Mickey Starling
ECB Publishing, Inc.ac
Very little good came from the Covid pandemic that began in 2020, but there are a few exceptions. Josh and Jason Carman are two very creative brothers who used the lengthy isolation and boredom of the pandemic to create a new game that would give families a reason to do something together, which beats staring into a phone any day.
Josh is credited with inventing the game, while Jason helped with building a prototype and helping with establishing the rules of the game. The brothers are both Christians, and they wanted to provide something that was fun, challenging and versatile. They succeeded.
A friend introduced Popdarts to me several weeks ago. Initially, I thought the game appeared too simple, but then I tried it and realized only the concept was simple. Mastering those pesky little rubber darts was a different matter. The game comes in several versions. Mine has a circular target that can be placed on any smooth surface, including kitchen islands, coffee tables, refrigerators or microwaves, just to name a few. The options are endless. Players are to stand a minimum of 10 feet away from the target, called a “wigglenobber,” and attempt to “stick” their darts as close as possible to the target, with 10 extra points awarded if a dart lands on top of the target or one point if it is touching the edge of it. In the rare instance that a dart lands on another dart, that provides an additional point as well.
Each turn consists of three throws, with only the player landing closest to the target being awarded points. The closest dart receives three points, and each additional standing dart receives one point. Opponents who are not closest, but land some of their darts, subtract one point from their opponent's score for each dart they land. This is called “cancellation scoring,” which is the same method used in Cornhole. The first person to score 21 points wins the game.
As I mentioned previously, making the darts stick consistently, requires practice and a touch of luck. It helps to clean the tips of the darts often so that suction isn't lost. The game is an absolute blast, great for all ages and skill levels. You can purchase it directly from the company or from Amazon. The average price is around $40, which is higher than I expected, but the darts are durable and should last for a long time unless you have a pet with a taste for brightly-colored rubber objects. There are also plenty of informational videos about Popdarts on Youtube and TikTok. Whichever version you choose, you are sure to get stuck on this fun little gem.