Axe Throwing 101
At the beginning of your session, one of our trained axe coaches will teach you about the basics of axe safety and gameplay. Your coach will make sure that you and your party are comfortable throwing and handling an axe before they leave you to play on your own. But if you’re a nerd like us, and want to study up before you get to your session, here’s some terms to learn before you arrive!
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Be aware of your surroundings.
Throw together. Retrieve together.
One hatchet per target.
Axes shall never be thrown when a person is beyond the 12 ft fault line.
No aggressive or destructive throwing.
Double hatchet throwing is not permitted.
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Do not touch the blade.
Use a single-hand, or double-handed throw.
Overhand throws only, with the blade facing the target before release.
No hand-offs, please use axe holders to pass axes between throwers.
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Axe throwing is like an extreme version of bowling or darts. To play casually, just count your points against your opponent!
Throw together on the count of three, each player throwing at their own target. Record your individual scores.
After 5 rounds, switch targets — this ensures fair play and varied wood density!
Throw another 5 rounds.
The player to get the most points after a total of 10 rounds, wins!
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Want something a little more difficult? Play a game according to the World Axe Throwing League’s official rulebook!
Axe Throwing Games
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Number of Players: 2+
Objective: Hit every area of the beard in order — starting from the outside to the inside, and then returning to the outside again.
Game Play:
Your team needs to hit 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 0 in that order; the first team to accomplish this wins!
If you miss, you do not have to start over. You will stay where you are in the sequence.
The first to hit the final “0” wins!
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Number of Players: 2+
Objective: Hit each area of the target three times. The first to do so wins!
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Number of Players: 2+
Objective: Reach 21 points before your opponent.
Game Play:
In order to win this game, take turns throwing the axe at the target.
Continue to tally your points until you reach 21 — but there’s a twist!
In order to win, you must get exactly 21 points. That means if your final throw gives you high than 21 points, you’ll have to wait until your next turn to try again.
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Number of Players: 2+
Objective: Reach 21 points first.
Game Play:
Players take turns throwing the axe, one round at a time.
In the first round, one player from Team A and one player from Team B each throws the axe.
The lower score is subtracted from the higher score.
The higher-scoring team is awarded the difference.
The games continues until one team reaches 21 points.
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Number of Players: 2+
Objective: Add players to your team by converting them into zombies or humans.
Game Play:
This game can be played 1:1 or on teams.
There is only one combined score in this game, starting at 0.
The zombies are always negative, and the humans are always positive.
If the score gets to +15 then the humans win, and if the score gets to -15, the zombies win!
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Number of Players: 2+
Objective: Add players to your team by converting them into zombies or humans.
Game Play:
All players except for 1 start on the human team. The lone player is the starting Zombie (Patient Zero).
The gameplay involves 1 Zombie throwing against 1 Human at a time.
There are 3 possible outcomes per turn:
Human wins: Humans get the difference in points
Zombie wins: Human player turns into a zombie (joins Zombie team)
Tie: No points awarded, human stays human
The Zombies win if all human players are converted to Zombies (Zombies never gain nor need points).
Humans win by reaching a predetermined score total (typically 21 points, 16 for smaller groups).
Blue Antidote: Blue dots (Killshots) serve as Antidotes for the human team, allowing them to bring one zombie back to the human team (excluding Patient Zero).
Axe Throwing Terminology
AXEIOM: (alternate spelling, axiom), 1. a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true. 2. Your resident (axe-cellent) throwing hosts.
BULLSEYE: 6 points. The innermost section of the target, marked as a red circle.
GAME: Ten rounds of simultaneous throwing in either Singles or Duals, presided over by a judge.
FOOT FAULT LINE: (alternately, 12 Foot Line) the white standing line at the foot of each throwing lane, designating the optimal place for players to throw.
FOOTER: The horizontal plank of wood directly below the target.
HEADER: The horizontal plank of wood directly above the target.
LANE: Each throwing area is designated as a throwing lane. Fences or walls block this area from the rest of the facility to keep throwers and axes all contained in a safe environment.
KILLSHOT: The two blue score zones on the target, valued at 8 points each. A player must make clear to their Judge and Opponent that they intend to hit the killshot before attempting to throw for it. A killshot may only be activated twice by each player during the course of a single game.
PIT: At least two grouped lanes. At Axeiom, we have pits containing two or three lanes.
SUDDEN DEATH: In the event of a tie after 10 throws in a single game, the game enters sudden death (overtime). Only killshots are active during sudden death throws.
TARGET: Four vertical planks of wood between the header and footer, demarcated by five concentric circles used for judging throws.
WORLD AXE THROWING LEAGUE (WATL): The World Axe Throwing League is the global governing body of urban axe throwing. WATL was founded in 2017 by representatives from Canada, the United States of America, Brazil, and Ireland. It has 19 axe throwing nations with membership.