The Thing: The Boardgame

The Thing is a game that mixes different mechanics to create an experience that is as faithful as possible to that of the original film. It is a ‘hidden role’ game, in which one player is initially the Thing and the others players are humans. The purpose of the Thing is to infect others, to prevent the survivors from escaping from the base (there are three different ways), and/or to try to escape with them by behaving as a human.

In addition to these elements, players will also have to manage Outpost 31. On the map there will be the same rooms as seen in the film, and each of these rooms will perform a different action. Human players will have to feed themselves and keep the boiler and the generator on to avoid being in the cold and dark. The Thing will try to sabotage these places making life difficult for humans...or not, trying to camouflage itself among the humans and infect them when the perfect opportunity presents itself.

As you may have guessed from this brief overview, the game offers an engaging character depth. The game designers’ purpose was to bring the same personal emotions and paranoia that the protagonists of the film experienced to the gaming table.