2013年6月18日星期二

Soft darts hit bulls eye with high-tech game

Picture your stereotypical darts player. Middle-aged and overweight, with a gut spilling over a waistband, cultivated through years of swilling beer during tense matches.

But a radical transformation is taking place and the game that was once the preserve of grown-ups in dimly lit pubs has been reborn in the 21st century, with teenagers and young adults eagerly flocking to dedicated darts bars. 

A new breed of dynamic young players have emerged, playing a high-tech version of the game complete with flashing lights, electronic bleeps and a computer that does all the troublesome maths for you. 

Welcome to the world of soft darts, which has been big in Japan for some years but is now hitting the bullseye as it sweeps across Asia, with a rapidly swelling fanbase and its own high-profile tournaments. The most lucrative one this year is offering a prize pot of HK$5 million ($650,000). 

One of the games top players, Singapores Paul Lim, describes the differences between the traditional game and soft dartswhere the arrows steel tips are replaced with plastic points and the electronic board calculates your scoresas similar to those between snooker and pool. 

If you look at snooker and pool, how many more people play pool? Its a lot easier. People get a lot more enjoyment because its a far simpler game, said Lim, who was the first ever darts player to throw a perfect nine-dart finish during a world championship in 1990. Ive been playing steel-tip for 38 years and Ive been involved in soft-tip for about 15 years. Soft-tip is much faster and simpler. This is made for people not to think, just to have fun. 

While soft-tip darts have been around for decadesdarts manufacturer Harrows says the electronic game was developed in the United States in 1977one company in particular is blazing a trail around the world. 

Dartslive, which both manufactures and distributes soft-tip boards, is linking up all the machines they provide to venues worldwide electronically,Have a look at all our cleaningsydney models starting with free proofing. allowing players on opposite sides of the planet to step up to the oche and take each other on in real time. 

Launched in 2003 in Japan, the company expanded its operation overseas in 2009 when it opened a venue in Hong Kong. Since then it has spread rapidly to 14 countries. 

When we started in Hong Kong, every month I would say we would have about 500 new players. Its a cool atmosphere, almost like clubbing. People come in for a few drinks. Its entertainment. Its fun, said Lim, an early proponent of the game. 

Players each pay a small fee per game and have the opportunity to swipe their own membership card, which then records all their scores for the various games that can be played. There are even mobile phone apps that allow players to meet in cyberspace after they have played. 

Dartslive Internationals Hong Kong-based CEO Steve Ngu said the firms aim was to bring the traditional game into the electronic age. 

Dartslive is a company combination of real and virtual world. You can physically play each other and then you can come and chat online, he explained. Our aim is to be a network platform. We are trying to attract people across the digital world. People who watch TV and use Facebook, people who play sportswe are trying to draw them into the platform, to group them together and let them have fun. 

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