AI DARTS is Taiwan's first self-service darts bar. The boards run 24 hours, you drop in a coin and play: no booking, no need to bring friends, no waiting for a staff member to seat you. This post explains how the self-service setup actually works: how to start a board yourself, when food is served, whether you can bring your own drinks, and whether it's weird to show up alone at 3am.
What "self-service darts bar" means
It means you can play a full round without any staff involved. There's a row of Phoenix electronic (soft-tip) dartboards, and a coin machine next to them. You swap cash for tokens, start the board, pick a game and keep score, all yourself, and the board walks you through it. When you're done you just leave. No tab to close, no closing time pushing you out.
At a normal darts bar you have to check whether it's open, whether there's a free board, whether the staff are slammed. AI DARTS takes all of that out: the boards run 24 hours, every day of the year. Come whenever.
Why it's Taiwan's first
Darts venues in Taiwan are mostly darts bars: they need staff, a counter, opening hours. AI DARTS is built the other way around: the whole thing is designed to run self-service, unstaffed, with the board area not depending on anyone being there. As far as we know, it's the first place in Taiwan doing it this way.
(If you know of another one, tell us on LINE, but so far we haven't found one.)
How to start a board yourself
It's simple:
- Get tokens: the coin machine next to the boards takes cash for tokens; there's a change machine on site too.
- Start the board: drop the token in the dartboard and the screen wakes up.
- Pick a game: new to darts? Choose Count-Up (highest total over a fixed number of rounds); it's the easiest to start with. Want the classic format, choose 01; want strategy, choose Cricket.
- Throw: step up to the line and the board scores you automatically.
If you're not sure what to press, the on-screen icons show you, and if staff are around you can just ask. We'll write a full how-to-play post separately.
When there's staff and food
To be clear: the boards are 24-hour self-service, but the food isn't.
Hotdogray hot dogs, fried snacks and drinks come from the kitchen team, which works a fixed schedule: roughly every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday plus every other Saturday, from about 8pm to midnight. If you want to eat while you play, come in those windows. Outside them the boards still work, there's just no food. On rainy days or special occasions the kitchen may not open: the final word is the sign on the door or the LINE announcement. See the full menu here.
Can you bring your own drinks and food?
Yes: outside food and drinks are welcome. Bring whatever you want to eat or drink, and there's no cover charge.
One rule: during counter hours, if any one person brings more than 3 bottles of alcohol, there's a NT$50 per-person cleaning fee. Three bottles or fewer, or any time the counter is closed: no charge. Counter hours are the same kitchen-team windows listed above.
Is it weird to come alone or late at night?
No. A self-service place is built for exactly the people who don't want to round up a group or wait around. Plenty of regulars come on their own: drop a coin, throw a few quiet legs, work on their PPD, and leave. Others swing by at 2am on the way home from work and throw for 20 minutes. Nobody minds if you only stay a bit, and there's no "I feel bad taking a whole board by myself" problem. The boards are there to be used.
If you want your scores logged and points you can trade for shop credit, join as an AI DARTS member.
In one line: you don't have to work around anyone else's schedule to play darts. Drop a coin, start the board, throw. AI DARTS is in Taipei's East District, open 24 hours.