Throwing axes is an exciting activity that relieves one’s stress. The idea of hurling an axe will take you back to the Viking or the medieval age, which makes for an exhilarating experience.
Over time though, the activity can be repetitive and get old quickly for players who regularly do it. While it is still pretty much an untapped market for most people, keeping score alone may be a bit too bland for some people’s taste.
Implementing a game concept to the activity, however, can improve the experience significantly. One particular concept players should try is “Axe versus Zombies.” This theme works well with the idea of throwing axes, gives players some objectives to accomplish, and makes the game even more competitive.
The basics of the game
- Players will be divided into two teams: humans and zombies.
- In a series of matches, both teams will try to score higher than the other party. If the zombies score higher, they get to turn a player from the humans into a zombie. If the humans score higher, they can cure a zombie of the opposing team, turning them back into a human.
- The main objective is to try to convert as many players from the opposing team within the number of rounds, depending on the house rules (five rounds is a good starting point for teams of three to five). If all the players of the enemy team have been converted before the game ends, that team wins.
- Some numbers on the board can be replaced with a cure symbol for the humans’ side or a radiation symbol for the enemy side. Once any player hits these, their team gets a stack for either a cure or radiation. Hitting three (or more, depending again on the rules set by the players) of these power-ups grants each team the ability to convert a player from the opposing side into their party.
The base mechanics of the game are simple. Throw axes and convert players into your team. However, for some people, this could still be a bit lacking in giving players an individual goal since players will constantly be switching from one team to the other.
This is why there can be more twists added to your gameplay.
Some twists you could add
- Add a limit to each player’s throws every round. For instance, every player can only have five throws per round. So, for a team composed of three members, there will only be 15 throws. The limit makes it more challenging and puts more pressure on both teams since they have to make their throws count.
- Since you’re able to gain power-ups, you could also try adding a debuff in the game like if a player hits a certain number, they’d have to throw farther. Another would be restricting a player who hits the debuff from throwing in the next turn.
- Add a kill and revive objective as well. In the base game, players will only switch from one team to the other, not allowing any players to be kicked out from the game. However, adding an elimination mechanic to your axe-throwing game could make it more fun, especially if the opposing team has really good players. Then, reviving their team members will become another objective for the team whose players get killed.
Finally
The idea behind this “Axe versus Zombies” game concept is to implement a sense of urgency and competition in this already-fun activity. While the mechanics are already specific to some degree, you’re free to add more and customize the game the way you want to play it. Just make sure you don’t end up having way too many details for every player to remember. Also, remember to keep it safe.
If you’re looking for a venue to try out this axe throwing in Vancouver with your friends, head on to Urban Axe Throwing and we’ll help you set up your game.
