The objective of Shanghai. To score more points than your opponents by shooting at one number per round over 20 rounds, starting at 1 and ending at 20. You can instantly win if you Shanghai your opponents by hitting a single, double and triple of one number all in one throw. Typically this dart game is played with four or more players.

Getting started. To determine the throwing order everyone throws a two dart splash - throwing two darts at the dartboard at the same time. The throwing order is the highest score to the lowest. If two people throw the same score they have to throw again. The names of the players are written in order across the top of the scoreboard and the numbers 1 through 20 are written down the left side of the board. Vertical lines are drawn to divide the scoreboard into columns, one for each player.

How do you win? Only 1's count in the first round, 2's in the second, etc. After all twenty rounds have been completed whoever has the highest score wins. The second way to win is to hit a Shanghai (one dart in the single, one dart in the double and one dart in the triple). If you hit a Shanghai, the game is immediatiately over and you win regardless of the player scores. If you hit a double or a triple with the first dart, always try for the Shanghai. If you miss it, you will still have a decent score.

Make it tougher to win. There are a few variations to Shanghai that make it tougher to win. You can increase the skill level by making a Shanghai only count if the last dart is a double or triple, not a single. You can also make numbers on the board a must hit number. For example, if you were playing "must hit 7's" if a player doesn't hit at least one 7 he loses half his point total. These add-ons can also be used as a handicap for highly skilled players.