For most people just starting out, something in the 22-26g range is the sweet spot. It gives you enough weight to throw with purpose, without needing to muscle the dart at the board. Brass barrels are brilliant for beginners. They're affordable, robust, and will take a hammering while you're still finding your feet. Once you've got a consistent throw and you're ready to tighten those groupings, that's the time to look at tungsten. The slimmer profile means your darts can actually sit next to each other on the board rather than bouncing each other out. Grip matters too. If your hands get a bit sweaty during a match (it happens to the best of us), a ringed or knurled barrel will serve you far better than a smooth one. And don't overlook the flights either. Standard shaped flights give you more stability in the air, which is exactly what you want while you're still learning.

The bullseye should sit exactly 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 metres) from the floor. For steel tip darts, the oche (your throwing line) should be 7 feet 9¼ inches (2.37 metres) from the face of the board. Playing soft tip? Step it back a touch to 8 feet (2.44 metres). If you want to double-check your setup diagonally from the bullseye to the throwing line, that measurement should come in at around 9 feet 7⅜ inches (2.93 metres).One thing a lot of people overlook when putting a board up at home is wall protection. Stray darts happen, especially when you're still learning. A decent foam or rubber surround will save your walls and stop you spending half the session crawling around on the floor retrieving darts that didn't quite make it. Get the setup right once and you'll never have to think about it again.

At its core, you need a board and three darts. A bristle dartboard is the standard, 18 inches in diameter, mounted at the correct height with a clear throwing line marked out at the right distance. Each dart is made up of four parts: the barrel (what you hold), the shaft or stem, the flight and the tip. They all work together, and small changes to any one of them can genuinely change how a dart flies. From there, a few extras make a real difference. A dartboard surround or cabinet protects your walls from strays and keeps the setup looking sharp. A rubber oche mat marks out the correct throwing distance without you having to measure it every time and also protects your floor. A scoreboard, whether chalk or whiteboard, turns a practice session into an actual game. For the darts themselves, it's worth keeping spare flights and shafts on hand. Flights wear and shafts snap; it's just part of playing regularly. A dart wallet keeps everything together when you're heading out. And if you're playing steel tip, a dart point sharpener will keep your tips in good condition and reduce bounce-outs over time.