good number of people still enjoy such games in a pub. Games like Darts and Chess, which were previously limited to the pub now have competitive tournaments organized for players with winners getting prizes for their efforts.

Some popular pub games include Pool, Checkers, Chess, and Darts. We will be looking at the rules guiding these pub games and some interesting information to go with it.

Ready? Let’s get started.

1. Darts

A game of darts is one of the popular pub games which have gone beyond the corridors of the pub to the international setting. Playing a game of darts in the past could be regarded as a nightmare. Players had to wait until the holes made in an elm block used in a previous contest were covered up. The upgrade from the use of an elm block to plastics has been a challenging journey.

The game of darts involves a dart board with the bullseye placed at a height of 5’ 8”. The oche, or throwing line, should be 7’ 9¼” (2.37 m) from the face of the board. You are entitled to three throws before your opponent takes a turn, but you can decide for a fewer number of throws. Winning in a game of darts requires precision, confidence, physical well-being and most importantly, a lot of practice.

It’s also quite cheap to set up at home. If that’s something you’re interested in, check out our guide to buying darts. We also have reviews on the best electronic dart boards or bristle dart boards if that’s more up your alley.

A lot of our readers prefer electronic boards but forget that these require soft tip darts – you can’t use steel-tipped ones as it’ll break the device. Keep this in mind.

2. Pool

This pub game started out on a lawn! As crazy as that might sound, it’s true. A pool game is played between two people where each uses a cue stick and ball to push their set of 7 balls into six pockets visible on the gaming table. The winner must pocket a set of 7 balls (solid or striped) and then the 8-ball.

The rules governing pool are a bit ambiguous. There are 15 balls on the table. You are to pocket your set of 7 balls faster than your opponent. Afterward, you are free to pocket the 8-ball. With that, you are the winner of the game.

Before a game of pool commences, racking of the object balls must be done. A player must use the rack to put the object balls in a defined triangular order. The cue ball takes center stage of the triangular arrangement with a solid and striped object ball taking the lower edges. The No. 1 ball is the first point of contact in the triangle.

You can enjoy a legal break by pocketing an object ball or creating an impact between the rails of the table and a minimum of four balls. If you don’t earn a legal break, you lose the right to continue. Your opponent gets to decide the next line of action.

Mistakes are not allowed in a game of pool. If you, for whatever reason, push an object ball off the table, your opponent gets his turn, no excuses!

If you pocket the cue-ball during a legal break, you lose a turn. You can jump shot the cue ball by causing it to rise above the table. However, you can’t jump shot to remove an object ball from an undesired position. If you do that, you lose a turn. You can continue playing if you legally pocket the object balls. Your turn ends with anything contrary to that.

While pool has several variants such as 8-ball, 9-ball, and several others, there are games with a similar arrangement; they include Billiard and Snooker. While they all involve pocketing balls, they have certain attributes which can distinguish them from Pool.

3. Checkers

Probably one of the oldest games, Checker started as far back as 1400 BC. Checkers, also called Draught, is related to Chess; in fact, both use the same board pattern. It is played between two people. The board of the modern checkers game consists of 64 squares. However, only about half that number is used in the game itself.

Each player has 12 pieces; two different colors used to avoid confusion, with each player using one color. Each player occupies different sides of the board. Winning a game of checkers requires a player to capture all the pieces of an opponent. In some situations, winning is limited to restricting the movement of your opponent’s piece(s).

The movement of each piece on the board is diagonal in a forward direction only. However, a piece which becomes a King can carry out several movements. When your opponent’s piece is positioned with a space behind, your piece can jump over and occupy such a space. If several of his pieces are aligned in the required arrangement, your piece can keep jumping over each of them until there isn’t any space for your piece to occupy. When your piece is in such a position, you are obligated to remove the jumped piece from the board. The act of jumping in a game of checkers is obligatory. Once your piece is in a position to do so you can’t avoid it.

A piece becomes a King by crowning. This is achieved when a piece gets to an opponent’s end. A King can move both forward and backward in a diagonal direction only. Jumping is another movement a King can perform, albeit without the constraints of only a single direction. Using the King can be fun if handled with restraint.

4. Chess

Chess is a game which has existed since the 10th century. Chess is a board game just like checkers, but a bit more complex. The chess board has 64 squares with two alternating colors. A game of chess is played between two people.

Each player has 16 pieces which consist of:

  • 1 King
  • 1 Queen
  • 2 Bishops
  • 2 Rooks
  • 8 Pawns

Pawns are the first line of defense on the chess board; they are like foot soldiers in a war. The Rooks which are quite powerful in attack occupy the corners of the board. Horseheads depict the Knights. They might not be as powerful as the Rook, but their movement means they can’t be ignored. A pair of Bishops is synonymous to powerful twins which become substantially less effective when one is removed from the board. The Queen and King occupy the center spots behind the pawns. While the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board, the King is the more important.

The movement of a Pawn might seem uncomplicated, but it’s unique. A Pawn can move one or two steps at the first instance depending on the choice of the player. A Pawn is the only piece which is limited to a movement only in a forward direction. A Pawn removes only pieces adjacently placed in front it. The Bishop moves in a diagonal pattern in any direction. A Rook moves in a horizontal and vertical direction. The Queen moves in a horizontal, vertical, and diagonal direction. While the Knight is limited to an L-shaped movement; it is not restricted by obstacles. It can be used to penetrate any defense mounted by an opponent. The King might be important but it’s rather rigid. It can only take a single step in any direction.

The objective of a chess game is to capture the King piece of an opponent. This needs consistent practice and strategizing.