You can put away the copper wire, because Mondo and USAopoloy’s Project Raygun label have introduced a more civilized way to play The Thing. First announced back in May, the board-game version of John Carpenter’s 1982 horror classic comes out in October, and marks Mondo’s first foray into board games and the launch of its new games division.
The company will be previewing the game this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, where you’ll be able to see both the retail and Mondo exclusive versions of the game. Because Mondo loves a limited run, the company is only making 1,982 copies of the latter, which, in addition to the regular game, comes with new box art from Mondo favorite Jock, as well as a Mondo print featuring a unique illustration, an enamel pin, and two exclusive game pieces: Lars, a.k.a. “The Norwegian,” and the Palmer-Thing.
And because The A.V. Club loves a Mondo exclusive, we’ve got a first look at Jock’s artwork and the exclusive pieces from the Mondo exclusive version of the game ahead of its Comic-Con debut below. Here’s what Mondo’s Jay Shaw has to say about the limited-edition game:
In 2013, Jock created an outstanding Mondo poster for The Thing with his depiction of an icy alien imitator erupting from the arctic snow. At the time he also came up with a collection of great concept sketches that we really wanted to see finished some day. When we asked Jock to create the box art for our limited edition version of the game, he dipped back into those concepts and came back with a viscerally beautiful rendering of an imitation overtaking its host and reaching out to ensnare the viewer in its tendrils.
You can check out more images from the retail version of The Thing board game by signing up for the Mondo newsletter on the company’s website. And if you’re at Comic-Con this weekend, you can drop by the Mondo booth to pick up officially licensed United States Antarctica Research Station Outpost 31 patches to sew onto your parka. Kurt Russell mane optional, J&B Scotch highly recommended.