The Thing Infection at Outpost 31 was released in 2016. It quickly made my top 5 games of that year. Normally we don’t like games that take more than an hour but The Thing is so terrific that it is worth 90 minutes.
The materials are top notch. Just enough but not too much art. My opinion on art is that too much can distract. The Thing is perfect...lots of white. Feels like frozen snow bound buildings. All the pieces are quality. Just really like it.
The Thing is a hidden identity game. An alien energy being can take over human bodies and become an Imitation. At the beginning of the game there is one Imitation. Several times during the game there are opportunities for more players to become an Imitation secretly.
The party is trapped in a frozen outpost. They must clear the building starting in zone 1 and progressing through zone 3. Danger of course escalates.
Wildly exoctic tools such as flashlights and fire extinguishers can be found to aid the party in their quest. Again perfectly minimalistic. Players contribute supplies secretly to help with their quest. Did your friend really not have a rope? Or is he really an Imitation?
Tension mounts as the partly battles monsters through power outages, smoke and fires. The feeling of success can be wiped out when they have to take two steps back. So fun.
A successful escape from the Outpost is accomplished by getting to the helicopter with no Imitations hidden in the party.
The Good: The balance and mechanics of the game are terrific. Also it is very easy to get immersed in the theme and feel that you are actually there. And they provide rule/play summary cards!!!
The Bad: I first saw a pre-production version of The Thing at San Diego Comic Con. The wait until I could order the game was excruciatingly painful. Almost as bad as finally making it to the helicopter only to find out an imitation is one of your companions.
The Dastardly: One of our go to games. Just Dastardly fun!