I play darts, we used to write on whiteboards with sharpies. Now nearly every club has a computer with some kind of software. Usually this software is closed source and sends all the data to some kind of server. We as players have no choice if we want to play the tournament, we have no control. Many clubs also use the computer for training. So everyone can see when you are playing, where you are playing and how you are playing. Great to see how good your next opponent is. Also great to track people. But way worse is the fact that everyone just talks about their average. Oh I played so bad my average was under 60, I still won 3-0 but I was so bad. I hate this. I want back the times where I play shit, win the game with a nice finish and can proudly say it wasn’t good but a nice finish and we stop talking, not hear from someone not even in the room how bad I played.
Kinda a niche topic to rant about I know, but no one in this hobby seems to get my concerns.
I used to go out to bars with my friends and play darts in college and it was always fun to just play and even make up your own rules sometimes! That makes me kind of sad that something as simple as throwing pointy sticks at a board had to be computerized… I could see the benefit if you were playing in a pro tournament or something, but just trying to enjoy a game of darts with your buddies definitely doesn’t need all of that
I play darts, we used to write on whiteboards with sharpies. Now nearly every club has a computer with some kind of software. Usually this software is closed source and sends all the data to some kind of server. We as players have no choice if we want to play the tournament, we have no control. Many clubs also use the computer for training. So everyone can see when you are playing, where you are playing and how you are playing. Great to see how good your next opponent is. Also great to track people. But way worse is the fact that everyone just talks about their average. Oh I played so bad my average was under 60, I still won 3-0 but I was so bad. I hate this. I want back the times where I play shit, win the game with a nice finish and can proudly say it wasn’t good but a nice finish and we stop talking, not hear from someone not even in the room how bad I played.
Kinda a niche topic to rant about I know, but no one in this hobby seems to get my concerns.
I don’t play darts but it makes me genuinely sad to hear that.
I wonder if bowlers felt like that about electronic scoring?
I used to go out to bars with my friends and play darts in college and it was always fun to just play and even make up your own rules sometimes! That makes me kind of sad that something as simple as throwing pointy sticks at a board had to be computerized… I could see the benefit if you were playing in a pro tournament or something, but just trying to enjoy a game of darts with your buddies definitely doesn’t need all of that