Ways to Play a Match

Autodarts offers three ways to get into a match:

• Custom Lobby — invite a specific friend or bot, and configure the game mode and settings yourself. This is the flow covered in Getting Started and the one to use for practice, playing with friends, or trying out any game mode.
• Matchmaking — get paired automatically with an opponent close to your skill level. Currently limited to 501, Straight In, Double Out (the standard starting and finishing rules — any dart gets you started, but you must finish on a double), with a choice of match length and a Referee setting — turn on the AI Referee if you're an Autodarts Plus member; otherwise the match simply runs without a referee.
• Tournaments — auto-scheduled brackets (a set schedule of who plays whom each round, narrowing down to a winner), some open to everyone and some restricted by average (a player's points scored per dart, the standard way darts skill is measured), running on a fixed schedule.

Custom Lobby is the most flexible option; Matchmaking and Tournaments trade that flexibility for quick, structured, competitive matches against opponents you don't already know.