Darts, as a game, was popularized before World War I and was found in pubs around the United Kingdom. There is no way to determine when darts came into existence as several versions of the game are mentioned throughout history. As a modern day interpretation, however, it can be traced back to the early 20th century. For a seemingly simple game, darts and dartboards required a great deal of maintenance. At the end of each evening the dartboard, originally made of wood, had to be soaked in order for the holes created by the darts to heel and allowed to dry before it could be played again. The popularity of the game and maintenance of the board and darts created quite a problem for pub owners, but Nodor stepped in quickly to handle that.

Nodor, a modeling clay company, saw a way of changing the way darts was played and to this day can be credited with altering the game of darts with their dart boards. Seeing the problem with dart board maintenance, set out to find a way of creating a board that didn’t require serious maintenance. The original inspiration for Nodor dart boards was their modeling clay, however it was poorly received. Bounce back and molding problems made the dart boards difficult to play on, although much easier to maintain. The company originally looked to their modeling clay for inspiration, but eventually settled on sisal fibers to create the Nodor dart boards. Sisal fibers were grouped together and compressed into a disk to give the look and feel of timber, but unlike wood, the fibers simply parted when the dart entered and healed itself when the dart was removed.

After the popularization of Nodor darts after the First World War, the company went on to create dart boards and darts; often paired as a set. Nodor darts products can still be found in pubs and homes around the globe to this day; although the company maintains a solid following in the United Kingdom and the United States. The boards are made of sisel fibers while the darts are often steel or tungsten tipped. The steel tipped darts cut easily through the fibers without creating large holes that need to be dealt with.

Darts, while not as popular as billiards in bars is still incredibly popular with pubs who wish to provide entertainment and sport without taking up a large amount of space. To this day, Nodor remains a premier brand in the dart world.