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, VTin 1999 and then to Fairlee in 2003. In 2012, the organizers announced Carnage 2013 would be held at the Killington Grand Hotel.
Past conventions
Carnage at the Crossroads, November 6–8, 1998, Radisson Inn, West Lebanon, NH
A Fistful of Carnage, November 7–9, 2014, Killington Grand Hotel in Killington, Vermont
Carnage in the Lost World, November 6–8, 2015, Killington Grand Hotel in Killington, Vermont
Carnage Royale, November 4–6, 2016, Killington Grand Hotel in Killington, Vermont
Carnage XX, November 3–5, 2017, Killington Grand Hotel in Killington, Vermont
Carnage 21: A Space Odyssey, November 2-4, 2018, Killington Grand Hotel in Killington, Vermont
Carnage 22 was held at the Killington Grand Hotel in Killington, Vermont, November 1–3, 2019. The theme for 2019 was an homage to Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22.
Previous themes have included: the wild west, horror, B-movie sci-fi, heavy metal, 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 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"; 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: , Ann Dupuis, Walter Hunt, , Steffan O'Sullivan, , , and members of Steve Jackson Games' Men In Black demo team. Authors have included C. J. Henderson, and . Artist has made several appearances.
