Cornucopia bloodbath

A Cornucopia bloodbath almost always occurs at the very beginning of every Hunger Games, as most of the tributes compete for valuable weapons, food, and packs full of other supplies spread in and around the Cornucopia.

Tributes always die at the bloodbath, mostly eight to twelve tributes each year. Some common weapons in the Cornucopia are knives and spears. In most of the Games, there were backpacks with various items inside. Some examples may be weapons, medical supplies, or food/water. The ones closer to the Cornucopia held more valuable items, while the ones farthest away held less valuable items. The Gamemakers or the Capitol probably set it up this way for optimal entertainment value and quick deaths at the beginning of the game to keep audiences interested. In the end, the Cornucopia is often taken over by a group of tributes who fought in the bloodbath, usually the Career Tributes. It's usually located in the center of the arena.

Tactics
There are a variety of ways tributes approach the bloodbath, but these strategies depend on how the Cornucopia has been positioned. For example, in the 74th Hunger Games, The Cornucopia contained everything from weapons, to food and survival provisions. These were spread out from The Cornucopia, distributed in terms of usefulness. For example, backpacks containing basic survival provisions were spaced far away from the Cornucopia while valuable weapons such as bows and swords were placed in the heart. In contrast, during the Third Quarter Quell, The Cornucopia was piled high with weapons, in an attempt to ensure a more brutal bloodbath between the tributes. In this instance, any victor tribute who did not want to gain weapons had no use in approaching The Cornucopia.

Some tributes forgot the Cornucopia completely and try to put as much distance as they can between themselves and the armed tributes with weapons from the Cornucopia. This means they will get no supplies at all and will have to rely on the arena and their skills or perhaps a rich sponsor to give them some. Other tributes, including Katniss Everdeen, grab what they can from the outskirts of the Cornucopia and run before things get too dangerous. This means they still get supplies, but the supplies they get may be meager or not the most wanted/valuable. Still, other tributes (mostly Careers, such as Marvel, Clove, and Cato) use the dash for supplies as an opportunity to kill as many tributes as possible while they are all together. This means they will get the most optimal supplies and perhaps extra, but they run the risk of getting killed. In the 74th Hunger Games, the Careers, possibly after the bloodbath was over, made camp by the Cornucopia. This allowed them to take any leftover supplies. In the 74th Hunger Games, Rue managed to get some water bottles and socks used to cover her hands at night.

50th Hunger Games
In the 50th Hunger Games, 18 people were killed in the opening bloodbath, most of them likely by the Careers. However, the arena was so beautiful, the tributes were awed at first sight. Haymitch Abernathy, the victor from District Twelve, managed to get supplies before the bloodbath began.

74th Hunger Games
In the 74th Hunger Games, 11 people were killed in the opening bloodbath, most of them likely by the Careers. In the book, Clove killed the boy from District 9, but the rest of the deaths are unknown.

In the film, Clove threw a knife at the boy who almost killed Katniss, Thresh killed the boy from District 8. Cato killed the boy from District 4 and in the film, the boy from District 6 as well. Glimmer killed the girl from District 4 (in the film) and District 10. Marvel killed the girl from District 3, District 6 and District 9.

75th Hunger Games
In the 75th Hunger Games, 8 people were killed in the opening bloodbath. Finnick Odair killed the male from District Five, Cecelia was killed by the District 10 male after he got a sword and threw it, killing her immediately.The District 6 male morphing was also killed at the Cornucopia.