Fighting With Your Date? Bury the Hatchet by Throwing One

To the modern millennial palate, a quiet dinner and a stay-in movie seem to have lost their luster. A whirlwind romance can only be amplified by adrenaline-filled recreation. Indoor entertainment can range from skydiving to trampoline parks to paint and sip classes, but to those in need of more of a rush, axe-throwing concepts are the latest to arrive on the market.

Axe throwing has been around for ages, but throwing them in an urban environment is relatively new; a National Axe Throwing Federation was established in 2016 to promote “safety, sportsmanship and competitive protocol.”

The idea of combining weaponry and alcohol for fun has sparked the openings of quite a few experiential franchises that traffic in the popular art, including Stumpy’s Hatchet House, Blue Ox Axe Throwing and FlannelJax’s, to name a few. Try saying that five times fast.

Venues such as these have been popping up from the Midwest to the East Coast, and New Jersey’s Stumpy’s Hatchet House was no exception: a destination that prides itself on helping people let their “inner lumberjack” show. After emphasizing safety precautions and going through insurance agents that cover gun ranges and circuses, the brand opened its first axe-throwing venue, which has since taken off. Speaking of safety, there’s still plenty of rules: You have to be of age, bring your own drinks and hard liquor isn’t allowed (for obvious reasons). But once you get past the danger factor, it’s an exciting way to break up the monotony of coming up for date-night ideas.

Don’t let visions of competitive, burly lumberjacks sully your experience—Urban Axes co-owner Krista Paton told NBC News the activity is more about skill than strength and that axe throwing is more inclusive than many think. Axe Monkeys is another concept that brands itself as a more exciting version of playing darts, but also includes a “Rage Room,” where guests can let out all their pent-up aggression responsibly in a room full of smashable objects.

It’s clear—in 2019, at least—that date night has a new minimum adrenaline threshold.