The darts game as we know them today at Les Petites Flèches, fully electronic with an automatic scoring system, is the fruit of many years of evolution.
Like Darwin's theory of the human race, their genre has spanned the ages, and we invite you to join us in discovering the different phases between the creation of the game and the present day.
The game of darts has its roots in the Middle Ages, when English soldiers used short darts to train their accuracy between battles.
These early projectiles were often thrown against the bottoms of barrels or tree trunks, creating the first rudimentary versions of today's targets.
This game is therefore over 700 years old, but beyond its ability to kill time, it was already serving the competitive impulses between players, between soldiers eager to win over each other.
Because it's accessible to all ages and physical conditions, darts quickly gained in popularity, including with England's King Henry VIII, who was given his 1st set of darts by his 2nd wife, Anne Boleyn. The king's court and the rest of the English people soon joined in.
At the time, there were no defined, universal rules, but the game became so popular that innovation got in the way. Thus was born in 1896 the system of arranging numbers around the target that we know today, established at the time by Brian Gamlin, a carpenter from Lancashire.
The 20th century was not kind to the game of darts, and came very close to causing its extinction. In 1908, a pub owner had to appear before the Leeds Magistrates' Court for allowing customers to play darts in his establishment.
The reason for the appearance was that the game was considered to be a game of luck, which, by the way, was illegal. To prove to them that it wasn't a matter of luck, but of talent, the accused brought in the best darts player in town, William Annakin. The player then took it upon himself to show the magistrates in the room that he was good, much better than them, who also tried their hand at throwing, and that was the end of the matter and the prosecution.
The dartboard as we know it today has evolved over the centuries. Originally, targets were sections of tree trunk, with the tree's natural rings serving as markers. Over time, targets made of paper and sisal (a tough plant fiber) were developed, enabling greater precision and standardization of the game.
In the 19th century, dart and target manufacturers began to form guilds, standardizing the dimensions and rules of the game. These guilds played a crucial role in transforming darts into an organized sport, with clear rules and standardized equipment.
The first darts competitions were held in the 1920s, and by 1939 the world championship had grown to over 3,000 participants.
The game became one of the favorite pastimes of American soldiers during the Second World War, who were momentarily deprived of a bar but found almost unusual solace in the activity. This army helped spread the sport-game craze to the rest of the American continent.
In 1972, news of the "World individual darts championship" was broadcast on television for the 1st time, and within a short space of time the champions of this discipline became the subject of large-scale table talk among civilians from all walks of life.
A unique activity in Paris: play darts thanks to innovative technology combining automatic scoring on video screens, replays of your best throws, GIFs and animations that appear with each throw, to whistle at your misses or applaud your achievements.
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Les Petites Flèches Parmentier
Tel : 01 43 55 65 89
Les Petites Flèches Strasbourg-Saint-Denis
Tel: 01 53 62 19 05
lespetitesfleches.ssd@gmail.com
Les Petites Flèches Pigalle
Tel : 01 86 04 49 49
pigalle@lespetitesfleches.com
Les Petites Flèches Parmentier
49 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris
Les Petites Flèches Strasbourg-Saint-Denis
Les Petites Flèches Pigalle
49 Boulevard de Clichy, 75009 Paris
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