News
By Tyler on August 1, 2018
Thank you, everyone who offered to host events at Carnage 21 this year! In addition to the usual excellent selection of role-playing adventures, board games, miniature scenarios, there are some great new additions to the schedule offerings. When perusing events, be sure to look outside of your usual genres to see everything going on at Carnage this year.
Carnage staff will be working through August to mold the convention weekend’s schedule into shape, making sure there’s something to play from Friday afternoon straight through to the end of the convention on Sunday. Early September, you’ll be able to browse the schedule at your leisure and make notes about what you want to play. Mid-September, preregistration will open and you can sign up for all the games your free time and CON score can manage.
For more information, sign up for our mailing list to get the latest delivered straight to your inbox, such as the announcement of what time preregistration opens in September. You can also stay tuned to the news feed at the official Carnage website.
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Field Marshal Reports, Miniatures, News, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, carnage 21, ccgs, conventions, miniatures, registration, Role-Playing Games
By Tyler on July 15, 2018
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT — Last month on June 23rd, Gamers Against Alzheimer’s, a Vermont-based fundraising team for the Alzheimer’s Association, raised $1745.50 to help fund research to combat Alzheimer’s disease. Through hosting a day of tabletop gaming, with raffles of donated prize support from game publishers and local gaming groups, the event raised 87% of its goal in less than 24 hours as part of the Longest Day, a cross-team event coordinated by the Alzheimer’s Association to give everyone a common date to raise money and awareness for the cause.
Carnage was happy to contribute to the donated raffle prizes with a pass to this year’s convention, as well as provide the Carnage gaming library for Long Game participants to enjoy. Along with Carnage, Improvised Weapons, the Gemhammer & Sons live game and Greater Restoration performed for attendees, playing Dungeons & Dragons as goofily as possible for laughs and donations.
For those unable to attend, Improvised Weapons‘ episodes are now up on their podcast feed — episode 52 and episode 53 — Victory Condition Gaming streamed the first round of Codenames with the Villainous Vixens Dragonheart Vermont team and Gemhammer & Sons, and Josh Melville documented the day on his YouTube channel, Halloweenville, including the Gemhammer & Sons live game.
The leader organizer behind the Long Game, Jordan Streeter, is already at work on the second edition of the event. Follow Gamers Against Alzheimer’s on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the team’s future efforts. If you’d like to make a donation to support curing Alzheimer’s disease, you can do so through Gamers Against Alzheimer’s official fundraising page.
Posted in News | Tagged burlington, charities, dungeons & dragons, game days, media, podcasts, vermont, videos
By Tyler on July 12, 2018
The submission period for GMs to run games at Carnage 21 is winding down. If you’re interested in hosting a game or other event at the convention this year, head over to the registration site and submit your idea today. Submissions close at the end of July 31st so that Carnage staff can build this year’s schedule to make the best convention possible. Proposals submitted after July 31st will be considered and schedule on an as available basis in terms of space and scheduling.
Not sure what to run this year? Get in touch with your field marshal and find out where the schedule needs a little shoring up. Not sure which field marshal you need to talk to? Email info@carnagecon.com and we’ll get you in touch with the right person.
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Field Marshal Reports, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, card games, carnage 21, GMs, larps, miniatures, Role-Playing Games
By Tyler on May 7, 2018
Carnage is pleased to announce that it is now accepting game proposals from GMs for Carnage 21, November 2-4, 2018 in Killington, Vermont. A tabletop game convention like Carnage relies entirely on the games GMs volunteer to run. Without games on the schedule for people to play, Carnage wouldn’t be much of a convention. So we need your help to create a convention schedule with the variety and depth of games for attendees to play this year!
The theme for Carnage 21 is space, from the first steps beyond the atmosphere of a planet to high space opera between the stars. GMs are welcome to incorporate as much or as little of the theme as they wish in their game proposals. Terraforming Mars, a classic bug hunt rendered in miniatures in a claustrophobic starship, spelljamming vessels sailing between crystal spheres — it’s all good.
This year, for the first time, Carnage will use Tabletop.Events’ event submission process for GMs submitting games. Head over to the Carnage 21 site, log into your TTE account if you have one from last year, or set one up if you don’t, and hit the Submit Events button. The form will walk you through the process from there, but you can always reach out to info@carnagecon.com if you have any questions. Note that Carnage still uses a 4 hour block schedule. Games should run at least 4 hours, and the set start times are Friday 1pm, Friday 7pm, Friday 11:30pm, Saturday 8am, Saturday 1pm, Saturday 7pm, Saturday 11:30, Sunday 8am, Sunday 10am, and Sunday 1pm. Events submitted with start times other than those listed here, or with a run time shorter than two hours, will be returned to the proposer for revision.
The event submission runs through now to the end of July. After that time, events submission closes and Carnage staff goes to work scheduling all the accepted proposals. GMs, you can check on the status of your submissions by logging into Tabletop.Events and visiting the Submit Events button. Events are generally under consideration, accepted, or scheduled. You’ll get an email notification when a game is added to the convention schedule.
Posted in News | Tagged Board Games, carnage 21, ccgs, conventions, GMs, larps, miniatures, Role-Playing Games
By Tyler on February 12, 2018
Saturday, April 14th, Carnage will be at the very first Champlain Games Festival, held at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont. The festival is a one day event featuring locally made digital and analog games, as well as other game-related groups. You can meet local designers and studios exhibiting their independent game projects and try their games.
Carnage is pleased to serve as a community partner to the festival, hosting the open play area. The Carnage game library will be on offer for attendees to enjoy during the event and Carnage staff members will be on hand to help get games going. Not only can you meet local designers and try their games, you can sit down and meet other local players over a game of something!
We hope you’ll join us in supporting games designed locally and played locally. The Champlain Games Festival is Saturday, April 14th, 2018, in Essex Junction, Vermont. Get your ticket now at the early bird rate through the festival website.
Posted in News | Tagged champlain games festival, conventions, essex junction, vermont
By Tyler on February 5, 2018
With 2018 underway, the Carnage committee has begun the preliminary work for this year’s convention. This November 2nd through 4th, join us at the Killington Grand Resort for Carnage 21. This year’s theme is space exploration and science fiction, so pack your blaster, check your EVA suit’s seals and prepare for blast-off.
Preflight Checklist
November will be here sooner than you think. Here’s a quick rundown of some milestones on the way:
- April/May: the GM submission process opens. Field marshals will contact past GMs, and new GMs are welcome to propose games as well.
- July 31st: GM submission period ends.
- Early September: the convention schedule posts and preregistration opens
- October 25th: preregistration closes
- November 2nd: Carnage begins. Fun is had.
Keep Up with Carnage News
In addition to following Carnage on Facebook and Twitter, you can now get convention news delivered straight to your email inbox, including where you can meet up with Carnage folks at other events around New England. Sign up for our very occasional mailing list and never miss a trick again.
Posted in News | Tagged carnage 21, conventions, killington, news, vermont
By Tyler on November 20, 2017
If you couldn’t make it to Carnage this year, or there was just too much going on for you to see everything, some of our friends who came kindly wrote about their experiences at the convention this year. Check it out:
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Field Marshal Reports, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, card games, carnage xx, conventions, miniatures, Role-Playing Games
By Tyler on November 8, 2017
Even Steam Park can be timey-wimey, with the right player at the table.
The certified comedians of Improvised Weapons make Dungeons & Dragons even funnier.
Mike and Doug snuck into the cheap seats at Fenway Park.
Robin Lea gets into her role running “Timelash Redux.”
This year at Carnage XX, we:
- raised over $2300 for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals with Team NEG and Extra Life
- raised over $1100 to find a cure for cancer with Gamers for a Cure
- proposed — and accepted! — marriage during Cards Against Humanity
- told ghost stories by the fireside with Oscar Rios and Golden Goblin Press
- caught a ball game at Fenway Park with Green Monster Invades the Green Mountains
- streamed Dungeons & Dragons games for laughs and good causes with Improvised Weapons, Gemhammer and Sons and Victory Condition Gaming
- passed Sneaky Carnage cards around all weekend
- played a ton more games
Thank you, everyone, who helped make Carnage possible this year, last year and every year prior since Carnage at the Crossroads kicked the whole thing off in 1998. A convention like Carnage exists entirely because of you, the gamer, the one who wants to spend a whole weekend meeting new friends, trying new games and enjoying the daylights out of the tabletop hobby.
From the very beginning, Carnage has been a labor of love. The committee members love playing games, learning new games, teaching the games they love to other people. But you can’t make a whole convention out of that without so many more people also believing in that same vision of sharing their love for the hobby. Without GMs to teach the games and players to play them, there would be no Carnage.
Moreover, without the friendships that spring up among conventioneers — there’s nothing quite like standing in line to pick up your badge and catching up with friends you haven’t seen since last year, or the annual Saturday night dinner out before rushing back — there’s no way Carnage could have lasted 20 years. Carnage is here because you are here. Carnage is fun because you make it fun. You make the friendships and the memories that keep you and all your friends coming back. Every year, we are humbled that you all choose Carnage to be the place to renew those friendships, make new ones and celebrate our hobby.
Thank you, each and every one of you, for helping make Carnage the best little game convention in New England for the last 20 years. We could not have done it without you.
Carnage 21 is November 2-4, 2018 in Killington, Vermont. We’ll see you on the mountain!
Posted in Board Games, CCGs, Field Marshal Reports, Miniatures, Role-Playing Games | Tagged Board Games, carnage xx, ccgs, conventions, miniatures, Role-Playing Games
By TheGrayMan on November 2, 2017
Gamers for a Cure will be at Carnage again this year. Robert Holden and his wife Jamie will have a table in the vendors room, Northstar, to raise money for the American Cancer Society. They will be selling tickets for a games raffle. The full list of games will be available at their table and at the main registration desk at the convention. There is also a full list at their Facebook Page. If people would like to donate directly to their Making Strides team page, they can do so here. So be sure to stop by the table and check out the prizes and help Gamers find a Cure!
You can read more about the Holdens’ story of fighting cancer in this article in the Burlington Free Press.
Posted in News | Tagged carnage xx, charities, gamers for a cure
By TheGrayMan on November 1, 2017
People have asked, “Is the Kids Games Event being run this year? I do not see it on the registration site.”
Have no fear, Carnage is once again offering a kids-only event Saturday morning (8am-12pm) in the Oscar Wilde Ballroom. The event will be run by Justin Berman, Kevin Day and Kris Lubinsky for the fifth year. This year they will also be getting help from Oliver Dienz. There is no need to sign up for the kids games. It is a free drop-in event for younger kids. They do not have to have a badge to participate in the event, but if kids with youth badges want to play they are welcome to join.
The only thing we ask is that a parent or responsible adult be present with the younger kids without badges. The guys will have plenty of great kid-friendly games ready to go. So bring the kids down to the Oscar Wilde Ballroom Saturday morning for some great games and fun. It is as good as Saturday morning cartoons, only without the Captain Crunch!
Posted in Board Games, Field Marshal Reports, News | Tagged Board Games, carnage xx