Inaugurated 1998 | Country United States Attendance Over 600 attendees | |
Genre Multi-Genre Gaming Convention Venue Killington Grand Resort | ||
Carnage is a multi-genre table-top gaming convention based in the Upper Valley of Vermont / New Hampshire. It typically covers all genres of tabletop gaming, like board games, role-playing games, CCGs, LARPs and historical and fantasy miniatures.
Contents
Carnage was featured on WCAX's The :30 on November 1, 2011.
History
First held in 1998 in West Lebanon, Carnage grew from the motivation "to give New England gamers a place where they could come, be themselves, enjoy their games and have fun." After its inaugural year in New Hampshire, Carnage based itself on the Vermont side of the Upper Valley, moving to Brownsville, VT in 1999 and then to Fairlee in 2003. In 2012, the organizers announced Carnage 2013 would be held at the Killington Grand Hotel.
Past conventions
Previous themes have included: the wild west, horror, B-movie sci-fi, heavy metal (a la Spinal Tap), surf, Alice in Wonderland and summer camp.
Events
Carnage accepts submissions from GMs, or game masters, volunteering to host sessions of games across the tabletop genres. Typical fare includes board games of the Eurogame and Amerigame varieties, collectible card games like Magic: the Gathering and Legend of the 5 Rings, boffer and dialogue-driven LARPs, miniatures in fantastic and historical milieux, and role-playing games, including ongoing campaigns in living worlds and standalone adventures.
Other notable events at Carnage have included the Carnage Accords, an annual Diplomacy tournament; a computer-assisted game trade known as a "math trade"; the Centuries of Conflict umbrella theme for many historical miniatures; dramatic readings and panels held by convention guests; and most recently at Carnage Noir, a geek pub quiz sponsored by Gygax magazine.
Guests
Carnage has hosted a number of guests of honor from the gaming industry and literary communities. Past game-related guests have included: James Carpio, Ann Dupuis, Walter Hunt, Tracy Hurley, Steffan O'Sullivan, Jeff Talanian, Brad Younie, and members of Steve Jackson Games' Men In Black demo team. Authors have included C. J. Henderson, Howard Coffin and Lisa Comstock. Artist Don Higgins has made several appearances.