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Yes, absolutely. OcheBuddy Pro costs a one-time 8.99 € and applies permanently – no subscription, no expiry, no automatic renewal. All future updates and new game modes are included.

The Tip Jar is an optional, voluntary contribution in the app settings. It unlocks nothing – it's simply a "thank you" to the developer. Completely optional and without any expectation.

Refunds are handled directly through Apple: reportaproblem.apple.com

Free:

• X01 (all variants: 201, 301, 501 · Straight/Double/Master · sets & legs)
• Cricket & Cut-Throat Cricket
• Around the Clock, Shanghai, Fox & Hound
• Checkout helper for all finishes up to 170
• Tournament module (Round Robin & K.O.)
• Training modes (doubles, checkout, Around the Clock …)
• Darts caller – English male voice
• Player avatars
• Backup & data transfer (export/import)
• Statistics for the last 50 games incl. PPD & MPR (average, checkout rate, win rate)
• Share your results (Share Card)
• 4 themes: Dark · Light · Auto · High Contrast (WCAG)
• Daily training reminder · German & English

Pro only (8.99 €):

• Career mode "Oche to Glory" (41 opponents, 7 stages)
• AI buddy training partner (automatic mode, 7 levels, 17 avatars)
• Halve-It, Killer & Bob's 27 (3 additional game modes)
• 3 additional caller voices: English female · German male · German female
• 26 badges & gamification system (5 categories, 4 tiers)
• Trend charts over time plus extended statistics: 180 counter, nine-darter, leg stats, win streaks, double rate
• Segment heatmap & double ring view (interactive SVG dartboard)
• 3 exclusive Pro themes: Sage & Mint · Dusty Rose · Deep Ocean
• Unlimited game history & full analytics
• PDF export after each game

No. There is no player count restriction in either the free or Pro version – up to 8 players per game in all modes. Restrictions apply only to specific game modes (Halve-It, Killer, Bob's 27) and Pro features (German caller, trend charts, extended stats, badges, Pro themes, unlimited history, PDF export).

No, OcheBuddy deliberately has no online matchmaking and no account. All players share one device during a match – that's by design, not a limitation: no server connection needed, full control over your data, and the app runs reliably even where there's no signal (e.g. in a club basement). For get-togethers, league nights, or in-person tournaments, that's the normal way to play anyway.

X01 is the classic darts game mode. Each player starts from a fixed score (e.g. 301 or 501) and takes turns throwing to reduce their score to exactly zero. With Double-Out the last dart must hit a double field; with Master-Out it must hit a double or triple; with Straight-Out any field counts. OcheBuddy supports 201, 301 and 501 with sets & legs and all three finish variants.

Cricket is a tactical game mode for 2–8 players. The aim is to 'close' the fields 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15 and Bull by hitting each three times before your opponents do the same. Once you have closed a field you can score points against any player who has not yet closed it. The winner is the first player to close all fields while having the highest (or equal) score. OcheBuddy also supports Cut-Throat Cricket where points are scored against the thrower.

Around the Clock (also called Around the Board) is a simple training and party game. Each player must hit all fields from 1 to 20 in order, finishing with Bull. The first player to hit all fields in the correct sequence wins. The mode is ideal for learning the layout of the board.

Shanghai is played over 7 rounds. Each round has a target field (round 1 = field 1, round 2 = field 2, etc.). Only hits on the current target field score points. Singles, doubles and triples score accordingly. If a player hits a single, double and triple of the same field in one round ('Shanghai') they win immediately. Otherwise the player with the most points after 7 rounds wins.

Fox & Hound is a two-player mode. One player is the 'Hound' (starts on field 20) and tries to catch the 'Fox', who starts on field 1. The Hound moves clockwise around the board (20 → 15 → 10 → 6 → 13 → …) whenever they hit the current target field. The Fox must hit the Hound's current field to also advance. The Hound wins by catching the Fox; the Fox wins by completing a full circuit of the board without being caught.

Halve It is played over several rounds, each with a mandatory target (e.g. field 15, then Double, then Triple). If a player fails to hit the target in a round, their current score is halved (rounded down). The player with the most points after the final round wins. The mode trains accuracy under pressure and is available in the Pro version.

Killer is an elimination mode for 2–8 players. First, each player claims a personal number field in a throw-off round. Players then try to hit each other's fields. Three hits on a player's field costs that player a life; losing all lives means elimination. The last player standing wins. Available in the Pro version.

Bob's 27 is a classic doubles training game. Each round has a target double field (D1 through D20). Hitting it scores double the field value; missing deducts that value. If a player's score drops to zero or below they are eliminated. Supports 1–8 players with an optional Bull round at the end. Results are recorded in statistics. Available in the Pro version.

Pro extends the statistics screen with the following:

• Trend charts – track average, checkout rate & more over time (X01, Cricket, Tactics)
• 180 counter – total number of maximum scores thrown
• Score bands – rounds with 140–179 and 100–139 points
• Leg statistics – legs won / played including leg win rate
• Best win streak – longest consecutive winning run across all game modes
• Nine-darter counter – automatic recognition of 501 in exactly 9 darts
• Exact checkout rate – precise calculation from the full throw history
• Double rate – hit percentage of all double attempts
• Segment heatmap – interactive SVG dartboard showing throw concentration per segment in colour
• Double ring view – separate heatmap for the doubles ring only
• Top 5 segments – most frequently hit fields with bar chart

All statistics are calculated from the complete throw history – not estimates.

"Oche to Glory" is OcheBuddy's career mode: you progress through 7 stages – from Local Hero to World Champion – against a total of 41 opponents, each with their own character and playing style. Stages 1–4 run in group format with a final, stages 5–7 in a knockout bracket. After each season you complete, your prestige rises (Bronze → Silver → Gold → Legendary), and there are 15 career-exclusive badges to earn.

Full details on all 7 stages are available on the career page.

No, the career mode is part of OcheBuddy Pro (one-time purchase, 8.99 €). The Tournament tab for your own custom tournaments remains free.

You can retry a stage at any time. There's no game over – just a "try again" until you're ready for the next stage.

Your AI buddy is a training partner with realistic, statistically modelled throwing behaviour – not a blunt random generator. In Automatic mode he continuously adapts to your own average; alternatively, choose from 7 fixed difficulty levels. You can also choose from 17 avatars for how your buddy looks.

Buddy isn't limited to career mode: he can be selected as a standalone training partner in the regular game setup at any time, and can also join your own tournaments as an extra participant.

Currently, Buddy plays X01 exclusively. Support for further game modes is planned for an upcoming version.

Every player in your app has their own career. If you set up multiple player profiles, each one can independently be on their own stage.

OcheBuddy has 26 badges across 5 categories and 4 tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Legendary). Badges are evaluated automatically after every game – no manual action needed. When you earn a new badge, an animated toast notification appears at the end of the game.

Categories:

• 🎯 X01 – checkouts, 180s, nine-darters (8 badges)
• 🏅 Milestones – games played, wins (8 badges)
• 📈 Accuracy – 3-dart average, checkout rate (5 badges)
• 🔥 Win Streaks – 3, 5, 10 consecutive wins (3 badges)
• 🎲 Variety – number of different game modes played (3 badges)

Countable badges (e.g. "10 × 180") show a progress bar so you always know how close you are.

Badges come in four difficulty tiers:

• Bronze – first achievements (e.g. first checkout, first 180)
• Silver – consistent performance (e.g. 10 × 180, Ton41 finish)
• Gold – advanced milestones (e.g. 50 × 180, 100 wins)
• Legendary ⚡ – elite achievements (e.g. 170 checkout, nine-darter)

Each badge also records the date it was earned, visible in the badge screen.

Badges are earned and displayed for all players. The animated toast and badge screen with full category view are available to everyone. Pro users additionally get a badge preview integrated directly into the statistics screen for a quick overview of current progress without navigating to the badge screen.

The darts caller reads out throws and scores via text-to-speech – like on the professional stage. OcheBuddy offers 4 caller voices in two languages:

• English male – free in the base version
• English female – available in Pro
• German male – available in Pro
• German female – available in Pro

Activate the caller and choose your voice via Settings → Caller.

Please check: (1) Is the device mute switch off? (2) Is the volume turned up? (3) Is the caller enabled under Settings → Caller? All caller voices are bundled directly with the app and do not require any additional installation. If the problem persists, feel free to write to us.

Note: Crash reporting is disabled by default. If you enable it under Settings → Privacy → "Send crash reports", OcheBuddy sends anonymous technical error reports when a crash occurs (via the Sentry service, EU region) so we can find problems faster – no ads, no tracking. You can turn it off again at any time.
Still not working? Write to us with device, iOS version and a description of the error: support@ochebuddy.app.

OcheBuddy runs on iOS 17.0 or later (iPhone & iPad). The app works fully offline.