Powers of Two Darts Rules

Countdown game where a turn only counts when its darts add up to a power of two. Bring your target down to exactly zero.

Overview

Powers of Two — known in Czech as "Mocniny" — is a countdown game. Each player starts a leg with a target number and tries to bring it down to exactly zero. Every dart counts, but what matters is the total of the turn: if your up to three darts add up to a power of two — 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128 — that total is subtracted from your target. Any other total changes nothing.

The game rewards control rather than raw scoring. A big total is worthless unless it lands on a power of two, and going over your remaining target is a bust. The first player to reach exactly zero wins the leg.

Game Setup

Scoring

A dart's value is its segment times its multiplier, exactly as in every other game. Every segment is allowed — singles, doubles, triples, and both bulls. Each dart adds its value to a running turn total.

• Scoring powers: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128. 256 cannot be reached, because three darts total at most 180.
• Any combination works: 8 can be thrown as 5 + 2 + 1, as 4 + 4, or as a single Double 4.
• Only the turn total counts: a power reached mid-turn is not banked on the spot. 4 and then another 4 scores 8, but Single 8, Single 5 and a miss (13) scores nothing.
• No limit per power: the same power can be scored any number of times.

When a Turn Is Evaluated

After every dart, the turn is checked in this order:

1. Running total above the remaining target: bust at once.
2. Running total equal to the remaining target, and a power of two: finish at once. Any darts left in the turn are never thrown.
3. Third dart thrown: the turn ends.
4. Otherwise, the turn continues.

When a turn ends, its total is subtracted only if it is a power of two smaller than the remaining target. Any other total — 7, 26, or 0 — leaves the target where it was.

Ending a Turn Early

Reached the power you want with one or two darts? Tap End Turn (or enter Miss on the keyboard). The unthrown darts are recorded as misses, which add 0, and the turn ends with its current total.

Finish

When the running total equals your remaining target and is a power of two, the target drops to exactly zero and you win the leg. Because a finish needs a power, the last turn of every leg clears a power of two.

Bust

When the running total goes above your remaining target, the turn ends immediately. The whole turn is discarded and your target stays where it was at the start of the turn.

Game Flow Example

A player with 40 left, over four turns:

Fewest Possible Turns

Every starting target is one less than a power of two, so a leg always takes several turns. The fewest possible are 6 turns for 63, 7 for 127, 8 for 255, and 10 for 511, which needs 128 at least twice.

The Power Table

Each player card shows the eight powers next to the remaining target, with how many times the player has scored each one in the current leg. The current player also sees the running turn total. When that total is a power of two, its cell is highlighted — ending the turn now would bank it.

Single-Leg Matches

In a single-leg match with more than one player, the match doesn't end the instant someone reaches zero — finished players are skipped and the remaining players keep throwing for the other places, ranked by the order in which they finish, until everyone has finished or the leader chooses to end the game early. A 1-player game ends on its first finish. In multi-leg matches, the first player to finish wins the leg.

Starting Player Rotation

In multi-leg matches, the starting player rotates between legs. The first leg starts with the designated starting player, the second leg with the next player in the order, and so on.

Confirmation Mode

Confirmation Mode is an optional setting you can turn on when creating a game, or toggle mid-game from the top bar. Tapping the dartboard opens a magnified 1.5× overlay showing the segment you hit, its two neighbors, and the Bull — tap the correct segment to confirm the score, or tap outside the overlay to cancel with nothing scored. It's especially useful near the end of a leg, where one wrong segment turns a finish into a bust. Misses are always registered immediately and skip the confirmation step.

Strategy Tips

• Bank a power when you have it: once your running total is a power of two, consider ending the turn. One more dart can spoil it — 16 followed by a 5 makes 21, which scores nothing.
• Read your target in binary: below 256, your remaining target written in binary shows the fastest route. 37 = 32 + 4 + 1, so three good turns finish it.
• Score 128 while you are above 256: Triple 20, Triple 20, Double 4 is the classic route. Keep scoring 128 until you drop below 256.
• Every leg needs a 1: all four starting targets are odd, so at some point you must bank a turn worth exactly 1. A stray Single 1 while aiming at 20 is not wasted — end the turn and bank it.
• Stay under the target near the end: with a small target left, any dart that takes the running total over it is a bust. Aim at small segments and end the turn as soon as you hit the power you need.

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