| Carnage Gaming Convention | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active, in-person for 2021 |
| Genre | Multi-Genre Gaming Convention |
| Venue | Killington Grand Resort |
| Location(s) | Killington, Vermont |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1998 |
| Attendance | ~1000 attendees |
| Organized by | Carnage Gaming |
| Website | http://www.carnagecon.com/ |
| https://twitter.com/carnagecon | |
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.
Carnage was featured on WCAX's The :30 on November 1, 2011.[1]
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."[2] 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.[3][4] Carnage was once again on the move in 2019 with the organizers deciding to move the convention to the Mt Snow Resort in Dover, Vermont for the 2020 interaction. This move would allow the convention to continue to expand and locate it more centrally in New England. The COVID 19 pandemic postponed the planned move with the 2020 edition of Carnage being held instead as a virtual event; the change in venue will instead occur in 2021 for the 24th year of the convention.
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.
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. Recently Carnage has started including learn-to events such as introduction classes and miniature painting and game creation seminars.
Carnage also offers a number of non-gaming events such are "sip'n paints", needle felting and a steam punk fashion show.
Other notable events at Carnage have included the Carnage Accords, an annual Diplomacy tournament; a computer-assisted game trade known as a "math trade";[6] 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.
In 2022 Carnage is slated to be the host convention for the Diplomacy World Championships (World DipCon).
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,[7] Steffan O'Sullivan, Jeff Talanian, Brad Younie,[8] and members of Steve Jackson Games' Men In Black demo team.[9] In 2019 Carnage welcomed David Phipps, creator of Pulp Alley, a skirmish level miniatures game.
Authors have included C. J. Henderson, Howard Coffin and Lisa Comstock.
Artist Don Higgins has made several appearances.
