Swadi-kop (hello) – DT & darters in Thailand look forward to when life gets back to normal and we can again meet at a darts oche. No darts news to report – but we got us our DT historical (also referred to as hysterical) files. Hope this report’s photos bring back happy memories. BMDL Goal – include friends & spectators intimidated with “scoring & double-out” involved with “01” dart games into a less formal darts group. If Mickey Mouse darts got you interested in darts – good, great. If not, guessing at least ya got a funny darts memory or two, possibly involving alcohol ? ?
Not long ago many bars and pubs had dartboards. During slow times it wasn’t unusual to find the girls talking in the darts area while playing Mickey Mouse. This resulted in lots of skilled darts players. But today’s mobile phones with higher download speeds and wi-fi everywhere has changed that. Sometimes it’s even difficult to order another drink cause your waitress is plugged into wi-fi and zoned out of her work environment.
Soft-tip dart’s popularity changed our local darts scene in a big way. Common in some world-wide locations for while – the popularity of soft-tip in Bangkok is relatively new. BUT soft-tip venues now greatly outnumber steel-tip venues in Bangkok. Ah, but this is a topic for a future article. I only mention it here as soft-tip has greatly overtaken Mickey Mouse for attracting new and young players. This is great for darts overall as many soft-tip players become interested in steel-tip. (cannot say the opposite is true – ref: KTD)
Mickey Mouse Darts Game – What exactly is it and where did originate?
Many credit the origins of Mickey Mouse Darts to the US military. First in Korean and again later in Vietnam. Thailand housed many US military support bases primarily Air Force during the Vietnam War era. At this time Bangkok was also an R&R destination. And Pattaya Beach was still an undeveloped area with a only a “few” bars. I believe this theory on the origins of the darts game “Mickey Mouse” to be true, but I may be a “bit” biased – I am retired US Army. So depending on “your view” of Mickey Mouse Darts you can either credit or blame the US Military.
Why the name Mickey Mouse Darts? Many say there is no real reason. I think the explanation is easy. Mickey Mouse is a simplified version of the darts game cricket and Mickey Mouse is a term used for something that is simplified. Thus – the logical conclusion on the game’s name – Mickey Mouse.
Mickey Mouse, the common pronunciation in Thailand is Mickey Mao – (as in Mao Tse-tung.) Not too surprising as no Thai words ends in an “S”. So if someone likes your new darts shirt, they may say it looks ni (nice). Order a drink and you’ll be asked if you want eye (ice). Anyhow back to the subject at hand, Mickey Mao . . .
The objective is to close out the numbers from fifteen to twenty, as well as, any three doubles, triples, and the bulls-eye. To close out a number means to hit it three times. The hits do not need to be in the same round. Any dart that lands in a double or triple of an open number may be used to close out that number or used towards closing doubles and triples. If a double or triple is used to help close out a number, it is worth two or three points respectively. First to close out all numbers wins.
Easy enough to suss out and see with the included graphics of the scoreboard set-up. This is the simplest and most common version of Mickey Mouse played in Thailand darts venues. There are also tons of variations of this game including playing the numbers in order and scoring points on a closed out number. But when it comes to Mickey Mouse reference to a common military acronym is applicable – KISS – “keep it stupid simple”.
Hope you enjoyed looking back at some random BMDL pics. As life slowly returns back to normal I look forward to doing some new reports on current darts news. Until next time – Good Darts ! – Johnny
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