The Thing

About the game

What is The Thing?

The Thing is an unauthorised non-collectable, non-profit game based on the 1982 horror movie masterpiece "John Carpenter's The Thing", and simulates the paranoid members of an American Antarctic research facility (Outpost 31) being overrun by - or conquering - a parasitic alien organism capable of perfectly imitating its victims. One player begins as the Thing - all the other players start as human. The game is primarily played out using six asymmetrical card decks - three decks for each side (each deck corresponds to a different section of the narrative). Managing your hand of cards, and when to use each deck, is key to winning the game. The twelve members of the Outpost 31 team cards are positioned between the players, with each human player taking one character. The team then have to overcome various encounters, while trying to stay alive, in an effort to stop the Thing. Encounters are directly taken from film events, and are sorted into three separate acts - the second and third acts are shuffled, and then all three acts are placed together, forming one narrative (in this way, each game is a little different). Some example encounters: Autopsy of Norwegian-Thing, Battle in Dogtown, Explore Norwegian Base, Conduct Blood Test, and Investigate Crashed Saucer Site. In addition, the Outpost team must allocate men to tasks that may aid in their victory over the Thing. The truth being that the humans will not be able to achieve all that they want to do and will have to prioritise. All the while, the Thing player will do all in its power to thwart the human players, while attempting to construct its Blair-saucer in a secret ice cavern by cannibalising parts from the bulldozer, radio room, and helicopter. During the game, at various stages, the Thing player has the opportunity to place infection or dummy infection cards under the human character cards. Later in the game, the Thing may even directly infect other players (unbeknownst to the remaining players), or give the impression to the others that it has! The humans must keep their wits about them if they are to fight and win against the Thing, or they may find themselves fighting each other.

How it plays

Mechanics

On the shelf

Categories

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

• How do setup and the first turn work in The Thing?
• When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
• How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?