Dream Diary
Dream Diary Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Game Components
- Location cards x40
- Dream cards x40
- Memory Sheet x50
- Hope Track x1
- Kite tokens x2
2. Goal of the Game
Dream Diary is a co-operative game in which players win or lose together.
Players win when they successfully play all Dream cards from their hands.
However, the players will lose if they Jump to 2 Nightmares or if the Kite token falls off the Hope Track.
2.1 Discussion in Game
You are allowed to discuss verbally while playing the game. However, you must not mention or give any hints about details in the Dream cards your hand as well as any Nightmare cards you selected.
When discussing, do not point directly at any Location card on the table.
3. Game Setup
A. Place the Hope Track in the middle of the table.
B. Choose a difficulty level by placing the Kite token (2 stars face) on the space with the number 12/14/16/18. The easiest difficulty level is 12.
C. Randomly choose and open as many Location cards as the selected difficulty level number (12 cards are selected in the example).
D. Select Dream cards that have the same number and artwork with chosen Location cards, shuffle and deal all of them to each player (some may have more cards than others). Keep these cards secret.
E. Each player looks at their cards and chooses 1 to place face down next to the Hope Track to form a Nightmare deck. Players may never examine the Nightmare deck.
F. Choose a player to become the Leader. The Leader takes 1 Memory Sheet and starts the game.
4. How to Play
In Dream Diary, players take turns as the Leader. On the Leader's turn, they will perform the following 2 actions in order:
- Sending a Signal
- Jumping to a Location (optional)
4a. Sending a Signal
The Leader asks all other players the question: "Are your dreams... ( Adjective ) ?"
Example: Are your dreams colorful ? Are your dreams sad ?
Other players must then answer based on the Dream cards in their hand using hand signals only:
- 0 - Hold a fist: NO cards relate to the adjective
- 1 - One finger point up: Exactly ONE card relates to the adjective
- n - Raise a hand: MULTIPLE cards relate to the adjective
Example (from the rulebook): The Team Leader is Jane. Jane asks the question: "Are your dreams funny?" Chris holds a fist, John points one finger up, Jeff raises a hand, and Joel raises a hand. Claris then notes down the hints into the Memory Sheet.
4b. Jumping to a Location (optional)
The Leader chooses a Location card on the table and asks "Is this your Dream?"
Be aware!!! The Leader is not allowed to choose Location cards that are similar to their own Dream cards.
After a Location is chosen, the player who has a Dream card that is similar to the chosen Location can immediately play it. Flip the correct Location card to the colorless side, marking this location complete.
Because the Team Leader has jumped successfully, they may continue jumping or stop and end their turn. If the Leader ends his/her turn, pass the Memory Sheet to their left.
Trapped in Nightmares
If nobody can reveal a Dream card identical to the selected Location, the Jump has failed. Flip the Kite token to the 1 Star Side. If a Jump fails when the Kite token is already on the 1 Star side, the players have lost.
Otherwise, the Leader then ends their turn and passes the Memory Sheet to the player on their left.
5. Hope Track
Throughout the game, the Kite token must be kept within the Hope Track.
If the Kite token moves off this track, you also lose the game.
The Kite token will move one space to the left when:
- The Leader decides not to Jump.
- The Leader only successfully Jumped to 1 Location.
- The Leader Jumps into a Nightmare on their first choice. (This will cause the team to lose a star as well.)
6. End of the Game
The game ends when a Winning or Losing condition is triggered.
Players win if they manage to play all of the Dream cards in their hands.
Players lose if they Jumped into a Nightmare twice, or if the Kite token moves off the Hope Track.
Winning and Scoring
After winning, sum up all stars on the Hope Track (where the Kite token currently is) and on the Kite token itself to find out how well your party did!
| Stars | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-3 stars | That was pretty close, huh? |
| 4-5 stars | We're getting there! |
| 6-7 stars | Teamwork makes the dream work! |
| 8 stars | Literal. Perfection. |
7. 2-Players Variant
When playing Dream Diary with 2 players, we recommend using this variant.
You will be using 2 Kite tokens instead of 1.
7a. Changes to Setup
Set up the game exactly the same as usual for steps A to D. But on step B, place both tokens on the same space and decide which token belongs to which player. We highly recommend playing with 14 cards for the best experience.
On step E (choosing Nightmare cards), follow these steps instead:
- Each player secretly chooses 4 cards from their hand (total 8 cards).
- Shuffle these 8 cards and deal 1 random card to each player. (The 1 card goes back to each player's hand after shuffling.)
- Leave the remaining 6 cards next to the play zone to form the Nightmare deck.
7b. Changes to Gameplay
The game generally plays the same as players take turns as the Leader, sending a Signal and optionally Jumping to a Location during their turn.
However, when sending a Signal, if the Leader's Kite token is further to the left compared to the other player's Kite token, the Leader may send 2 Signals instead of 1 before Jumping to a Location.
Example: It is Jane's (yellow) turn as the Leader. Their token is 1 space left of John's (teal) token. Jane may send 2 Signals, with John answering 1 before asking the other, before Jumping to a Location.
7c. End of the Game
Both players win if they manage to play all of the Dream Cards in their hands.
Both players lose if either of them Jumped into a Nightmare twice, or if either Kite token moves off the Hope Track.
Scoring stays the same. Add up the number of stars on both players' Kite tokens and the leftmost space on the Hope Track that contains a Kite token.
Example: Although 2 Nightmare cards have been chosen, play continues as each player has only chosen 1 Nightmare. If the players win at this stage, the total score will be 4 points: 1 from each Kite token, 2 from the Hope Track.