I am working on a new game called My Dream(less) Journal (that’s actually the game’s 5th name already in its brief existence). I had a flash of inspiration one day talking to my wife, Raquel, about dreams, about how I wish I could remember them, and about writing a Dream Journal. I suddenly realized all these solo games, journaling games, and generators would be perfect to manually generate dream I could write about!

And thus came to be the idea about a solo journaling game about dreams, where you can create your own dreams, based on your own experiences and memories, and then use it to write your own fake dream journal. A Dream Journal for the Dreamless we called.

What follows is a preview of the part in where I explain what is is in the draft of the game. This means this is not the final text folks, but I am enjoying it a lot so fat!

I daydream so much that when I lay down to sleep, my dream pool is all used up. – Diogo Nogueira

Introduction

I love the idea of dreams. I say idea here because I, particularly, do not dream. Actually, let me correct that. I can’t remember my dreams, as anywhere I read about dreaming says everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers their dreams.

Anyway, the idea of dreams is fascinating to me and it was better put into words by one of my favorite comedians of all time, Pete Holmes, as “movies your mind plays for you while you are sleeping” (actually, the bit is about a lot more than that, but that part stuck with me). This ability we have to create stories for ourselves almost involuntarily seems almost magical. 

Additionally, the fact that the stories it creates are usually about us and the things that have a lot of significance to our lives makes them even more relevant. People say they learn a lot about themselves through dreams.

That’s why a lot of people write in their dream journals. Not only they can be entertaining to “watch” (even some nightmares have given new ideas, or offered new ways to see things, to many people), but when you write them you get the chance to relive them, and study them for whatever purposes you might have. 

I wish I could do that. But I “don’t dream”. Well, until now.

What is My Dream(less) Journal?

My Dream(less) Journal is a solo journaling game about dreaming. It is also the solution to my problem of “not dreaming” I just told you about.

Using this book, a couple of dice, and something to write with, you will simulate your subconscious mind while it creates a dream inspired by your own memories and experiences. And with that you will be able to register these wonderfully weird narratives on this very book, as people do with dream journals. Just as if you had awakened from a real dream.

It’s a solo journaling game because it’s intended to be played alone, and you play as you write the dream you create with the game as if you are journaling.

And it’s a game about dreaming because you use your own experiences, stories, and memories to create dreamlike narratives guided by the mechanics and procedures of the game. The goal is to create weird and wonderful stories you could very well have dreamed.

Content Warning?

This is a game about dreams, and this includes nightmares. Or at least it can include nightmares. In the end, this is up to you. As the game prompts you about your life experiences, memories and stories, it’s up to you how much you put into it. You definitely don’t need to go to places where you don’t feel comfortable going. There are enough prompts and options you can choose from without the need to go into what you don’t want to get into. Additionally, you can always interpret these prompts in slightly different ways so you can steer the direction it goes slightly to a more comfortable area or memory. Finally, you can just make stuff up. If the game asks you about something you don’t want to share, you can just lie. We will never know. 

Can I write in another notebook?

Of course you can. This book doubles as a game manual and journal whereupon you can write your game play on. The idea is to make every copy of the game completely unique and personal to the individual who plays it. But you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. I understand.

I confess I avoid writing or marking most of my books. I love them so much I feel like I want to protect them and keep them immaculate. But I am trying to let go of this. A marked book is a sign of a used book, an enjoyed book. They were made for that. As is this book made for being written upon. If you are waiting for a permission, you got it. Write, scribble, doodle, make this My Dream(less) Journal yours!

What do I need to play?

You don’t need much to play this game. With this book a few dice and something to write with you are good to dream!

• This book has all the rules and guidance you need to play. Additionally, it also doubles as a journal, as you can use the last half of the book to write the Dreams you create while playing.
• Something to write with. A pencil, a pen, a piece of coal. You might need an eraser too. Just saying.
• One twelve-sided dice (d12), and at least one six-sided die (d6). It’s better to have more d6s though. 3 should be a good number.
• A mind willing to be curious and imaginative.

I am not that creative

You might shy away from this game thinking this is something for “creative” people. And you are right. It is. But you are wrong in assuming you might not be creative. We all are. We just need a little help and a bit of practice. And, hey! Guess what this game will help you with? So I encourage you to try it out. See where it takes you and try your best not to judge or criticize yourself. This is just for you. It’s your time to play.

How do you play?

You play this game by sitting somewhere you can have an hour or so by yourself (or wherever you can think clearly and write), following a simple procedure outlined in the next chapter to generate a dreamlike plot, and finally translate that plot into an entry in your journal.

Below you can find a brief step-by-step process of game play you can reference. Chapter 2: Dreaming will detail each of these steps and provide all the tools and guidance to help you play.

1. Sit down with this book, a Journal Spread (see page XXX), a pen or pencil, and at least one twelve-sided die and one six-sided die.
2. Start by determining your Base Dream either by choosing one of the 12 categories and picking a dream, or rolling a d12 to randomly determine the Dream Category and then a d6 to determine the Dream Type. If you need a quick Base Dream to start with, go with “Just Yesterday” of the Recent Events category. Use all the Dream Elements from your Base Dream to establish the Starting Situation to develop the narrative.
3. After the initial set up and events are ongoing, roll the Dream Die to see how the Dream develops. Rolling high means good things happen, and rolling low means bad things happen. Write what happens based on the result of the Dream Die. 
4. Then, Things Start to Change. Get 1d3  to determine how many Dream Elements are going to change, and a d6 do determine which of them will be. Then, roll a d12 and a d6 to determine from where you are drawing the new Dream Elements from. Use the new Dream Elements to continue the narrative, telling how these changes affected the situation.
5. Finally, roll the Dream Die again to see how the Dream ends. Rolling high means it ends well, and rolling low means the end isn’t so pleasant. 
6. Finish by writing the end to your Dream based on all that. That’s it! You just wrote an entry in your Dream(less) Journal!

Can the Dream get weirder?

The standard procedure outlined above is appropriate to create short Dreams with a bit of weirdness you can explore in contrast with a base of “normality”, in a sense. We recommend you start Dreaming using this setup until you get familiar with the game, and feel comfortable with the way you create and journal your Dreams. After that, if you want your Dreams to get weirder and weirder, you can actually repeat the 4th and 5th step until you feel it’s weird enough to move to the 6h and final step to finish the Dream.