- BGG rating
- 5.7
Carnival: The Sideshow
- Complexity 1.5/5
- 2011
- BGG rank
- BGG #17,880
- BGG rating
- 5.7
Carnival
2011
Rules assistance for Carnival
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 20–60 min
- 13+
- Complexity 1.5/5
Rules assistant for Carnival
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Carnival is a board game released in 2011 for 2–4 players, 20–60 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Cherilyn Joy Lee Kirkman and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Set Collection.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 5.2
Carnival: Wild! Die
- 2–4 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2011
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About the game
Think Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, carousels, flying swings, and bumper cars! Open your Carnival for business before the other carnies do by building four of the five available rides along your Midway. Then cue the Carnival music and watch the crowd rush in! Carnival is a card game of set collection for 2-4 players, ages 12+, that utilizes dice to determine actions. Each turn, a player rolls three dice and chooses two of them to perform actions which can allow them to gain and discard cards from their hand and/or Midway. Each player also has three tickets that may be discarded to affect the dice rolls or block other players' actions.
Designers
Publishers
- Dice Hate Me Games
Questions and answers
Carnival supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Carnival is 20–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Carnival for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Carnival has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Carnival belongs to these categories: Card Game and Dice. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Set Collection. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Carnival are: Cherilyn Joy Lee Kirkman. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Carnival as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.