To plan an axe throwing party, pick a date, count your throwers (not your guests - spectators are free), book about one lane per 4 to 5 throwers for a 1.5-to-2-hour session, confirm the venue’s age rule, and bring your own food and cake. Groups of 10 or more throwers unlock event pricing - roughly $27–$52 per person at our corporate venues - and two to four weeks of lead time is plenty. The same checklist works for a birthday, a bachelor or bachelorette night, a graduation, or a Friday with friends.
Axe throwing party planning at a glance
Axe throwing is a physical target sport played in person at a venue: each thrower stands 12 to 15 feet from a wooden bullseye and throws a small, one-to-two-pound axe down an enclosed lane, with a coach in the lane the whole time. Here are the numbers that decide how your party goes:
- Throwers per lane: up to 4 for a standard session; about 5 per lane over a 1.5-hour party.
- Event pricing starts at 10 throwers. Smaller groups just book lanes online.
- Session length: 1 hour for 4 or fewer; 1.5 hours for most parties; 2 to 3 hours if you’re eating and celebrating on site.
- Cost at our corporate venues: $29–$52 per thrower for 10–20 people, $27–$50 for 21 or more, depending on session length. Sales tax is extra.
- Ages: party throwers can be as young as 10 with a parent or guardian present; standard sessions are 13+ with an adult and 18+ solo; 21+ to drink.
- Food: bring it in. Outside drinks stay home.
- Lead time: 2–4 weeks for a party of 10+; 1 week minimum for off-hours events.
- No deposit: a card goes on file at booking, and you pay at the event.
The 8-step axe throwing party checklist
1. Pick a date - and check the venue’s closed days
Start with the calendar, not the guest list. Friday and Saturday evenings book first at every Craft Axe Throwing venue, so if the party has to land on a weekend, lock it in early. Also check your venue’s hours: several of our locations are closed early in the week (our Memphis venue, for example, is closed Monday and Tuesday), and holiday hours shift. Want the venue outside its normal hours? Off-hours private events are available with at least one week of notice.
2. Count throwers, not guests
This is the step people get wrong. Pricing is per thrower, and spectators watch for free, so the number that matters is how many people will actually pick up an axe. The lane math:
| Throwers | Lanes to book | Suggested session |
|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | 1 lane | 1 hour |
| 5–8 | 2 lanes | 1–1.5 hours |
| 10–20 | 2–4 lanes (event pricing) | 1.5–2 hours |
| 21–40 | 4–8 lanes (event pricing) | 2–3 hours |
| 40+ | Facility rental or buyout | 2–3 hours |
A standard lane holds up to 4 throwers. Over a longer party session the rotation loosens up, which is why our 4-lane package covers 20 throwers for 1.5 hours and the 8-lane package covers 40 - about 5 per lane. Once you hit 10 throwers, you’re in event-pricing territory, and the per-person rate actually drops.
3. Choose the session length
For a party, 1.5 hours is the sweet spot: enough for the safety briefing, practice throws, a full game rotation, and the ninja stars. Go to 2 hours if you’re eating on site, and 3 hours for a big group that wants a bracket tournament and a proper hang. Our corporate venues can also add non-throwing time (speeches, gifts, cake) for $250 per hour, as long as it’s attached to an axe throwing event. Our guide to how long axe throwing takes breaks down what fits in each block.
4. Book the right way for your group size
- Under 10 throwers: reserve lanes online on your venue’s page. Pick the session length and thrower count, and you’re done.
- 10 or more throwers: use the event inquiry form on your venue’s parties and events page. A guest services team member confirms the details and places a card on file - no deposit or prepayment is taken at booking, and you pay during the event, as a group or on individual tabs.
- Want the whole place? Facility rentals at our corporate venues run from $800 (Lexington) to $1,800 (Columbia’s full building) for 1.5 hours, with every upgrade included. Columbia also rents just its upstairs floor - three targets, a lounge, a pool table, and a private bar - from $450.
Any change to your thrower count has to be requested at least 24 hours before the event, and cancellations or no-shows inside 24 hours are charged 50% of the booking. Build that into your RSVP deadline.
5. Confirm ages and waivers
Every thrower signs a liability waiver at check-in - it takes a minute or two on your own phone. The age rules:
- Party throwers can be as young as 10 at our corporate venues, with a parent or legal guardian present for the entire session.
- Standard sessions are 13+ with an adult and 18+ on your own - the full breakdown is in our guide to how old you have to be to go axe throwing.
- Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian to sign the waiver. If a minor’s parent won’t be there, ask the venue for a Parental Consent Form to complete ahead of time.
- 21 to drink, with ID checked at the bar. The lanes themselves are all-ages.
Age minimums vary a little by state and venue, so confirm on your venue’s page before you send the invitation.
6. Plan the food and the bar tab
Outside food and catering are welcome at every Craft Axe Throwing venue. We don’t serve food, so bring a cake, order delivery, or book a caterer - just bring your own plates, utensils, and napkins, and tell us ahead of time so tables are set up before you arrive. Each corporate venue’s event page lists local caterers who deliver to us, and several venues have restaurants next door (our Columbia venue shares a building with Tsunami Sushi).
Outside drinks are not permitted. The bar carries craft beer, ciders, domestics, seltzers, and wine, plus sodas and bottled water. For a party, you can run one group tab or let everyone pay individually, and our corporate venues can set up custom drink tickets so you control how many drinks - and what kind - go on your tab. Our guide to drinking while axe throwing covers the house rules in the lanes.
7. Plan the games
A coach runs the first 15 minutes - grip, stance, release, and the one-thrower-at-a-time rule - and most beginners stick an axe before the briefing is over. After that, the party is a tournament waiting to happen. Event pricing at our corporate venues includes the upgrade ladder: small and large ninja stars, The Stick All, and throwing certificates for your champions. Pick two or three games from our list of axe throwing games, seed a bracket if you’ve got 8 or more throwers, and save the last 15 minutes for a winner-takes-all round.
Between throws there’s plenty to do - every venue has HDTVs, and side games like cornhole, giant Jenga, tiki toss, and ping pong vary by location (Columbia has a pool table and skee-ball upstairs). Worried a guest won’t keep up? Axe throwing is not physically demanding - it’s timing, not strength, which is why the least athletic person at the party often wins.
8. Send the invite with the three details guests always miss
- Closed-toe shoes are required. No sandals, flip-flops, or open-toed shoes - it’s the one hard dress rule. Everything else is in our guide to what to wear axe throwing.
- Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early to sign waivers. Sessions start on time, so a late guest eats into throwing time rather than extending it.
- Throwers vs. spectators. Ask for an honest head count of who’s throwing so you book the right number of lanes.
Then, on the day: group photo under the sign, hand out the throwing certificates, and don’t let the birthday person leave without throwing the last axe.
How much does an axe throwing party cost?
At Craft Axe Throwing’s five corporate venues - Columbia, Fort Mill, and Lexington in South Carolina, and Chattanooga and Memphis in Tennessee - event pricing is the same per-thrower schedule, set by group size and session length:
| Group size | 1.5 hours | 2 hours | 3 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10–20 throwers | $29 per person | $37 | $52 |
| 21+ throwers | $27 per person | $35 | $50 |
The top of the large-group tier depends on the venue’s lane count: up to 68 throwers in Columbia (17 lanes), 52 in Memphis (14 lanes), 40 in Fort Mill and Chattanooga (10 lanes each), and 32 in Lexington (8 lanes). Sales tax and any service fees are extra, and spectators pay nothing.
Under 10 throwers? Book a regular session instead: a 1-hour session is $25 per thrower ($22 for groups of three or more) and 1.5 hours is $35 ($30 for three or more) at all five corporate venues, with ninja stars and premium axes included. Our guide to how much axe throwing costs compares every option. Our franchise venues - Spartanburg, West Knoxville, Springfield, Graham, and Omaha - set their own event rates, so request a quote on that venue’s parties page.
How do you plan an axe throwing birthday party specifically?
The checklist above is the whole plan; a birthday just adds three things.
Join the Birthday Club first. It’s free, and the birthday guest gets a voucher for a free 1-hour axe throwing session, usable 7 days before or after the birthday at any Craft Axe Throwing venue (valid for the birthday guest only, photo ID at redemption). Sign up at the Birthday Club page before you book so the voucher is in hand at check-in.
Kids’ birthdays: book an afternoon, bring the parents. Party throwers can be as young as 10 at our corporate venues with a parent or guardian present the whole time - and weekend afternoons are the calmest window for a younger group. On Sundays, every corporate venue lets kids ages 10–15 throw free with an equivalent purchased adult session, which takes a real bite out of a family party’s bill. Our Columbia team hosted its first Sweet 16 not long ago: the family set out tables for cake and food, and friends kept piling in until the room was full.
Adult birthdays: make it the middle of the night out. Book 1.5 hours of throwing, then dinner or a bar crawl nearby. Our city guides map the neighborhoods: adult birthday party ideas in Memphis, birthday party ideas in Chattanooga, and adult birthday party ideas in Columbia. Throwing a fall or October party? Our Halloween axe throwing guide has the costume and zombie-target angle.
What about a bachelor party, team outing, or graduation?
Same plan, different vibe. Bachelor and bachelorette groups are a Saturday staple at our Chattanooga venue and usually want the 2-hour block with a tournament. Work groups should read our guide to axe throwing for team building, which adds non-throwing meeting time and bracket formats. Graduations and family reunions follow the birthday playbook: ages 10 and up, adults present.
Ready to book your axe throwing party?
Count your throwers, pick 1.5 or 2 hours, and start at parties and events to find your venue’s event page and inquiry form. Under 10 people? Reserve lanes directly on your venue’s page - Columbia, SC, Memphis, TN, or any Craft Axe Throwing location. Weekend lanes go first, so book the date before you send the invite.