The Best Dartboards: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core Dartboard

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The Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core is the pick - patented triple-density sisal and staple-free ultra-thin wiring in the mid-range tier. Mission's Samurai 4 is the mid-range challenger with ultra-thin graphite wire and self-healing Madagascan sisal. The Viper 800 electronic is the premium-tier family pick. Skip the Viper 777 - a fair entry electronic, but it ships without a power source and the 800 adds enough in the box to justify the step up.

A dartboard is a game-room gift that lasts years - if the board is right. The difference lives in the wire and the sisal: thin blade wires and dense, compacted sisal mean bounce-outs are rare, while stapled wires and loose fibre mean darts on the floor. We compared Winmau's Blade 6 Triple Core, Mission's Samurai 4, and two Viper electronic boards for the soft-tip crowd, working from each maker's published specifications and owner reports.

RBE top pick

Winmau

Blade 6 Triple Core Dartboard

Buy it

Winmau's tournament board - Triple Core sisal with ultra-thin, staple-free wiring.

Best for: The serious gift - for the player who wants Winmau's tournament-ready board.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Triple Core sisal base (Winmau patent), which Winmau says delivers higher fibre density and better dart retention.
• Sixth-generation blade wiring with no staples and 60-degree deflection angles, which Winmau says guides darts into the scoring zone instead of bouncing them out.
• Laser-cut anti-glare steel number ring and the Rota-Lock mounting system, which Winmau rates for any wall type.

Know before buying

• Steel-tip only - if the household wants soft-tip for kids, this is not that board.
• Winmau's listing includes no darts - budget a starter set on top.

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Mission Darts

Samurai 4 Dartboard

Buy it

The challenger - professional spec with ultra-thin graphite-grey knife wire and self-healing sisal.

Best for: The informed gift - a pro-spec board for someone who follows darts beyond the big name.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Ultra-thin wire in graphite grey that Mission says lets darts glance into the scoring areas with fewer bounce-outs and less dart damage.
• Compacted Madagascan sisal with self-healing properties and a vein-free playing surface.
• Symmetrical branding around the board so it still looks clean after multiple rotations, plus adjustable stabilisers to keep it level.

Know before buying

• No household name recognition - gifting it means explaining it (this page does).
• Steel-tip only, and Mission lists no darts in the box.

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Viper

Viper 800 Electronic Dartboard

It depends

The soft-tip choice - 15.5-inch regulation face, 57 games, auto-scoring for up to 16 players.

Best for: The family game room - soft tips, auto-score and zero wall damage.

$$$ · premium

Why we like it

• Soft-tip darts and automatic scoring - the board a family with kids can actually use: no walls punctured, no chalkboard math.
• Regulation 15.5-inch target with an ultra-thin spider and a broad catch ring, 57 games with over 400 scoring options, and scoring for up to 16 players.
• Complete in the box: six soft-tip darts, 24 spare tips, throw line, measuring tape and the AC adapter.

Know before buying

• Premium-tier pricing, a tier above the bristle boards here, and soft-tip segments still bounce out more than blade wire.
• The game library means menus - younger kids need help setting up matches.

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We'd skip it

Viper

Viper 777 Electronic Dartboard

Skip it

The entry electronic - same 15.5-inch face, 43 games, 8 players, no power source in the box.

Best for: A tight budget that still wants soft-tip - but the step up to the 800 is small for what it adds.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Soft-tip safety and auto-scoring at the mid-range tier - the least expensive way into electronic darts here.
• Same 15.5-inch regulation target size as the Viper 800, with a bilingual English and Spanish voice option.

Know before buying

• Runs on three AA batteries or an AC adapter, and Viper sells both separately - the box has no way to switch it on.
• 43 games and 8 players against the 800's 57 games and 16, and no spare tips in the box.
• Viper publishes no segment or spider details beyond "concave segment holes", where the 800 lists an ultra-thin spider and extended catch ring.

See our pick instead See it at Amazon anyway Read our detailed assessment ↓

How we judged the field

Dartboards split cleanly in two: bristle sisal boards for steel tips (the real game) and electronic boards for soft tips (the family game). Within each, the deciding spec is the wire - blade wires part the sisal while staples deflect darts - and the sisal density that determines whether holes close. We do not throw on these boards ourselves; we read what each maker publishes, compare the boxes, and weigh that against what owners report over long use.

The Blade 6 is Winmau’s tournament board, which the maker says is trusted by the world’s best, and the Triple Core sisal is the headline. Winmau holds a patent on the base and says it delivers higher fibre density and better dart retention, built to keep the surface intact through high-volume play. The sixth-generation blade wiring is ultra-thin with no staples anywhere, and Winmau specifies 60-degree deflection angles on the wire so a dart that lands on it is steered into the bed rather than back at you.

Two details separate it from the previous Blade. The number ring is laser-cut steel with an anti-glare finish, which matters under the mixed lighting of a garage or basement. And the Rota-Lock mounting system is rated by Winmau for any wall type and designed to hold the board level once it is set. The listing does not include darts, so a steel-tip starter set belongs on the same shopping list. It is steel-tip only, so a household with small kids wants supervision. For a gift that reads “I know darts,” this is it.

Mission’s Samurai 4 Graphite Edition is the insider’s pick. The wire is the headline: an ultra-thin construction in graphite grey that Mission says lets darts glance over and into the scoring areas, which means fewer bounce-outs and less damage to the points. Under the wire is compacted Madagascan sisal with self-healing properties and a vein-free surface, and Mission says the new manufacturing process also keeps the colours from fading.

Mission has thought about the long game too. The branding is repeated symmetrically around the board, so after several rotations the setup still looks clean, and adjustable stabilisers on the back keep the board flat and correctly positioned on the wall. At the makers’ list prices it currently sits below the Winmau, which makes it the value choice between the two. What it lacks is the logo recognition Winmau has earned on television. For the player who follows the game, the Samurai is a sharper gift - proof you did the homework.

If the gift is for a family, this is the answer: a 15.5-inch regulation soft-tip board with automatic scoring, an ultra-thin spider with a broad catch ring, 57 games with over 400 scoring options, and scoring for up to 16 players. The display tracks points per dart and marks per round for 01 and Cricket, and a handicap setting lets beginners play experts without the game ending in three turns. GLD, which makes the Viper line, backs it with a limited one-year warranty.

The box matters as much as the board. GLD ships six soft-tip darts, 24 spare tips, a throw line, a measuring tape and the AC adapter, so it plays the evening it is unwrapped. The limits are the ones all soft-tip boards share: plastic segments bounce out more than blade wire, the face is a consumable, and the game menus take a minute to learn. It also sits a full tier above the bristle boards. It depends on the house - kids and casual play, yes; a steel-tip player, no.

The 777 is the entry tier of the same idea, and it is a fair board: the same 15.5-inch regulation target, 43 games with over 320 scoring options, automatic scoring for up to 8 players, the same points-per-dart and marks-per-round readouts, and a bilingual English and Spanish voice. GLD ships six starter darts, a throw line and a measuring tape.

The problem is what is missing. The 777 runs on three AA batteries or an AC adapter, and GLD sells both separately, so the box cannot be switched on as delivered. There are no spare tips, where the 800 includes 24. And where the 800’s listing details an ultra-thin spider and extended catch ring, the 777’s says only “concave segment holes”, so the bounce-out story is unpublished. For the difference in tier, the 800 adds the adapter, the spare tips, 14 more games and twice the player count. We would rather send a buyer up one step than have the gift sit dark until someone finds batteries.

Blade 6 Triple Core vs Samurai 4: which should you buy?

Buy the Blade 6 if the recipient will recognise the brand - it is the famous board for a reason, and the patented Triple Core base and anti-glare steel ring are features Mission does not match. Buy the Samurai 4 if you want the insider pick - ultra-thin wire, self-healing Madagascan sisal and stabilisers, at a lower list price than the Winmau. On the wire and the sisal they are peers; the difference is the name on the wall and the small gap in price.

What to look for

Wire design is the whole game on a bristle board: blade or knife wires with no staples beat stapled round wire on bounce-outs. Sisal density decides lifespan - compacted, self-healing sisal outlasts loose packing. For electronics, a regulation 15.5-inch target, the spider design and what the maker puts in the box are the three things to check; a board without its power source is a second shopping trip. And rotate the board periodically - spreading wear is free board life.

Our final take

The Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core is the pick - a tournament-grade board in the mid-range tier. Mission’s Samurai 4 is the equal-spec challenger for the informed buyer, and currently the cheaper of the two at list. The Viper 800 is the right call for a family with kids. And skip the Viper 777 - not because it is a bad board, but because the 800 fills the box the 777 leaves empty.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core Dartboard vs Mission Darts Samurai 4 Dartboard.

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