Axe throwing, Ada OK: interactive lanes at Siege

Yes. At Siege in Ada the bar and the axe lanes are under one roof, so adults can have a beer or a mixed drink and a pizza between throws. Siege is family friendly rather than 21 and over, which means a family, a date and a table of coworkers can all be on the lanes the same night.

Each lane at Siege is fenced off from the next with wire mesh, and everyone in the group signs the waiver before stepping up. A first throw often bounces off the board, and it gets easier with each one.

Axe throwing at Siege is priced per person: $27 a person for an hour on the lane, $37 for an hour and a half, or $44 for two hours, plus tax. The longer sessions work out cheaper by the hour, and the booking page shows the total for your group before you pay. Walk-ins are welcome Thursday to Saturday at the same lanes.

A group that wants the whole venue books it privately instead. A birthday starts with the Birthday Buyout, $999 for up to 30 guests for two and a half hours with food and karaoke, on the birthday parties page. A company, church or club event is priced per person on team building at Siege.

Siege in Ada keeps the list short: book or walk in, sign the waiver, and dress to throw.

Axe throwing started as a backyard lumberjack game and a competitive event at logging shows, long before it became something a city block could offer on a Friday night. Over the last decade it grew into an organized sport with its own leagues, including the World Axe Throwing League, and into a category of its own among things to do on a night out.

What turned it from a novelty into a repeat visit is the same thing that changes any game: making it easy to learn and quick to score. A projected target that lights up and keeps score, the way the lanes at Siege in Ada do, replaces a pencil-and-paper scorecard and a squint at a painted bullseye. That is the shift behind Siege's differentiator: axe throwing without the parts that used to make a first-timer nervous.

Nerves are normal, and they usually disappear by the second throw. Most axe throwing venues share the same basic safety rule: one thrower in the lane at a time, and nobody steps past the line to retrieve an axe until the lane is clear. At Siege in Ada, that rule holds whether the group is on a first date or a team building session.

A first throw at Siege often bounces off the board before it starts to stick, and that is normal too. Holding the axe by the handle with both hands and following through toward the target, rather than trying to muscle it, is the difference most first-timers notice by their third or fourth throw. Nobody keeps score against a first-timer at Siege; the projected game does that instead, and it resets for the next player.

Yes. A lane at Siege holds room for the group to gather around, not just the person throwing, so watching is normal rather than awkward. Anyone under eight, or anyone who would simply rather not throw, can stand back from the line and cheer the rest of the group on.

That works especially well for a mixed group: a parent who wants to watch, a grandparent, or a friend at the bar a few steps away. Nobody at Siege has to hold an axe to be part of the group throwing one.