A dartboard is a circular target used in the game of darts, where players throw small pointed missiles called darts at it to score points. The classic dartboard has a pattern of black and white sections divided into numbered wedges from 1 to 20, with special scoring areas like the bullseye (the small circle in the center) worth 50 points and the outer bull worth 25 points.

The board's clever design makes the game harder than it looks. The highest number, 20, sits right next to low-scoring 1 and 5, so aiming for big points risks missing badly. Thin rings around the board double or triple your score, which is why hitting the “triple 20” (worth 60 points) is such a prized shot.

You might hear someone joke about using a person's photo as a dartboard when they're frustrated with them, or say that something became a dartboard for criticism when lots of people attack it. The classic bristle dartboard, made from tightly packed fibers, can “heal” itself after each dart strike, closing up the tiny holes so it lasts for thousands of throws.