In order to enjoy this board, you MUST buy the below two items along with the board (I'll explain further, don't worry) 1. Buy your own set of darts (18g weight or less). You can get a decent set of less than $20. 2. Buy these EXACT tips (VERY IMPORTANT) - PerfectDarts Pixel Soft Tips by Target Step one is important for the simple fact that the darts that come with the board are basically toys. They are tiny, too light, and very cheap... not even close to the quality of the cheap generic bar darts... which are garbage in themselves. I just keep them in the dart holders on the side of the board (like in the pic) because I like the way it looks. Step two is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to do in order to enjoy this board! I repeat, if you do not buy those exact tips, you will regret it immediately! I read this in another buyers review and I'm glad I listened. First and foremost the tips that come with the board are complete trash... seriously, just throw them in the garbage when you get them... do not even keep them for emergency spares. I did a lot of research on tips and most places will tell you that the best tips on the market are the Viper Tufflex III 2BA (made by the same company as this board). So, naturally I bought a set of 100 of these, they are the best right? I also bought a set of 50 of the tips mentioned in step two because I read in one of the reviews that after much trial and error they found that those tips were best for this board. After I got the board, I decided to conduct an experiment with the tips. I put a Viper Tufflex III 2BA on 1 dart, a PerfectDarts Pixel on the another, and on the third dart I put a tip that came with the board. Then, I played a game of Cricket. The tip that came with the board broke off in the board on the second round (second throw of that dart). Now, when I say broke off in the board I don't mean it broke when it hit the board and the dart fell out. The dart stuck just fine, but when I went to pull the dart out, half the tip broke off and stayed in the board. For the Viper Tufflex tip, I don't remember how many throws in I was, but it was before I completed 1 game of cricket and that tip did the exact same thing. After about 50 games so far, I have yet to break one of the Pixel tips. My wife and daughter (who have a hard time even hitting the board at times) have also probably played about 15 games each... still not 1 broken tip. Bottom Line, GET THE PIXEL TIPS! Now for the board. I'll start with this... The board costs 50-ish dollars, remember that! In this price range it is not going to be perfect. However, for what it costs, it is an excellent board in my opinion (provided you follow the 2 steps above). Bounce Outs - They happen, but it is not very often. I may average 1 - 3 in a game, which is acceptable to me based on the price of the board. Miss Scores - This happens as well. I've had a few occasions where the board either registered a different number than what I hit, or didn't register the hit at all. This has probably happened 7 - 10 times in the 50 games I've played (which probably equates to over 1,000 darts thrown). This happens a little more than I would like, but again, for the cost of this board I'd say that's acceptable. Darts Stick - A lot of reviews say that the darts stick very firmly in the board and are difficult to remove. This is true. You won't just be walking up to the board and easily pulling the darts out 1-2-3 like on the boards at the bar. They will require some twisting and finagling to get out most of the time. After a few games, you'll eventually develop a method to best get them out with the least amount of hassle... my 14 year old daughter can do it without complaining, so can you. This can be a bit annoying, but I'd rather this than a ton of bounce outs. Screen - Yes, the screen can be a little hard to see and blah blah blah... it's a $50 board! It keeps score and tells you who's turn it is... it does it's job. I have no issues here. The buttons are easy to use, there are a ton of games, and for the price, I'm exceptionally happy with this board. I would recommend it and I'd buy it again. Now, if my GranBoard 3s would ever get here!
