One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy

This was a fun non-lucid dream.

My recall begins as I am hosting a party in Las Vegas for some old friends. We've set up a private game of blackjack. After a while, someone gets upset and accuses the blackjack dealer of cheating. They look to me to resolve the issue. I say it shouldn't matter because no one was gambling with real money. But it turns out my friends were.

I restart the party. But now, it seems to be like a computer game, controlled through a screen interface. The object of the game is to host a successful party, which mostly means giving away free drinks from a beer keg. The first few game levels are short and each adds a new element. I finish the first few. Now, in addition to drinks, I can offer appetizers and set up attractions like a blackjack table.

But after a few levels, I get stuck. I realize that an important wrinkle to the game is to arrange the attractions around the venue so that people can move freely. If too many partygoers get stuck tying to get through a door or waiting for a drink, they lose interest and leave. Now learning this, I decide to start over from the beginning and plan the layout of each party better.

Everything restarts once again. But now, it seems I am hosting each party in person, not via a computer screen. It's still a game though, and I play through a few levels as before, but with better planning that leads to higher satisfaction for the guests. The levels jump around from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. For each level, I marvel at the outdoor views of the city. I appreciate the amount of detail that went into simulating each city. But after a few levels, I learn that this "game" is played in the real world. It's not a simulation. The cities are real; that's why the views look so accurate. The guests are real people and they choose to participate in the game mostly for the free drinks, but also to meet celebrities. That's a new element introduced in the later levels. You can invite celebrities, but they have more demanding needs to accommodate. And so, the game builds on its complexity.

The game is getting harder, but not more fun. It's increasingly about pleasing the celebrities. And since they are real, they have ulterior motives for participating in my game. They want women and drugs and easy money by cheating at the gambling games. And they'll ruin the party for others at the slightest slight. I start to regret getting involved in the first place.