The launcher includes a 4-dart quiver

Shipping any product from Iceland is expensive so it's imperative that the Twang-Bang's package be made as compact and light as possible.  

The dart-launching slingshot and its set of three darts fit in an airmail envelope that's just 5" x 7.5" x 1.5".  However, the freestanding dartboard modeled below (and pictured further below) is far too big and heavy for it to be cost-effectively included in the shipped package.  Even if its folding legs are omitted and the dartboard is simply hung on a wall, its size and weight would still dwarf the kit's other components.

Therefore, the manufacturing and distribution strategy we've chosen for this new game of skill is to produce its slingshot and dart components in Iceland; its dartboard component will be assembled by end-users using three pieces of wood bought at their local building supply store.  

The graphics below show how a suitable dartboard can be constructed using hardware that will be included in the shipped Twang-Bang package.

DIY Early Adopters can easily make this freestanding dartboard using a few screws and a bit of cord they source locally.  To start off, you might want to omit the folding legs and simply hang the dartboard on a wall (or rest it on the floor as shown in the demo videos above).

Our Business StrategyA proven strategy for launching new software products is to first give away a free version.  If users of the free version like it then they form a ready market for purchasing an upgraded version.  

Twang-Bang is following that same proven path to market... below are instructions for building a wooden DIY version of our Twang-Bang dartboard game.  It's an easy to follow recipe; if you are able to bake a loaf of bread you'll have no trouble making this miniature archery set using basic woodworking skills and tooling.

Once you've made you own and learned how to play with it, many of you will see the value of purchasing an upgraded version from us that is manufactured with professional tooling and better materials.

The 3 jigs shown below enable you to easily and accurately make simple wooden darts.  Each jig can be made in minutes from a short piece of 2 x 4 lumber; a table saw and drill press are the only tools needed to make darts.  The video provides extra information that enable you to make the hollow-shafted version and finish the pins as shown above.

These two printable templates enable a variety of tapered elastics to be accurately cut.  The video explains how to do it and then attach the elastic to the launcher.

Here are a few workshop photos

Click to enlarge

Spade-drilling the large holes

Small holes drilled and trimmed

The very first wooden prototype

The next one will be made with simple hand tools

Trim with scroll, jig or coping saw

DIY launcher

The four user-printed sheets are trimmed and taped together to form the dartboard graphic shown in photos further below.  That dartboard graphic can be simply pinned onto the wooden backing as shown however pasting it on with a flour and water mixture adhere's nicely to enhance its longevity.  These glue sticks work even better.  When the pasted-on paper becomes illegible (due to too many perforations), it can be easily ripped off the wood and a new one pasted on.

When one side of the underlying wooden dartboard becomes worn out from too many dart-hits, the user simply swings the two prop-legs through to the opposite side and turns the whole structure around.  The dartboards rear pasted-on graphic can then be used to continue gaming (see animation below).

Dimensions for the front and back easel legs

When both sides of the wood become very pitted from use, the surface can be easily restored using drywall compound to smooth the surface; after which fresh paper graphics can be pasted on so the gaming can continue indefinitely once that dartboard easel has been assembled.

Each Twang-Bang gaming kit will include all the hardware needed for its end-user to easily and inexpensively assemble their dartboard.  The example shown below was constructed in 10 minutes using using $12 worth of wood, bought and cut at a local building supply store.

This version can be made using only materials that can be bought in any hardware store.  The glued on vanes are cut from any plastic sheeting material (see downloadable template).  The curved fairing on each pin is formed with epoxy putty.

This version is similar but utilizes some easily-procured components that are used for making conventional archery arrows (the carbon shaft and the plastic fletching vanes)

Our "Twang-Bang" dartboard game is designed and sold for safe use as a sporting product.  By purchasing this product, buyers agree to use it strictly as shown in our instructional videos.  Any deviation from that intended use constitutes misuse of our product, for which the user is solely responsible.  

Legal precedent and common practice support this disclaimer.  For example, golf clubs, baseball bats, hockey sticks and billiard cues are all designed and sold for a specific sporting or gaming purpose; yet any of those products can be misused to cause bodily harm. Traditional dartboard game sets are also potentially dangerous (particularly if used by inebriated players in a crowded pub). Similarly, a carving knife from a kitchen or a hammer from a workshop could be misused to cause mayhem.  However, in legal jurisdictions worldwide, liability for any such misuse rests solely with the perpetrator.

The Twang-Bang dartboard set will therefore be classified as either a game product or a sporting goods product when it is exported through our online store.  In some countries, local regulations may limit how or where the game may be played.  Conforming to any such regulations is the sole responsibility of the buyer.

The "How to" link above shows you how to play a number of traditional dartboard games.  Google Play and the Apple App Store provide you with a variety of dartboard gaming apps that facilitate scoring them.

Gaming with a Twang-Bang includes play of those traditional games however our mobile dartboard easel enables users to enhace how the game is played.  For example, in backyard setting (or even in a large playroom), the traditional shooting distance of 9 feet can be widely varied to take advantage of the increased range and accuracy affored by Twang-Bang's elastic-powered launcher.  

For example: a game of Twang-Bang might have competitors rotating their shots onto dartboards setup at 9 feet,18 feet and 36 feet.  Varying the distance demands greater skill and enhances the fun for each competitor.  Of course, as in many sports, your main competitor will always be yourself : )

I claim:

1) A slingshot for ballistic propulsion of a dart comprised of:

If you are interested in receiving a pre-production test sample, please reach out to us:

Ríkarður Leó Guðmundsson
The Icelandic Start-Up Center
+3547773393
Twang-Bang(@at)protonmail.com

We are seeking distribution partners worldwide

- a Y-shaped slingshot-frame having a hand-grip portion centrally-joined to first and second fixation prongs, each prong having a tip that is adapted for fixation of an elastic band,

- a continuous elastic band, affixed at one end to the slingshot-frame’s first prong and affixed at its other end to the slingshot-frame’s second prong,

- a dart configured for secure gripping by a user near its rear end and adapted for selectable engagement of its forward portion onto the mid-portion of the elastic band by means of an axially-aligned pair of engagement pins that a user can asymmetrically entangle with the elastic band, the pair of engagement pins projecting equally and at right angles from opposite sides of the dart’s shaft.