A surround is usually the first thing added to a new board, and the reason is simple: a ring of high-density foam catches everything that lands wide, so the wall behind stays clean from the first night onward.

Lighting is the upgrade players notice fastest. A ceiling fixture puts your own throwing arm between the bulb and the target at exactly the wrong moment, where a ring around the board's perimeter lights every bed evenly and the shadow disappears.

Beyond those, mats mark the throw at the regulation 2.37 metres and take the dropped darts, cabinets close the board away when the room has another job, and brackets and stands handle the cases where drilling into a wall is not an option. Scoreboards, oche lines and mounts round out a setup.