How to play Shanghai
Shanghai is seven rounds. In round 1 only the 1 scores, in round 2 only the 2, and so on up to round 7. Highest total after the seventh round wins — unless somebody throws a Shanghai (the single, the double AND the triple of that round's number in one turn), which wins the game outright on the spot.
Chuck Darts scores this game to exactly the rules on this page, and keeps the card open mid-match so anybody at the board can check one. A full leg of 501, a board of Cricket and six practice drills are playable right now with no account at all.
THE ROUNDS
Seven rounds, targeting 1 through 7. That is fixed: this app does not play the 1-to-20 version, and there is no setting for it. A round ends when EVERY player has thrown in it, then the target moves on. You cannot get ahead of the field.
WHAT SCORES
Only darts in the round's own number score, at their face value times the ring: in round 4, S4 is 4, D4 is 8, T4 is 12. Everything else is zero. A triple 20 in round 4 is worth nothing — not "a few points", nothing. The bull never scores in this game at all. Missing costs you nothing beyond the points. There is no halving, no reset and no deduction for a blank round — you simply score 0 for it and move on.
THE SHANGHAI
A Shanghai is the single, the double AND the triple of the round's number, all three in the same turn. The order does not matter. It must be that round's number, and it must be one turn — a single and a double this turn plus a triple next turn is not a Shanghai. A Shanghai wins the game immediately, whatever the scores are. A Shanghai on the 1 in round 1 beats a player sitting on 200 points. Instantly means instantly, and the app now holds everyone to it. The moment a Shanghai lands the board says SHANGHAI! INSTANT WIN, both apps lock the scoring pad, and the server refuses every later turn — yours, your opponent's, in that same round or any round after it. There is nothing left to play out. Have the host end the game to record it. (Until 2026-09-22 the pad stayed live and the darts were accepted, and this card said so; that is fixed.)
FINISHING ON POINTS
If nobody throws a Shanghai, the highest total after all seven rounds wins. The game is only finished when every player has completed all seven rounds. Do not end the game early. If the host ends it before the seventh round is complete for everyone, the app hands the win to whoever is ahead on points at that moment.
A TIE
There is no tie-break. If the two leaders finish level after seven rounds, the app records NO winner and NO placings. The game still counts as played in everyone's stats, and a linked league match still closes, with nobody credited a win. If a level score is possible, agree a decider before you start (an eighth round on the 8 is the usual house fix) and have the host name the winner when ending the game.
ENTERING SCORES
This game is scored dart by dart. Every turn must be entered as the three darts you actually threw. Typing a bare turn total is rejected by the app — a total cannot tell the app which number was hit, and it cannot see a Shanghai. There is no eighth round. Both apps lock the pad once all seven rounds are in, and the server refuses a late turn outright. A Shanghai locks it sooner, on the turn it is thrown in.
THE CLOCK
In online ranked games with a turn timer, letting the clock run out records your turn as three misses: the round counts as played and scores zero. There is no extra penalty. If someone has to leave, the host — or that player themselves — can take their seat out of a live game, as long as two players are left at the board: the app refuses a removal that would leave one player throwing alone, so a two-handed game has to be ended instead. The app keeps the seat in the running order so everyone else's turn order holds, but nothing more is scored for or against them: their board stops where they left it, and they are placed after everyone who finished. It cannot be undone, and Rematch will not bring them back: it carries only the seats that were still in, so start the next game and add them to it yourself.
WHAT GETS RECORDED
The app works out the winner for itself when the host ends the game. Second place and below are ranked on final points, and players level on points share a placing. The host can override the result and name any player the winner when ending the game (on the phone: End Game, then Forfeit — pick winner; on the web: End Match, then pick the player). That is a manual decision, not the engine's — and it is the intended fix for a tie.
CORRECTIONS — READ THIS BEFORE YOU ARGUE
The board is built entirely from the recorded darts. Undo works here: it removes the last turn completely and replays the board without it, so the round goes back to unthrown and the player takes it again; the board and the placings recompute together. Correcting the turn to 0 scores that round zero and leaves it on the record as thrown — through that door the round IS spent. A correction typed as a number is refused. A turn the clock forfeited is the clock's own record: neither you nor the host can undo it or correct it afterwards. If neither door puts a wrong entry right and it cost someone real points, agree it at the throw line (the oche) and have the host name the right winner when ending the game.
PLAYERS
Two to eight — the ceiling both setup screens seat and the one the server holds you to, so a ninth trying to JOIN is refused, and so is a game created with nine in it. Shanghai works with any number in that range, but the more players the longer a round takes and the more likely somebody steals it with a Shanghai before you get your turn at it. Solo works too, recorded as a win.
HOUSE RULES THIS APP DOES NOT PLAY
There is no governing body for Shanghai. Chuck Darts plays rounds 1-7, any ring on the target scores, misses are free, and a Shanghai wins outright. Common alternatives you may have played elsewhere, of which the first is the one to know — most published guides treat 1 to 20 as the game and seven rounds as the short form of it, so the app plays the short form by default: playing 1 to 20 instead of 1 to 7; starting at a number other than 1; requiring the Shanghai to be thrown in strict S-D-T order; treating a Shanghai as a big bonus rather than an instant win; and "require number" or "require triple" modes where a blank round halves or zeroes your total. If your venue wants one of those, agree it out loud before the first dart — the app will still score the version above.