What is a Viking without his or her axe?
Given that over 45,000 people have been playing Viking Smackdown (and some of you for over an hour at a time), we thought you’d like to meet Ivan’s Axe, co-star in Viking Smackdown, our game, contest and birthday celebration all rolled into one.   

Profile:  Ivan’s Axe
Length: .96774 inches
Weight: .0000288 gaseous cubic ounces
Materials: Oak, Forged Iron & Brawn
Favorite Color: Dusty Pink
Temperament: Never a dull moment
Pet peeves: Being put away wet
Favorite TV Show: Starsky & Hutch
Favorite Band: The Portsmouth Symphonia
Currently Reading: The Family Circus By Request, by Bill Keane
Looking for: A cure for irony
Favorite Quote: “I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about
peace.” – George W Bush

If you’re looking for some tips on how to work with Ivan’s Axe in Viking Smackdown, click here.

This is Ivan Axe. He’s the star of Viking Smackdown, our game, contest and birthday celebration all rolled into one.

Since Viking Smackdown’s been played by over 35,000 people, we thought maybe you’d like to get to know Ivan a little better.

Here’s his profile: Ivan Axe
Height: 2.68 inches
Weight: .00036 gaseous cubic ounces
Sun Sign: Cancer
Favorite Color: Black, like his soul
Temperament: Steve Jobs on a bad day
Pet peeves: Pets, birthday cake, joy
Favorite TV Show: Fantasy Island
Favorite Band: Toto
Currently Reading: Demian, by Herman Hesse
Throws Axe: Right
Hoists Shield: Left
Looking for: Disappointment in all the wrong places
Favorite Quote: “When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself.” – Peter O’Toole

If you’re looking for some tips on how to work with Ivan’s Axe in Viking Smackdown, click here.

A huge thanks to the almost 2,000 people who’ve been playing Viking Smackdown on their iPhones and iPod Touches since Monday. And a big shout out to “EED” for holding not only the high score, but the top three high scores: 990, 970 and 750 points at this point. You make us proud, EED. 

How does EED score so high? Well, practice certainly helps. Perhaps EED is one of the people, according to our analytics, who’s been playing the game for over an hour.

Now, who’s going to unseat EED? Remember, there’s an all-expenses paid trip to Minneapolis for the winner. And that cake throwing opportunity. 

Thanks as well to Jason at TechCrunch for the positive review and to Michael Arrington for the demo video.

And we absolutely must share a bit of this “review,” err, translation? It’s vikingtastic.

“With exclusive four life to go until the start of Apple’s App Store, which module feature 3D games that near the iPhone to its limits, most developers would study emotional a browser-based iPhone mettlesome a intense idea. Throwing ordinary significance to the wind, ad authority Hello Viking has meet free Viking Smackdown, a Safari-based iPhone mettlesome that manages to verify plus of the phone’s built-in accelerometer. You crapper admittance the mettlesome by temporary from your iPhone’s browser.”

Here’s a few tips on how to play Viking Smackdown, the super awesome iPhone and iPod Touch game we just released. 

First, you actually need an iPhone or iPod Touch to play. Shaking your MacBook Pro or PC laptop just won’t cut it. Neither will a Treo or Blackberry. And you can play Viking Smackdown right now. You don’t need an iPhone 3G or the SDK to play.
 
If you’ve got that covered, pick up your iPhone or iPod Touch and go to http://vikingsmackdown.com…
 
1. Body Position
Hold your iPhone upright. 

2. Click Play
It’ll take you to the initial gaming screen.

3. Power Up
Tilt your iPhone back, like you’re about to pitch a ball, or throw an axe. Notice how the red bars accumulate. The iPhone’s tilt-sensor is telling your Safari browser to build up the power level. You can throw/tilt forward at any time now…

3b. Careful, Steve!
When you’re ready to throw/tilt your iPhone forward, DON’T LET GO OF YOUR iPHONE.
 
4. Toss Your Axe
Throw your hand forward. The tilt-sensor tells Ivan Axe to release, and the axe flies forward. Viking Smackdown will tell you how hard or soft you’ve thrown the axe, or if you’ve hit a target.

5. Keep Playing
If you’re good, you’ll keep hitting targets, and keep moving up levels. If your score is in the top ten when you lose, you’ll be prompted to enter your initials in the Viking Smackdown High Score Contest™. (We’ll also ask for your email.) If not, you can play again or taunt a friend.
 
6. Keep Playing Until August 15 at 5:00pm CST
Remember, if you’ve got the highest score on 8/15, you’ll win an all-expenses paid trip to Minneapolis and the chance to throw a birthday cake at our CEO.
 
We’ll keep track of the high scores here and on Twitter.

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UPDATE:  Jason Kincaid over at TechCrunch wrote a really nice post about Smackdown, including this nifty “how to” video. Thanks, Jason.