With two categories - steel tip (traditional boards and darts) and soft tip (electronic gaming boards that register when hit by a soft dart tip) - different leagues and many rankings, plus various types of games in each category, the game is more like an intense sport.

Some nights, the electronic dart machines in area bars and clubs are open to anyone to play for fun. Other nights, you'll find crowds standing behind the line eight feet away from the computerized video boards, casting soft tip darts their way. They're taking part in an area darts league such as soft tip league A&M-Bud Darts, so titled because Budweiser has been its sponsor since the league started 11 years ago.

Organized by Allen Morris, the owner of A & M Amusement, hundreds of darters meet at participating bars in the Augusta area one or more nights a week. The leagues play on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, with different games - couples, cricket, 501 and others - played on different nights. A game called blind draw is sometimes played on the other nights.

To understand how the games are played, you'd almost need to be a part of the darts social circle.

"Darts people are the best people in the world," said Mary Waters, who has been playing for 13 years. Ms. Waters and Scott Herron, team S and M, played couples against team Bout Time, made up of Dana Baldridge and Bryan Hutto, on a recent Sunday at the Finish Line Cafe on Belair Road.

With terminology such as hat trick, three bulls, high ton and low ton, the game even has its own lingo. Other team names include Marvin's Martians, Cigars R Us and Dooter Lites.

Mr. Herron and Ms. Waters are ranked pro, the lowest rank. Rankings are pro, then master pro, on up to A-Team club members, who throw with tremendous accuracy. There are only six A-Teamers in the league, and Mr. Hutto is one of them. He and his partner beat Ms. Waters and Mr. Herron.

"I'm very competitive. I play Sunday through Wednesday; it's all about fun," said Mr. Herron, a 10-year player.

Scott Perry plays both soft and steel tip darts. Because point values are doubled or tripled depending on where the darts land, he said soft tip darts are a great way for children to play and learn multiplication. He said beginners should start with soft tips and progress to steel tips.

"Steel tips is a little more challenging. The squares are narrower, it takes a little more accuracy and the machine doesn't keep score as it does with the soft," he said.

Playing is inexpensive. There's a $3 weekly league fee, and the cost per night ranges from $2.50 to $4 per player depending on the game. Teams play other teams based out of the same bar or from other bars. Leagues last about 12 weeks each for three seasons, followed by a banquet where trophies and money are given to the season's winners.

According to Ms. Waters, the top prizes at the banquets are about $100. Most players play for the love of the sport, the fun and the atmosphere rather than the awards, she said.

"We're definitely not in it for the money," she said. "We have RNs, cops and people like me, a stay-at-home grandma, so you get to meet all kind of people. It's a good get-together."

Augusta and Aiken-area nightclubs offering darts:

• Backyard Tavern: 218 S. Belair Road; blind-draw and steel-tipped darts tournament Thursday; 869-8695.

• Finish Line Cafe: 4046 Belair Road; darts Sunday, Monday and Wednesday; blind draw Tuesday; 855-5999

• Fishbowl Lounge: 2248 Lumpkin Road; soft and steel tip darts Saturday, Monday and Wednesday; 790-6810.

• Littel Honky Tonk: 1602 Gordon Highway; blind-draw dart tournament Friday; 560-0551.

• Robbie's Sports Bar: 2834 Washington Road; pool leagues and darts Tuesday; 738-0866.

• Wheeler Tavern: 3664 Wheeler Road; darts Monday; 868-5220.