Here’s Your First Look At Mondo’s THE THING Board Game
The good folks over at Entertainment Weekly just officially revealed something we've been waiting to talk about for months: The Thing board game, coming to you this October from Mondo and USAopoly’s designer games division, Project Raygun.
It's Mondo's first-ever board game, and it's based on one of our all-time favorite movies. As an added bonus, it looks absolutely fantastic. Here's the newly-revealed photos, along with some further information from the just-issued press release:
An alien lifeform has infiltrated a bleak and desolate Antarctic research station assimilating other organisms and then imitating them. In the hidden identity game THE THING ™ INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31, you will relive John Carpenter’s sci-fi cult classic in a race to discover who among the team has been infected by this heinous lifeform.
The game has been designed to be as authentically cinematic as possible, ensuring that the players will experience the paranoia and tension that makes the film so great.
"Mondo brought more than their storied design acumen to the table," said Joe Van Wetering, Creative Design and Game Development at Project Raygun. "Thanks to their deep understanding and reverence for THE THING, they helped define the tone and shape the game play itself. INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31 reflects a true collaboration between our two brands resulting in a game that will excite table top and film aficionados alike."
The regular version of the game features artwork and designs by Justin Erickson of Phantom City Creative. The Mondo exclusive version, sold exclusively through MondoTees.com, is limited to 1,982 copies, and features different packaging artwork by Jock. The limited edition game will also come with a Mondo print, enamel pin and two additional sculpted movers: the Norwegian character and the Palmer Thing.
Commenting on the design, artist Justin Erickson said, "with THE THING box art, I wanted to focus on the isolation of Outpost 31 and hint at the hidden alien dangers that lurk around every corner. The title of the game cut out of the ice/snow is a call back to the Thing originally being cut out of the ice by the Norwegians."
The Thing™ Infection at Outpost 31 Gameplay
It is the start of the bleak, desolate Antarctic winter when a group of NSF researchers manning the claustrophobic, isolated U.S. Outpost 31 comes into contact with a hostile extraterrestrial lifeform. Bent on assimilating Earth’s native species, this being infiltrates the facility—creating a perfect imitation of one of the Outpost 31 crew. The staff frantically begin a sweep of the base, desperate to purge this alien infection before escaping to warn McMurdo Station that somewhere, out there in the frigid darkness, something horrible is waiting.
In THE THING™ INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31, relive John Carpenter’s sci-fi cult classic as a hidden identity game designed to push you to the edge. Play as one of a dozen characters like helicopter pilot MacReady, mechanic Childs, or station manager Garry. Face sabotage and infection as you investigate the facility—gather gear, battle The Thing, expose any imitations among you, and escape Outpost 31!
Tension mounts and paranoia ensues as you question who you can trust in the ultimate race to save humanity.
This thing looks awesome, doesn't it? And here's some more good news: over the next few months, we're going to be rolling out quite a bit of specialty coverage on Mondo's The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31, really digging into how the game came together, how it was made, and - perhaps most importantly - how it plays. We can't wait to get our hands on it, and the moment we do, we'll be bringing you plenty more.
So stay tuned for that, and be careful out there: you never know which of your friends may have already been taken over.
