Viper Darts assembly
Height and distance can both measure correct and the setup still be wrong. The diagonal is what catches it.
Height is referenced to the floor and throw distance to the wall, and neither is reliably true in a real room. The diagonal from the bullseye to the throw line ties them to each other instead of to the building, which is why installers check it last and trust it most.
Three numbers, and only one of them is a check
A dartboard setup is defined by two published figures. The center of the bullseye sits five feet eight inches from the floor, and that height is universal, identical for steel tip and soft tip boards under both WDF and PDC rules. The throw distance is seven feet nine and a quarter inches for steel tip, measured from the face of the board to the front of the oche, or eight feet for soft tip. Only the distance changes between the two; the height never does.
Both of those measurements depend on the room being true, and rooms are not. Height is measured against the floor and distance against the horizontal, so a basement slab that slopes away from the wall, a wall that leans, or a raised throwing mat all put the oche somewhere other than where the tape says. Nothing about the result looks wrong. The board hangs straight, the line is marked, and the whole thing is quietly off.
That is what the diagonal is for. Measured from the center of the bullseye down to the front edge of the oche, it should come to roughly nine feet seven and a half inches for a steel tip setup. Because it connects the two fixed points directly, it does not care whether your floor is flat or your wall is plumb. If the diagonal is right, the height and the distance are both right. It is the only one of the three numbers that can tell you that.
What it actually takes
A short job where the measuring matters far more than the mounting.
| Model | Time | People |
|---|---|---|
| Mounting the board or cabinetInto studs where possible. Cabinets are heavy. | 30 to 60 minutes | 1 |
| Setting height and rotationBullseye at 5 ft 8 in, twenty at the top. | 15 minutes | 1 |
| Marking the oche and checking the diagonalThe step that validates the other two. | 15 minutes | 1 |
| Fitting a surround or backboardNot optional if you value the wall. | 30 to 45 minutes | 1 |
| LightingShadow-free light changes the game more than people expect. | 30 to 60 minutes | 1 |
| Electronic soft-tip cabinetHeavier, and needs power nearby. | add 30 minutes | 2 |
Fifteen minutes of careful measuring is the difference between practice that transfers to a league night and practice that quietly builds the wrong habit.
What to get right, specifically
Measure the throw from the face of the board, not the wall
This is the most common error and it is built into how people naturally work. A dartboard stands roughly an inch and a half proud of the wall, so a tape run from the wall rather than from the board face leaves the throw line short by about that much. On a board with a cabinet around it the difference is larger still. Set the tape against the front surface of the board itself, or use the plumb line method below, and the error disappears.
Use a plumb line to find the true floor point
The reliable way to place an oche is not to measure along the floor from the wall. Drop a plumb line, meaning a weight on a string, from the center of the bullseye straight down, and mark where it lands. Measure the throw distance from that mark. This removes the board thickness, the cabinet depth and any lean in the wall from the calculation in one move, and it is what makes the subsequent diagonal check agree.
The height is measured from the surface you stand on
Five feet eight inches is to the center of the bullseye from the floor you actually throw from. That distinction matters more often than it sounds. If you use a raised oche or a throwing mat, that is now your floor. If the basement slab slopes, or there is a step, or the carpet is thick, the measurement follows the standing surface rather than the base of the wall. Get this wrong and every dart you throw is calibrated to a board that is high or low by exactly that amount.
Check the diagonal last, and trust it
Once the board is mounted and the oche marked, run a tape from the center of the bullseye to the front edge of the throw line. On a steel tip setup it should come out at approximately nine feet seven and a half inches. Sources vary very slightly on the last fraction, so use the figure printed in your own instructions, but the principle holds regardless: if the diagonal is correct, the height and the horizontal distance are both correct, and if it is not, one of them is wrong no matter what the individual tapes said.
Soft tip changes the distance and nothing else
Worth knowing if you have an electronic board, or both kinds in the same room. The bullseye height stays at five feet eight inches for soft tip exactly as it does for steel tip. What changes is the throw, which moves back to eight feet. So a room set up for both needs two marked lines at the same board height, rather than any adjustment to how the board is hung.
Plan for the darts that miss, because they will
Early on, and honestly for a long time after, darts will miss the board and hit the wall behind it. That is guaranteed rather than a possibility. A surround, a backboard, or at minimum a sacrificial panel is part of the installation and not an accessory, particularly on drywall or on any wall you care about. It is far cheaper to fit one at the start than to patch and repaint a constellation of holes later.
Mount it properly, especially a cabinet
A bristle board alone is not heavy, but a cabinet with doors, a scoreboard and a full set of accessories is, and it hangs on the wall for years while being repeatedly opened, closed and pulled at. Fix into studs where you can, and use appropriate anchors where you cannot. Also give thought to rotation while you are there: the board should sit with the twenty segment at the top, and it is worth rotating a bristle board periodically to spread wear rather than destroying one segment.
Before you drill
Check the room has the depth. You need the throw distance plus room to stand behind the line, and a clear space either side.
Decide steel tip or soft tip, or plan two throw lines at the same board height if you want both.
Look at the wall behind the board and plan a surround or backboard as part of the job.
Note the surface you will actually stand on, including any mat, since that is what the height is measured from.
Have a plumb line, a tape measure and a level ready, and find the studs before mounting a cabinet.
If a wheelchair user will play, note that WDF set that board height at about four feet six inches to the bullseye.
Who this is really for
Anybody putting a board into a den, garage or games room who wants their practice to mean something. The regulation figures exist so that the throw you groove at home is the same throw you make in a league, and a board set an inch high quietly teaches you a correction you will have to unlearn.
It is a genuinely short job, and the argument for doing it carefully is not difficulty but permanence. Once the holes are drilled and the oche is marked, most people never measure again, so whatever error goes in on day one stays for the life of the setup.
It is worth handing over when the room is awkward, meaning a sloping basement floor, a masonry wall, or a heavy cabinet that needs proper anchoring, and when you want the lighting and the surround dealt with at the same time. Those are the parts that turn a board on a wall into a room people actually want to play in.
What an installer does
- Mounts the board or cabinet securely, into studs where available and with correct anchors where not.
- Sets the bullseye at five feet eight inches from the surface you stand on, with the board correctly rotated.
- Uses a plumb line from the bullseye to place the oche, rather than measuring along the floor from the wall.
- Verifies with the diagonal from bullseye to throw line, which catches errors the other measurements miss.
- Marks a durable oche, and a second line where both steel tip and soft tip will be played.
- Fits a surround or backboard to protect the wall, and sorts out shadow-free lighting.
- Sets up electronic soft-tip cabinets, including power.
Get it built by someone who has built one before.
Tell us your ZIP and what you bought. Installers near you will quote you directly, and you deal with them, not with us.
Questions people ask
How high should a dartboard be?
Five feet eight inches from the floor to the center of the bullseye. That figure is universal under both WDF and PDC rules and is the same for steel tip and soft tip boards. Measure it from the surface you actually stand on, which matters if you use a raised mat or the floor is uneven.
How far back is the throw line?
Seven feet nine and a quarter inches for steel tip, measured from the face of the board to the front of the oche, or eight feet for soft tip. The board face matters: a board stands about an inch and a half off the wall, so measuring from the wall makes the throw short.
What is the diagonal measurement for?
It is the check that validates the other two. Measured from the center of the bullseye to the front of the throw line, it comes to roughly nine feet seven and a half inches for a steel tip setup. Because it links the two fixed points directly, it is unaffected by a sloping floor or a wall that is not plumb, so if the diagonal is right, the height and distance are both right.
Does the height change for an electronic board?
No. The bullseye stays at five feet eight inches for soft tip as well. Only the throw distance changes, moving back to eight feet. A room used for both needs two throw lines and no change to the board height.
How do I stop darts wrecking my wall?
Fit a surround or a backboard, and treat it as part of the installation rather than an optional extra. Missed darts hitting the wall are certain rather than likely, particularly while you are learning, and patching and repainting afterward costs far more than protecting the area up front.
Is there a different height for wheelchair players?
Yes. WDF rules set the board at about 1.37 meters, roughly four feet six inches, from the floor to the bullseye for wheelchair play. If that applies in your household it is worth deciding at the point of mounting rather than re-drilling later.
Installers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Viper, GLD Products, the WDF or the PDC. All trademarks belong to their respective owners and are referred to here only to describe the installation services that independent installers on this directory provide. Confirm regulation figures against the instructions supplied with your board.