The mind is a weird place. I mean, you should know, since you're the psychic forces swirling around in there! Your human thinks about such strange things all the livelong day. It's when they fall asleep, though, that you really get to have some fun.
Dreams are AMAZING! Random symbols and ideas connecting together to tell the most outlandish tales? It's great! Sadly, humans forget your masterpieces so quickly...but not tonight!
Tonight you're going to help your human have the most intense dream and then help them remember every last piece of it. Maybe then they'll realize that a mind is a terrible thing to waste!
Components
- 1 Two Minute Timer
- Scoring Cards
- 156 Dream Cards
- instructions
Object of the Game
Dream On is a cooperative card game for 2-8 players, ages 7 and up.
Weave a weird, wacky, and winding dream together with your fellow Dreamers before trying to remember everything you experienced, good and bad.
The higher your score, the better you'll feel in the morning!
Setup
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Place the 3 Scoring cards and Timer to the side.
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Shuffle all the Dream cards into 1 deck and place it facedown in the center of the table.
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Deal each player 3 Dream cards from the top of the deck.
Note: Even though this is a cooperative game, keep your cards hidden from the other players!
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Select a player to start - the last player to have a lucid dream is the first player!
Game Play
The game is divided into 2 phases: Dreaming & Remembering. In the Dreaming Phase, the players will build their Dream. In the Remembering Phase, the players will try to remember their Dream from start to finish.
Phase 1: Dreaming
The first player draws the top card from the deck and places it, faceup, next to the deck. This is the Dream pile! Then, they use the image on the faceup card to begin the story! Once they have started the Dream, the first player flips the Timer.
Now, the Dream begins. Any player can immediately play a Dream card from their hand and place it, faceup, on top of the Dream pile.
In a few words, use your card to extend the Dream - make sure to try and connect it in some way to the previous card of the Dream pile! After you place a card, draw a new one from the Dream deck into your hand. (You should always have 3 cards in hand!)
IMPORTANT: There is no player order! Once the Dream has begun, anyone can play a card to the Dream pile. If they want, a player can add multiple cards in a row (drawing a new one after each play)!
The Dreaming Phase immediately ends as soon as the Timer runs out!
Example;
Carol had a lucid dream last night, so she is the first player! She flips the top card of the Dream deck and reveals a card with a black square. She places it, faceup, on the table creating the Dream pile. As the first player, Carol must use the black square image to start the Dream's story! She looks at everyone at the table and murmurs,
"It was a pitch-black night..".
Having started the Dream, Carol flips over the Timer. Now that the Dream has begun, anyone can play a card to add to it! Henry takes a card from his hand and places it, faceup, on top of the first card, the one with the black square. His card shows a picture of a window frame. Henry says,
"In the middle of the night, somewhere, a window shatters!"
After playing his card, Henry immediately draws a new one from the Dream deck to his hand. Elena adds a card from her hand to the Dream pile: it shows the image of a house. She grins and exclaims,
"The shattered window is on the top floor of the old haunted house!"
Elena, too, draws a new card from the Dream deck. Then, Dana plays a card to the Dream pile, one that shows an elderly man, and says,
"The house was haunted by an old man who lived alone".
She draws a new Dream card and quickly adds a second card to the Dream pile. Her second card has a picture of a boat and she says,
"The old man used to be a sailor many years ago".
Dana then draws a new Dream card. The players continue adding cards to the Dream pile and extending the Dream until the Timer runs out.
Phase 2: Remembering
All players discard any cards remaining in their hand. Take the 3 Scoring cards and place them in the center of the table.
Now that everyone has helped weave a weird and winding dream, each player must try to remember that dream in sequence!
If you were the last player to add a card to the Dream, pick up the Dream pile and hold it facedown (so that the first card of the Dreaming phase is on top).
While you hold the Dream pile, you are the active player.
Now, try to remember the first card from the Dream pile! Tell the first part of the Dream and reveal the topmost card.
IMPORTANT: You are not simply trying to remember which Dream card it is. You're remembering the narrative of your team's unique dream!
If you correctly remember the next piece of the Dream without any help from your teammates, place the Dream card faceup near the Individual Scoring card and your team receives 2 points!
If you need help to correctly remember the next piece of the Dream, ask for help! Teammates must raise their hand to show that they think they can remember. The active player can ask 1 teammate for help, or they can try and remember on their own. They then reveal the next facedown card.
If you correctly remember the next piece of the Dream with help from a teammate, place the Dream card faceup near the Collective Scoring card and your team receives 1 point!
IMPORTANT: If you are trying to remember the next piece of the Dream and a teammate gives any kind of hint or clue without having been asked, you can no longer place the Dream card near the Individual Scoring card, even if you remember the next piece on your own.
Getting excited is a good thing, but be careful that you don't let anything slip until asked!
If you fail to correctly remember the next piece of the Dream, whether individually or collectively, place the Dream card faceup near the Faulty Scoring card and your team receives -2 points!
Once a card is placed near the appropriate Scoring card, pass the Dream pile to the next player in clockwise order. They are now the active player and must try to remember the next piece of the Dream!
End of the Game
Once all of the cards in the Dream pile have been scored, and you have all tried to remember the whole Dream (with varying degrees of success!), count up your points!
All right Dreamers, let's see how strong your memories are!
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5 Points or Fewer:
As soon as you awaken, the images of your dream quickly slip away from you. Deep in a mental fog, you're left brooding the day away.
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16-30 Points:
A few forceful images drift about your waking mind, but you can't seem to put everything in order. Alas!
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31-45 Points:
You manage to reconstruct whole scenes from your dream, enlightening the rest of your day.
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46-60 Points:
Ah, what an incredible dream! Vivid images with plenty of twists and turns. This is the kind of dream that you'll always remember.
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61 Points or More:
WOW! This is the ultimate dream: one that everybody would love to have, one that changes destinies, one with the power to change the whole world! You should be proud of this one!
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