On the 14th of April, in the early morning, we set off for a training course in Croatia. We were very excited about our partnership in this course as it was another opportunity to showcase theatre games and the informal international network of theatre game enthusiasts, "Imaginary Realms", in new European environments.

The Polish group consisted of 6 adult participants and the chairperson of Heureka, Andrzej Smyk, who served as the main trainer of non-formal education during the training course. We traveled to Croatia by rented bus, and the entire journey took us about 12 hours.

We were accommodated at the "Terme Sveti Martin" resort in the town of Sveti Martin na Muri. The resort offered high-quality training rooms and many attractions, allowing us to relax after intensive sessions related to the main topic of the training.

On-site, we met youth workers, volunteers, youth leaders, and teachers from Croatia, Lithuania, Romania, Portugal, Serbia, and Turkey. During the first two days, we went through an integration process, team building activities, got to know the daily work and experiences of other participants, and discussed our previous experiences with non-formal education and the Erasmus+ program.

A crucial part of the training course was introducing participants to methods and tools which effectively increase quality of theatre games with groups of different ages. For this purpose, theater workshops, sessions on game mechanics, mind mapping, and generating ideas for game scenarios were conducted. We also discussed how to divide responsibilities within the coordinating group when creating a theatre game.

The first theatre game at our training course was prepared by the organizers. Its purpose was to allow participants to immerse themselves in what this method is and what elements it consists of. It was an example of an attractive game relatively easy to prepare and not requiring specially selected, complicated spaces. Besides gaining valuable knowledge during the game, we all had a great time, as confirmed by the subsequent meeting focused on reflection and summarizing its results.

Midway through the training course, participants divided into two working groups, tasked with creating their own game scenarios. The game created by one group was to be tested on the second group, and then the second group was to test the game on the first group. However, before this could happen, we needed a moment of rest. Participants went on an educational trip to the town of Varaždin, where they visited, among other things, the XVI-century fortress Stari Grad. They also visited a deer farm located near our resort.

This contact with nature and history was a great introduction to the second theatre game prepared by the organizers. Its task was to show participants how to implement large games for groups of over 30 people, where several locations, sound effects, decorations, and specially prepared costumes are needed. We worked together on preparing the locations, and in a short time, our training rooms transformed into Nottingham Castle, Sherwood Forest, and a small medieval village. By preparing and playing the theatre game "Sherwood Forest", participants learned more secrets of games and their preparation.

Now only group work remained, and completing our own scenarios. It is important to emphasize here that the most important result of this work was gaining or expanding experience in creating a theatre game, rather than the level of complexity of the game or amazing special effects. One of the groups completed their game, and it was played by us. The other group prepared a game, and then during a specially prepared discussion, they discussed all the steps of working in a group on the created scenario. After completing the work and playing one of the games, we discussed our experiences and wrote down the results of our discussion.

The last point of the training course was evaluation, during which participants could express their opinions on the entire meeting and listen to the opinions of other members of our group. Each participant also received a Youthpass certificate and a link to prepare a description of the acquired competencies. Notes on the knowledge and experiences gained, each participant has been keeping in specially prepared educational notebooks provided by the organizers since the beginning of our meeting.

We would like to thank our Croatian partner, the LUMEN organization from Ludbreg, for inviting us to the team leading the training course "Imaginary Realms - Imagination Grove". It was a valuable educational experience for us.

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