We spend about a third of our lives in the realm of dream, even though we can't remember it. The Dreaming is not just a phenomenon produced by our unconscious brains. It is a vast and strange realm hidden behind our own world. We are only visitors there.

We drift around in a trance and think that it is our lives. But there are people who live in that misty realm. You probably can't remember them, but their lives are profoundly intertwined with your own.

he Dreaming is a game about the world hidden within our dreams. Its first incarnation took place between 2002 and 2006 at SUNY Purchase college in New York. In 2010, it was resurrected by one of its creators, Dan Comstock. Dan wanted to run a reality-bending live adventure game based on easy access and social networing technology. Between March and May of 2010, he ran an instance of the game which is

documented in this magazine. 80 people signed up for the game. Groups of players gathered in Connecticut, Long Island, and Ohio, and more were scattered all over the United States.

Dreaming players develop a persona - a character who lives in the Dreaming. To play the game, you and your friends will become members of the Dreaming society. People in the Dreaming go on adventures and fight monsters using foam boffer weapons. Events in the game world are coordinated via a social networking site.

Players pick areas of the real world which would be good spots to play. They use Dreamscaping rituals to give these places a special meaning, and then gather other players there for feasts, tournaments, or adventures. Characters can put curses on each others territories or steal them from each other.

When a number of characters gather, they can go on adventures called Dream Walks. The game's website website hosts a number of Dream Walk scripts you can print out and play. People in your party will become the monsters and characters you encounter during the adventure.

The Dreaming involves a form of collaborative storytelling. Players document game events by posting blog entries, pictures, or videos to the social-networking site. This output was used to create this magazine. The story was not pre-scripted. It unfolded as people explored this medium and mode of play. This magazine is about some very creative players and the adventures they had in a world we can only imagine.

We live in strange times. The world is changing faster than it ever has. But it's not just the Waking World that is changing. Our Dreams are transforming as well.

In January 2010, the Fae were exiled from their homelandand now wish to live in dreams. Many dead humans are not finding their way to the afterlife, slipping in the Dreaming instead. Worst of all, terrible monsters have begun to appear, slaying anybody who has the courage to face them.