Infection at Outpost 31 is a hidden identity game based on John Carpenter’s The Thing and illustrated by pop culture studio Mondo

Here’s a game you might not mind being tied to a couch and forced to play: a social deduction title based on John Carpenter’s classic 1982 sci-fi horror The Thing.

Infection at Outpost 31 will see players take on the role of the inhabitants of the titular movie setting as they attempt to figure out who among them has been infected by the alien parasite – our money’s on the dog.

The title will be the first release from the newly-opened Project Raygun division of publisher USAopoly, which has plans to work on additional games based on pop culture properties – it’s also announced soft props, figures, stackable ‘totem blocks’ and a puzzle based on the movie.

Contributing design and artwork to Infection at Outpost 31 will be Mondo, the art studio known for its run of posters, vinyl records and collectibles inspired by films, video games, comics and more.

“When we set out to create the first licensed Mondo board game the biggest question was; what film property would we go after? So many of the films we celebrate at Mondo would be an absolute blast in game form,” brand director Jay Shaw said. “As soon as John Carpenter’s suspense masterpiece, The Thing was mentioned it very quickly became our top choice.

“The next step was to figure out how to actually make a game. We all love playing them, but none of us had designed one before. Game mechanics are an incredibly complicated art form and we didn’t want to enter this space unless we were going to get it right. Luckily our dear friends at Project Raygun were completely up to the challenge. They’ve built an incredibly challenging fast paced game of paranoia that transports players directly into the film.”

Mondo has become well-regarded for its stylish pop culture artwork – we’ll have to wait until this autumn to see whether Infection at Outpost 31 can live up to the legacy of its cinematic source.