Bullys Sporting Darts

Darts in a pub have one undeniable charm: even a complete beginner can hit double top if they've got enough guts and enough beer. Bullys Sporting Darts from 1993 by Alternative Software brings that magic to your monitor — and to make it work, the game has to handicap you a little.

It's a straightforward darts sports simulation for PC. No story, no campaign, no deep meaning. The goal is simple: hit the board better than your opponent, play through standard variants like 501 or various training modes. Visually, it matches its release year — board, dart, hand, scoreboard. You don't need anything more.

And now to the heart of the matter. The biggest problem with darts games on PC is that the mouse is too precise. If you play darts on a monitor without any handicap, you'd hit bull's eye every time because the cursor behaves like a Swiss watchmaker. That would be boring after five minutes. Alternative Software solved it the classic way — your hand shakes on the throw, the dart deflects, and suddenly you dramatically miss the sector you've been aiming at for the last minute. The mechanism isn't rocket science, but it does the job. It somewhat simulates that feeling when your hand just won't obey you at the crucial moment. Or you're drunk. Depends on your perspective.

What the game can't deliver is atmosphere. A pub darts game has sound, laughter, and that specific pressure when you're waiting for your opponent's throw. Here you've got a Sound Blaster speaker and a few sound effects. In 1993 that was enough, today it hits exactly as you remember it — functional, but cold. The game hasn't aged badly or well, it just stands in place like a board on a wall.

Today, mostly those who want to experience what DOS-era sports titles looked like in twenty minutes will play it — no frills, no tutorials, no achievements. You can run it in a browser via DOSBox with no installation and no hassle. If you're expecting a deep gaming experience, you're looking in the wrong place. If you want to throw a few virtual darts and reminisce, Bullys Sporting Darts will do the job. Just about right.