Ax throwing, escape rooms and other ideas for fun group outings
Learn from the ax-perts
Bury the hatchet with your friends
By Matt Ingersoll
Ax throwing is one of those sports that gets you hooked the first time you try it — at least that’s how it started for Tracey McCormick, owner and founder of RelAxe Throwing in Manchester.
“I actually went down to Texas on a family vacation, went ax throwing on a fluke and fell in love with it immediately,” she said. “I couldn’t believe how good it felt and how much fun it was at the same time. … I remember looking around the room at all the different types of people that were there. People were cheering each other on, even when they didn’t know each other.”
When McCormick returned to New Hampshire and realized there were no indoor ax throwing venues in the state at the time, she began working on a business plan to bring one here. Today, RelAxe Throwing holds four ax throwing leagues per year and has even had throwers represented at three world ax throwing championship competitions.
But you don’t have to be a professional thrower to give it a go. McCormick’s team of “ax-perts” is always on hand to teach you the basics if you’ve never tried it before.
“Ax throwing is not about strength or trying to throw hard. It’s about finesse and technique,” she said. “We work with people of all varying abilities … and so we can adapt some of the things that are needed for their safety in order for them to be successful as well.”
It’s a similar operation at The Rugged Axe, which opened on South Willow Street in the Queen City last June. Co-owner and longtime Goffstown resident Charles Keith dreamed about opening his own ax throwing business after trying it out while visiting his son in Pensacola, Florida.
“Anybody can throw an ax. We’ve had a 90-year-old man throw one and be able to get a bull’s-eye. The skillset is really just hand-eye coordination,” Keith said. “We teach everybody how to do both a two-handed throw and a one-handed throw. … The ax will typically rotate one and a quarter to one and a half times depending on how hard you throw it, and it’s top heavy, so the weight of the ax is actually what makes it rotate. You don’t have to use your wrists at all.”
There are lots of different ax throwing games you can play. In a typical standard game, you would get 10 throws and the player with the most points wins. Each ring on the target is worth a different number of points that increases the closer you get to the bull’s-eye. There are also other ways to score, Keith said, including smaller blue dots that are awarded a higher number of points if the player announces before throwing that they’re aiming for it.
Two of The Rugged Axe’s 18 lanes have a projector that superimposes a target onto the boards, allowing throwers to play other games like Tic-Tac-Toe or Duck Hunt. The venue is open weekly for private parties and for leagues you can sign up for, either individually or as a group.
“It’s such a wonderful activity that’s competitive and a great way to get your aggression out, especially in Covid times,” Keith said. “You can always tell when somebody hits the bull’s-eye, because there’s some yelling and screaming going on from that lane. It’s very satisfying.”
Where to go ax throwing
Closed-toe shoes are required and a safety waiver must be filled out. For groups, booking in advance online is recommended; reserve your own lanes by telling them how many people are coming and how long you’ll be throwing for.
Axe Play
142 Lowell Road, Unit 19, Hudson, 809-9081, axe-play.com
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday, 1 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.
Cost: $25 per hour per person
Axe Play, which opened in August 2020, features seven ax throwing lanes for a total of 14 targets. Ax throwers must be at least 18, with the exception of family hours on specific days and times, when the center is open to kids ages 10 and up.
Block Party Social
51 Zapora Drive, Hooksett, 621-5150, blockpartysocial.com
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to midnight
Cost: $30 per hour per person (includes a $5 arcade game card)
Formerly the Space Entertainment Center, Block Party Social features a newly renovated space that includes an eight-lane ax throwing lounge with multiple game formats to choose from using superimposed screens and a touch screen interface to keep track of players’ scores. Ax throwers must be at least 18.
RelAxe Throwing
157 Gay St., Manchester, 782-3061, relaxethrowing.com
Hours: Monday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
Cost: $25 per hour per person
Since opening in June 2019 as an indoor ax throwing venue, RelAxe has added seasonal outdoor throwing, including through an expansion at Candia Springs Adventure Park in Candia, and has had throwers represented at three world ax throwing championship competitions. The minimum age to throw is 10, and all throwers under the age of 16 must have a throwing adult with them.
The Rugged Axe
377 S. Willow St., Manchester, 232-7846, theruggedaxe.com
Hours: Wednesday and Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. (the center is reserved for leagues on Mondays and private events on Tuesdays)
Cost: $25 per hour per person
One of the newer spots to join the local ax throwing scene, The Rugged Axe opened in June 2021. It’s also the largest indoor ax throwing venue in the Granite State, with a total of 18 lanes. Ax throwers as young as 12 years old are welcome. A small menu of hot dogs, snacks, beer and wine is available at the center’s onsite “Lumberjack Shack.”
Party of you
Get your own mini restaurant with igloo dining
By Matt Ingersoll
Enjoying a meal inside a warm heated igloo keeps outdoor dining alive in the winter and gives you and your own party space. Here’s a list of local eateries offering outdoor igloos by reservation. Due to high demand, some may require you to book them out several days, weeks or more in advance. Be sure to contact each restaurant directly via phone or email for the most up-to-date availability.
• 603 Brewery (42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com) features heated igloos on its patio that accommodate seating for up to eight people. Igloos are available to rent for two-hour time slots for a $50 rental fee per party. Time slots are released online one month at a time.
• Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) offers a “vine to wine” igloo and gazebo experience package, available for two to eight people per party. The cost is $100 for the first two people and $50 for each additional person and includes four wine tastings and a charcuterie board inside one of the vineyard’s heated igloos for a one-hour-and-45-minute visit.
• Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford, 472-2001, bedfordvillageinn.com) offers luxury outdoor dining at its onsite igloo garden, accommodating up to six people per party and featuring heat and air filtration systems. Igloos can be reserved for up to two and a half hours, offering the BVI’s tavern and dining room menus, except on holidays, in addition to a special Simi wine and cocktail menu. The cost is $50 to reserve an igloo for lunch and $100 to reserve one for brunch or dinner (brunches are on Saturdays and Sundays only).
• Boston Billiard Club & Casino (55 Northeastern Blvd., Nashua, 943-5630, bostonbilliardclubcasino.com) has a few heated igloos on its patio that are available by reservation only. Igloos have a two-hour limit and can be reserved for parties of up to five.
• Downtown Cheers Grille & Bar (17 Depot St., No. 1, Concord, 228-0180, cheersnh.com) has four heated igloos on its patio that can be reserved for parties of four to eight people. Reservations are two hours per party and require a $50 deposit that’s applied to your bill.
• Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) offers “al fresco igloo dining experience” packages that can accommodate two to six guests per party. The cost is a $150 spend minimum on weekdays and a $250 spend minimum on weekends.
Take aim at your friends
Get messy with paint or hit ’em with lasers
By Alexandra Colella
Want a little healthy competition among your friend group? Paintball and laser tag give you the chance to fight in a fun way — or you can ramp up the mess factor with a private party in a paint splatter room.
Paintball
AG Paintball (158 Deering Center Road, Weare, 529-3524, agpaintball.com) opened in 1988 and today is one of the longest-running paintball parks in the Granite State. The park encompasses 30 acres with nine woodsball fields and one speedball field, and also offers an onsite pro shop with guns, masks and other accessories for sale. “[We have] many different themed paintball rooms that can pertain to any interests and likes,” said Rusty Glaze, Paintball Blogger at AG Paintball. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Their average paintball experience package when you come self-equipped is $30 per person. They also have rental packages starting at $40 per person. Private group parties can include 10 players or more to experience your own game of paintball with your group of friends.
OSG Paintball (1053 N. Barnstead Road, Center Barnstead, 1-800-707-7529, osgpaintball.com) is the largest paintball park in the state, with 44 acres and 12 playing fields. Every field is themed, including Star Wars, Pirate Cove, Empire Castle, Hamburger Hill and more, and games can also have themes of their own, like Westerns, Call of Duty, The Simpsons, Family Guy and The Goonies. The park is closed for the winter but is scheduled to reopen March 5. Private parties are available seven days a week with a reservation required. Packages include a private group of 10 or more people for a full day for $49.99 or a half day for $39.99, with full-impact and low-impact options available.
Paint splatter
Rage Cage NH (10 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 402-4197, ragecagenh.com) features a paint splatter room that’s open to all ages. Have a glow paint party with ultraviolet black lights, bubble and fog machines and whatever music you want for $30 per person for an hour, with up to eight people per party. A regular paint splatter party without the glow is $20 per person, with up to 20 people allowed (contact Rage Cage if you have more than 20 people). When you book a paint party online, you pay for just one person to reserve the room for the full hour. For a regular paint splatter party, every participant can pick out 10 colors of washable paint, a 12×12’’ canvas and safety goggles, and additional upgrades are available, like throwable paintballs ($5 to $20), more colors ($2 per color), larger canvases ($5 to $10) and stencils ($10) to make your art. Paint parties do not come with jumpsuits, but white hooded jumpsuits are available for $10 each. For glow parties, participants can pick out 14 colors of UV-reactive washable paint, a 12×12’’ canvas and safety goggles, along with any preferred upgrades. Rage Cage NH hours are noon to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Laser tag
Block Party Social (51 Zapora Drive, Hooksett, 621-5150, blockpartysocial.com) is open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m to 10 p.m and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight. The price for the laser tag arena is $22 per person for a 30-minute experience (this includes a $5 arcade game card).
Hilltop Fun Center (165 Route 108, Somersworth, 742-8068, hilltopfuncenter.com) is open Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m., Friday from 3 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Laser tag prices are $14 for a 30-minute session and $22 for two 30-minute sessions; each session includes three six-minute games. On Friday and Saturday, laser mania is $25 per person, with unlimited laser tag from 5 to 9 p.m. You can also rent out the entire arena for your own group for $300 for the first hour and $100 for additional hours.
Break free with your buddies
Escape rooms offer a safe activity for groups
By Angie Sykeny
Since New Hampshire’s first escape room, Granite State Escape, opened in 2015, escape rooms have been popular destinations in the state for group outings and private events like birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, school trips and corporate team-builders. Now, in pandemic times, escape rooms offer something even more valuable:
“I think that people are wanting to once again enjoy the company of others while participating in a fun, safe and interactive experience together,” said Pamela Provencher, owner of Granite State Escape in Manchester. “[Because] escape rooms allow groups to stay in their bubble, escape rooms [are a way] for some folks to begin to safely venture out again while also being … a fun night out for the more adventurous.”
Players do puzzles, solve riddles and crack codes by physically engaging with items in the room in a race against the clock to complete the room’s overall objective. A “gamemaster” explains the backstory, objective and rules to the players and monitors the room remotely during the game, maintaining audio communications with the players to ensure their safety and to provide hints, should they get stuck.
Escape rooms are unique in that they appeal to a wide range of people, Escape Room Concord owner Gregory Slossar said, making them a great outing for mixed groups.
“There are few activities out there that offer multi-generational entertainment,” he said. “Escape rooms are great for friends who want to do something fun before or after dinner, or families who are looking to do something with their children that makes everyone put down their phones for an hour, or a place where co-workers can come together as a team and bond on a personal level.”
Christopher McCarthy, who is the co-owner, operations manager and resident gamemaster at The Escape Room Experience in Laconia, said escape rooms are an opportunity for people to let go of whatever is on their mind and be transported to another world where their only focus is to complete the objective of the room.
“It gives you an active goal, with minimal distractions,” he said. “It’s an environment catered to challenging your brain while in a physical space designed to grab your attention and keep it there.”
McCarthy said he is especially excited about The Escape Room Experience’s new room, “Serial Killer Cabin,” which pays homage to classic 1980s slasher films.
“As the designer, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished within the space,” he said. “I feel like, atmospherically, we knocked it out of the park.”
Policies for players vary per escape room. Some escape rooms accept walk-ins, but most require booking in advance. The number of players allowed typically ranges from couples to groups of up to 10 or 12 people, but certain rooms may have their own limit. Families and groups with children should check on the escape room’s age restrictions or recommendations before they go as some rooms may be frightening, atmospherically, or too challenging for young players.
Escape rooms have been taking various safety precautions to prevent the spread of Covid, such as allowing more time between groups to clean and sanitize the rooms and to ensure that the groups don’t run into each other in the lobby area; requiring their staff to be vaccinated; requiring or encouraging staff and players to wear masks; and installing air filter machines.
“We believe escape rooms truly are one of the safest things you can choose to participate in,” said Lara Barkley, creative director at Key to Escape in Nashua. “Not even the movie theater or bowling alley can keep you out of the same room with groups of people you don’t know.”
Play an escape room
• 102 Escape, 123 Nashua Road, Unit 34, Londonderry, 260-6198, 102escape.com
• Break Free 603, 141 Route 101A, Amherst, 424-1758, breakfree603.com
• Escape Room Concord, 240 Airport Road, Concord, 225-2271, escaperoomconcordnh.com
• The Escape Room Experience, 555 Main St., Suite A, Laconia, 366-6296, theescaperoomexperience.live
• Granite State Escape, 795 Elm St., Manchester, 935-7455, escapenh.com
• Key To Escape, 3 Bud Way, Unit 21, Nashua, 809-4018, keytoescape.com
• LOK’d! Room Escape, 1500 S Willow St., Manchester, 945-3113, lokdrocks.com
• Monkey Mind Escape Rooms, 10 Vaughan Mall, Portsmouth, 498-8997, monkeymindescape.com
• Portsmouth Escape Room, 95 Brewery Lane, No. 13, Portsmouth, 380-9160, portsmouthescaperoom.com
Featured photo: Photo courtesy of The Rugged Axe in Manchester.
