Story Box: Dreams & Nightmares
Story Box: Dreams & Nightmares Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- A rules sheet.
- 110 illustrated cards.
- 1 illustrated double-sided board (Story / Score).
Setup
Place the board in the centre of the table, "Story" side visible (see below).
Shuffle the cards. Cut the deck in two. Place these two piles, face down, on either side of the table so that everyone can easily draw cards.
Each player takes 3 cards from one of the piles and looks at them secretly.
Prepare a 2-minute timer (not included; you can use your phone, for example).
Course of the Game
The game is played in 2 steps: Story and Memory.
During the Story phase, you stack cards face up while telling a story.
During the Memory phase, you turn the stack of cards face down and try to remember how the story unfolded in order to find the cards in the right order.
Step 1: Story
The player who wishes to starts the game. They play one of their 3 cards, face up, on the board and tell the beginning of a story. This is the first card of the Story pile.
Then start the 2-minute timer.
There are no turns during the story. Anyone around the table can play a card, on the fly, to continue the story. During this phase, do not hesitate to chip in!
When you play a card:
- Place your card face up on the Story pile.
- Tell whatever you like, as long as it is "linked" to the thread of the story.
- Immediately draw a new card to bring your hand back up to 3 cards.
The story ends as soon as the 2 minutes have elapsed!
The story told will most certainly be funny, sometimes serious, sometimes absurd and often far-fetched, depending on the game.
Example of the start of a story
Alexandre starts. He plays one of his 3 cards and says: "Long live the newlyweds!"
The timer is started! Alexandre draws a new card to complete his hand.
Julien continues: "A speech! A speech!"
Lana: "Oh dear, I think he forgot his text!"
Julien: "He looks to be in a panic..."
Débora: "Oops, the bride doesn't look happy!"
Débora again: "Look over at the table, her father-in-law is snoring!"
Step 2: Memory
You have just told a strange and certainly winding story. Now you have to remember it in the right order!
Put all unplayed cards and the draw pile back in the box. They are no longer needed.
The player who played the last card takes the Story pile, turns it face down and keeps this stack of cards in hand.
Be careful not to mix up the cards of your story!
Flip the board over to its "Score" side.
Starting with the player holding the stack, sometimes helped by the back of the card (see "What are these card backs?"), you will try to remember the story.
Warning: From now on, players who do not hold the stack can only say whether they remember the card or the person who played it. If a teammate gives an answer without having been invited to (see "Ask for help"), immediately turn the card over and check what they said. Then place the card as if you had asked them for help.
The player holding the Story stack can:
Try to remember the card alone: Try to recall the top card of the stack or the corresponding bit of the story. Then check by turning the card over and place it, face up, on the corresponding side of the Score board.
- If your memory is correct, place the card next to the +2.
- If your memory is incorrect, place the card next to the -1.
- Or - Ask for help: Are you lost in the story? Ask your teammates for help! Designate a teammate who thinks (or seems) to have the right answer. They must then try to remember the top card of the stack.
- If their memory is correct, place the card next to the +1.
- If their memory is incorrect, place the card next to the -1.
THEN, this player passes the Story stack to the next player clockwise. It is now that player's turn to try to remember the next Story card.
Tip: shift the cards to either side of the "Score" board, so as to keep an overview of what has already gone by.
Example: Débora played the last card of the story. She therefore turns the stack and the board over and tries to remember the first card of the story.
Débora: "So, I think we were shouting, long live the newlyweds!" Won! She places the card in front of the +2 points, then passes the stack to the next player, Alexandre.
Alexandre: "...Wasn't there a panicking guy, right?!..." Lost, it was the speech. He places the card in front of the -1 point, then passes the stack to the next player, Julien.
Julien: "I'm not sure here... I need help!" Lana says she knows and Julien believes her: "Go on, tell me!" Then Lana says: "It's the empty envelope, he forgot his text!" Won! Julien places the card in front of the +1 point and passes the stack to the next player, Lana.
What are these card backs?
Most cards have a neutral back. They can be of any nature and offer no clue.
But a few have icons on the back to help you remember the nature of the illustration:
- Animal
- Object
- Place
- Character
These icons are only a help and do not prevent you from interpreting the illustrations as you wish during the story.
End of the Game and Score
When the Story stack is empty, move on to counting your points!
Score
The important thing is to have fun and to try to improve your score from game to game. But if you wish, you can refer to this scale:
- 10 or less: If your game were a film title, it would be "The Nightmare of the Goldfish!"
- 11 to 20: The night was restless, you are trying to sort out your dreams... and your nightmares!
- 21 to 30: Somewhere between dreams and nightmares, the mix of your memories makes everyone laugh!
- 31 to 40: You manage to recreate entire scenes from your dreams, which brightens the rest of your day.
- 41 to 50: What wild and incredible dreams... They could fill a novel.
- 51 and more: This is the ultimate dream, the waking dream, the one with the power to change destinies, to change the world...
Variant for experts: "Dreams and Nightmares"
During the Story step, and still within 2 minutes, you must now tell TWO stories at the same time (why not a dream and a nightmare?).
The cards are stacked in 2 separate piles BELOW the board.
When you take part during this phase, you may continue either of the two stories, as you see fit. The Story step is validated only if each of the two stories contains at least 8 cards.
During the Memory step:
- Turn the board over to its "Score" side.
- Also turn over the 2 Story piles, leaving them in place. You do not take them in hand in this variant.
- In turn, try to remember the next card of one of the two stories, whichever you prefer (and above all, whichever you remember best).
- You may also ask for help, in the same way as in a standard game.