Axe Throwing Stickers are Over. Here are 7 replacements

Axe throwing stickers are an expected and foundational element of axe throwing — much like blurring the line between day drinking and straight alcoholism, or the axe thrower to disc golfer pipeline. But I gotta be honest with you.

If I can be, just for a moment.

Honestly:

Honestly?

I’m over it. I’m over axe throwing stickers. I come home from a tourney or an axe throwing marathon and I find dozens of stickers scattershot around my bags, my pockets, stuck to my legs like some sort of leech.

And when I really think about it outside of myself, I also have a big problem with the plastic waste, proliferation of AI generated nonsense (I get it. Truly. I understand the draw — but I want kids to have drinking water in the future, you know? More than I want more axe throwing stickers), and just the amount of stickers I need to figure out what to do with. It’s too much. I don’t wanna do it anymore. Why should I have FOMO about not getting a particular sticker?!

With all of this in mind, I set myself to thinking: what can replace the ceremony…the ritual of the axe throwing sticker; but also mitigate a lot of the problems I have with them?

Fortunately, I have the Axe Badger Dreamtimelab to do some bluesky imagineering, and we were able to come up with seven alternatives to the herpes of the axe throwing world: herpes.

Wait. The herpes of the axe throwing world: stickers.

Sticker alt no. 1: patches

If you were at IATC, you just knew this was gonna be my first pick – and honestly, it’s likely the best option from all the options you’re gonna read, here. Let me explain why:

1. Axe throwers can get together to make a bunch of them together – sharing supplies and good times.
2. Extremely custom (in that, if you’re making them yourself, each and every one will be unique)
3. A lower lifetime cost compared to ordering stickers.

Having made about 800 patches for IATC recently, I can authoritatively say I spent less money than I typically do re-ordering stickers every few months. Plus, if you follow the uniform for axe throwing (battle vests, duh), you already have a place to put em!

Sticker alt no. 2: stick-and-poke tattoos

More and more, tattoos are becoming an accessory to axe throwing tourneys. You’ll have a professional artist offering up cute, fun flash that you can get between matches.

So why not harness that already-established relationship to have non-professionals potentially give you an infection and certainly give you some questionable, permanent ink?

Here’s all the great reasons:

1. Once and done, baby. No need to get more than one from any thrower.
2. A proven way to demonstrate you’re in axe throwing for the long haul.
3. You need to really want the design/tattoo. OR maybe you just need to really be comfortable with what tipsy-you decides is no big deal
4. You’ll have a sleeve done in one weekend!

Now, there are obvious problems to this one, I’ll admit that. But because they are so obvious, I feel no real push to talk about those problems here.

Axe Throwing stickers Alt no. 3: Now That’s What I Call Axe Throwing Playlists

Walk on music. Frankly, axe throwing should have it. Maybe not for every match, but maybe when it gets around to the quarterfinals or so. Imagine it. Rather than meekly walking into the axe lane, you’re accompanied by Unwritten. Natasha Bedingfield’s powerhouse lyrics putting you in the perfect space to release your inhibitions.

But that seems exclusive, right? Not quite in the spirit of axe throwing. Worry not! I’ve considered! I’ve considered for far too long for this dumb gag!

See, as part of the registration for your marathon or tourney, there’d be a simple question: What’s your walk-on song?

And what happens to all those songs? Well, dear reader, they’d all be gathered up and lovingly added to that particular tourney’s/marathon’s playlist for the day. Yes, it’d be:

Now you know you’ll hear at least one song you like, get to show a lil’ bit more of your personality, and venues will be able to sell CDs of the collected songs for extra profit!

Did I just create a solution for struggling axe venues?

Did I just show my age by suggesting CDs are still something people buy?

Do I have a complete lack of understanding when it comes to licensing laws?

You know the answer!

Axe Throwing stickers Alt No. 4: Pogs

For those of you who don’t have a 19 at the beginning of your birthyear, POGs (milk caps to some) were a craze experienced across the world(?) during the early 1990s. I’m not going to explain the game, but you can learn all about it here, if you want. But the salient point is this: Imagine if we traded POGs of our faces/designs/cute fun sayings instead of stickers.

I have no basis to write this, but it seems like the cost-for-entry would be cheap (you really just need to buy a circle punch and print on some heavier card stock or…thin cardboard? What the hell were these things made of…Ah, it looks like 1mm carboard and you just glue paper you printed to it. YEAH I LOOKED IT UP).

PLUS you could play POGs when you’re waiting for your match. You’d EARN the POGs you have by winning them off other throwers. I know you are wild about earning collectibles in this community.

And I can hear you say, so confident you’ve got me, now: “But badger, you little fellow, don’t POGs just generate as much/more paper waste as stickers? Huh? What now, you fuggin barrel with legs?”

And to that I say: they are heirloom items. You’ll pass these down through your family for generations! Just like the POGs from the ’90s. Right?

OH OH OH and we already have Slammers, potentially, because if you’ve earned an 81 coin, that’s your Slammer! Holy Moley this is actually a great idea and I’m gonna make a bunch for the next tourney I’m going to. Holy shit. You just witnessed where I turn this whole thing around, dear reader! I’m gonna make my mark in axe throwing history! Tremble, axe throwing stickers! Watch my POG power grow!

Alright. I’m back. Anyway, POGs would be a nice, lateral move from stickers. Plus, bonus games during tournaments.

AH GEEZ THIS IS A REALLY GOOD IDEA YOU GUYS HOLY HELL BADGER YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!

Axe Throwing stickers alt no. 5: tap into the hobo code

Dear reader, I wrote this one down as an axe throwing sticker alternative idea just after lunch, and honestly I don’t know about it. Like, what was I thinking, exactly?

Anyway: During the great depression here in the states, Hobos were more…I dunno…romanticized. To be clear, a Hobo is someone who is itinerant and typically looking for odd jobs to eat and sleep. As part of that culture, Hobos of the time created an easy-to-recognize, helpful sort of hieroglyphic system to alert each other of boons and dangers in the area:

Again, I don’t know quite was I was thinking with this one. Maybe that you’d be able to leave your mark at various axe houses, and people would – instead of taking something home – just enjoy knowing that you were there in the past. It’d kinda be like bird watching: You can take a photo if you want, and certainly be on the lookout, but stuffing a red-crested warbler in your bag is frowned upon.

That analogy got away from me.

At any rate, here are the benefits I’ve included for this confusing alternative:

1. More cult like
2. Mysterious but simple
3. Only requires a Sharpie and some consideration on what will be your symbol.

Your guess is as good as mine. Vandalism!

Axe Throwing stickers Alt No. 6: Non IATC-Focused player cards

IATC player cards are popular. No denying that. And collecting a bunch is fun. But what if we were a little more…I dunno…open about when cards were made?

At first blush, this idea seems rudimentary, but hear (read?) me out: If we’re replacing stickers as the cultural currency of the sport, generalized player cards offer a bunch of opportunity:

1. Creative “editions” to collect and trade
2. Hyper-specific to a thrower’s current state (imagine making cards that share what Netflix series you’re watching, or perfectly matches what you’re wearing during the marathon)
3. Different “sets” of your player cards can create a complete, mosaic image a la old marvel character cards. You remember those? How when you put a bunch of marvel cards together they’d make a complete picture? Like they all worked together? Just me? Okay.

HOLY MOLEY IF YOU GOT DUPLICATES YOU COULD MAKE POGS OUT OF THEM IT ALL COMES BACK TO THE POGS.

Axe Throwing stickers alt no. 7: personalized stamps & venue stamp books

Lugging around a bunch of stickers gets old quick. Imagine, if you will, having need only carry around a single rubber stamp and an ink pad. Now you’re carrying around thousands of your own personal mark. You can leave your axe throwing personality wherever, with reckless abandon!

“But badger,” I here you say, still recovering from that banger of an idea vis a vis POGs, “what would I stamp? slips of paper? Fellow throwers’ faces?”

Well, sure. But SPECIFICALLY I’m thinking about having venue-specific stamp books. Yes, much like a passport, your venue book could house all your player and venue stamps. And in the winter of your life, after you’ve become so wizened that you can’t even lift an axe, you’ll page through dozens of these delightful stamp books and think, with a tear in your eye:

“What the hell is all this?”

I grant you: you’ll still need to do some work in creating your custom stamp – but for something that will last forever, you’ll be able to invest a bit more money and time into creation. And I know how much axe throwers like to spend more money than is reasonable.

So there you go, dear reader. Seven options other than stickers to consider. I look forward to watching the shift happen in real time.