Game Objective

In The Thing: Norwegian Outpost, you find yourself at Outpost 31, reliving the events of the 2011 film. Just like in the base game, the main objective is to deal with the threat of The Thing, an alien creature with emulation abilities that hides among humans. In this expansion, humans have the possibility of escaping individually, and whoever manages to flee is immediately declared the winner. The Alien, on the other hand, will try to escape and spread. The game mechanics have been altered, introducing new choices and risks, such as voluntary sabotage of escape vehicles and the use of the Dental Record to identify humans.

Setup

To set up The Thing: Norwegian Outpost, follow these steps:

• Place the Base Board in the center of the table.
• Take the Outpost 31 Location Deck. Remove the Kennel card and place the Cabin Location card in its corresponding spot. Shuffle the remaining cards and place the deck face down. Reveal the top card and place the "Leader" marker on the indicated location. Shuffle this card back into the deck and place it near the map board.
• Place a number of Damage Tokens on the Base Helicopter according to the number of players. In this expansion, vehicles start without Damage Tokens.
• Take the Outpost 31 Weapon Deck. Remove the Dynamite and Molotov cards. Add all cards from this expansion. Build the Weapon Deck as follows, shuffle it, and place it face down in the Armory:
  • Up to 5 players: 1 Flamethrower, 3 Grenades, 3 Melee Weapons, 3 Snipers, 1 Firearm
  • Up to 7 players: 1 Flamethrower, 3 Grenades, 4 Melee Weapons, 3 Snipers, 2 Firearms
  • Up to 8 players: 2 Flamethrowers, 4 Grenades, 4 Melee Weapons, 3 Snipers, 2 Firearms
• Take the Outpost 31 Item Deck. Remove the Wires and Flashlight cards. Add all Warehouse cards from this expansion. Build the Warehouse deck as follows, shuffle it, and place it face down in the Warehouse:
  • Up to 5 players: 3 Keys, 2 Flashlights, 2 Repairs, 2 Fuel Tanks, 1 Wire
  • Up to 6 players: 3 Keys, 3 Flashlights, 2 Repairs, 2 Fuel Tanks, 1 Wire
  • Up to 7 players: 3 Keys, 3 Flashlights, 3 Repairs, 3 Fuel Tanks, 2 Wires
  • Up to 8 players: 3 Keys, 3 Flashlights, 4 Repairs, 4 Fuel Tanks, 2 Wires
• Do not create the External Reserve. The vehicles are already fully fueled.
• Each player takes the components of their chosen color: 1 Suspicion Disc, 3 Contagion Tokens, and 2 Role Cards, plus 2 random Action Cards. Take 2 Dental Record Cards (1 Healthy and 1 with Fillings).
• Take a number of NPC Contagion Tokens equal to the number of players, ensuring one of them is the Alien. Shuffle them and randomly distribute one token to each player without revealing them. The player who receives the Alien Token will be the first Alien.
• Each player places their corresponding Role Card under their character token.
• Each player shuffles their Dental Record Cards under the table, looks at one of them, and places it under their character token. The Alien player CANNOT have fillings and must choose their Healthy Teeth card.
• Place ALL NPC Contagion Tokens in the Contagion Bag.
• Place the remaining Damage Tokens in an easily accessible location near the board.
• Place the Power Outage Token, the Freeze Token, the Freeze Marker, the Alien Strength Tokens, the Alien Standees, the Flamethrower Reload Tokens, the Fire Tokens, the Weather Die, the UFO Board, the UFO Location Cards, 5 Launch Sequence Cards, and Start Tokens near the board. This area is known as the reserve.
• Place one of the Dogs (taken from the base game box) on the first space of the Dog Escape Track.
• Follow the base game setup, but make the changes mentioned above.

Game Flow

The Thing: Norwegian Outpost is played in phases, with some changes from the base game:

1. Phase 1. Weather Conditions: The Leader rolls the Weather Die to determine the weather conditions.
2. Phase 2. Base Maintenance and Rescue Progress: The Leader removes Fuel Tokens from locations according to the Weather Table and, if conditions are met, moves the Rescue Helicopter Token forward.
3. Phase 3. Alien Actions: This phase occurs only if the Alien has been exposed. The Alien plays its turn using the Location Cards and Alien Strength Tokens.
4. Phase 4. Draw Action Cards and Perform Character Actions: Characters move around the base, manage their maintenance, and hunt the Alien.
5. Phase 5. Common Room and Accusations: During the rest period, Characters can trade weapons and items and make accusations against each other.
6. Phase 6. Tests: Characters with the necessary equipment can perform tests to check other players' identities.
7. Phase 7. Food Consumption: The Leader discards the Food needed for Character sustenance.
8. Phase 8. NPC Movement and Initial Player Renewal: NPCs move around the base, and a new Leader takes charge.

Actions and How to Play

During Phase 4, after resolving Encounters, the Leader shuffles all Action Cards into the Active Cards pile. They must reveal and play at least one Action card, assigning its function to a character in a location that supports that action.

Escape

If the Use Action is assigned to a character occupying one of the three escape locations (Helicopter or one of the two Snowmobiles) without Damage, this player can show the Key and declare they are escaping.

• Base Helicopter: If Human, the player is immediately declared the winner, and the game continues for the others. If an unrevealed Alien, the game ends with the Alien faction winning.
• Snowmobile: If Human, the player is immediately declared the winner, and the game continues for the others. If an unrevealed Alien, they go to the UFO, triggering the "UFO Escape" game end.

If multiple characters are in the same escape space, the key holder decides who boards with them, starting with the character with the lowest Suspicion level. If an Alien is found among those boarding, the humans automatically lose.

Once the escape is complete, the vehicle used is no longer available. The used Key Cards cover the vehicle's illustration, indicating it can no longer be used for escape.

Tests (Phase 6)

In this phase, it is possible to check a player's identity through TEST A (Blood Test) or TEST B (Flashlight).

• TEST A (Blood Bag): A player with a Blood Bag can perform a single TEST A on the player with the highest Suspicion level. The tested player is forced to reveal their Role Card. If Human, their Suspicion Disc drops to 0. If Alien, they transform into an Exposed Alien.
• TEST B (Flashlight): A player with a Flashlight can perform a TEST B on another player of their choice. The tested player reveals their Dental Record Card.
  • If the tested player has Dental Fillings, they are CERTAINLY Human, and their Suspicion marker drops to 0.
  • If the tested player has Healthy Teeth, their Role cannot be determined, and nothing happens.

It is possible to use a test on your own character to reveal your Role.

NPC Movement (Phase 8)

The Leader shuffles the Location Deck and draws cards to determine where the NPCs move. If the Cabin card is drawn, it is unlocked, and the NPCs present there are freed. The Dog advances 1 space on its track.

Game End and Scoring

There are several conditions for the end of the game:

• Individual Human Escape: A Human who escapes individually is immediately declared the winner. The game continues for the others.
• UFO Escape: If an Alien in human form escapes using one of the Snowmobiles, the game is interrupted, and the final battle on the UFO Board begins.
• Dog Escape: If the Dogs reach the end of their track, the game ends with the Aliens winning.
• End of UFO Launch Sequence: If the Alien faction successfully activates the last card in the UFO's Launch Sequence, the game ends with an Alien victory.
• Failure of UFO Launch Sequence: If there are no Start Tokens available to activate the Launch Sequence, the Humans win.
• All Humans Assimilated or Fled: If there are no more Humans in the Base (all have fled or been assimilated) and only exposed Aliens remain, the Alien faction loses.
• Rescue Helicopter Departs Without Boarding: If the Rescue Helicopter flies away before any character can board, the game ends immediately. All players who remained at the base lose.
• No Humans on the UFO: If there are no more Humans on the UFO, the Alien faction wins along with any Humans who previously escaped.

Alien Faction Victory

• If an Alien escapes alone or with humans in the Base Helicopter, the game ends with an Alien victory. Humans who previously escaped also win.
• If an Alien escapes alone on the Snowmobile, they trigger the "UFO Escape".
• If an Alien escapes with humans on the Snowmobile, the game ends with an Alien victory. Humans who previously escaped also win.
• If the Dogs reach the end of their track.
• If the Alien faction successfully activates the last card in the Launch Sequence.

Human Faction Victory

• A Human who escapes individually is immediately declared the winner.
• If there are no more Humans in the Base and only exposed Aliens remain.
• If the Alien faction fails to activate the Launch Sequence due to a lack of Start Tokens.
• Humans who previously escaped win the game under certain end-game conditions.

Tips for Winning

• The Sniper card is crucial for delaying the Dog Escape. Use it strategically to buy time.
• The Dental Record is a powerful tool for identifying humans. Use the Flashlight to perform Test B and confirm a player's humanity with fillings.
• Individual escape is a new victory condition for humans. If you have the Key and are at an escape location, consider escaping alone if you are Human.