How to Play the Card Game Sleeping Queens

A Royally Rousing Card Game 2 to 5 players ages 8 and up

I had heard so much about the card game Sleeping Queens that I decided to get it for my girls for Christmas one year. It was created by a 6 year old and has many twists and turns with special cards that only a creative 6 year old would dream up.

And what kid doesn’t love a good silly card game–There’s a Moose in Your House, Ruckus, Crazy Fish. Will Sleeping Queens fit right in? Let’s learn what the rules are, how to play and if we think you should add it to our game collection.

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The Sleeping Queen Cards

Number Card – First, there are the number cards. These cards have no special powers but can be discarded by adding them up. For example, when you have a 2 and a 3 and a 5 you can play “2+3=5” and put down all three cards. You can also play more than one of a kind at a time. So, if you have two 3s then you can play them together.

Queen Cards – Next, are the Queen cards. There are 12 Queens. These all have cute names like the Pancake Queen or the Starfish Queen. All of them have a different point value that can be found in the corner.

There are two Queens that have special powers. First, when the Rose Queen is awakened, she has the power to wake another queen and take her with her. Next are the Dog and Cat Queens. What is special about the is that they fight like, well, cats and dogs. You can’t have both in your awake queen line up. If you have one of these and flip over the other, you must turn it back over and end your turn.

Kings, Knights, Dragons, Potions and Wands – The King cards are next. These cards also have adorable names like Chess King and the Turtle King. These cards are special as they have the ability to wake up the Sleeping Queens.

Next are the Knights. These are all the same but their power is that they can steal an opponents’ queen.

The Dragons can stop a knight from stealing a queen.

Next, the sleeping potion cards can put one of your opponent queens back to sleep.

The wand cards block a sleeping potion card.

Jester – Last but not least, are the Jester cards. These cards are the most unique. When you play a Jester, you take the top card off the draw pile. If it is a special card, you place it into your hand and get to take another turn. On the other hand, if it is a number card, you place the card on the discard pile and then count, starting with yourself, clockwise, the number that is on the card. When the number is reached, the last player to be counted gets to wake up a queen and keep her.

Setting Up Sleeping Queens

To set up Sleeping Queens, shuffle the queen cards and then place them in four rows of three with a space in the middle for the draw and discard piles. The queens are now asleep.

Next, shuffle all of the other cards together and then deal five cards to all players.

Playing Sleeping Queens

On your turn, you can choose to do one of many options.

First, you can play number cards. You can play a single card or doubles or ones that add up.

Next, if you play a king, then you can wake up a queen and place her on the table in front of you. This would end your turn.

Next, you could play a knight and steal a queen from someone else. If that player plays a dragon, she plays it right away and you are blocked and your turn is over.

The next option is that you could play a sleeping potion and put another players queen back to sleep. Similar to the dragon card, if that player has a wand card, he can play it right away to block you. Your turn is now over.

Last, you could play a Jester and follow its rules.

No matter what you choose to play, when your turn is over, you draw enough cards so that you have 5 cards back in your hand.

Winning Sleeping Queens

 There are two ways to win. First, you can collect 5 queens. Second, you can collect enough points on the queens to equal 50 points. This is for a 2 or 3 player game.
For a 4 or 5 player game, the amounts change to 4 queens or 40 points.

What We Like

First, we like all of the possibilities of the game—the different ways to win, the different ways to discard. It is a unique game for sure. The fact that you can counter a takeover is great. Next, the art is beautiful and we like the playfulness of the game—all the names and rules.

What We Don’t Like

First, I want to say that we got this game when my youngest was in double digits in age. The suggested age on the box is 8 and up. This is important because most of our criticism is really just that we aged out of it.

First, we find that there are too many counters to when you try to steal or sabotage another player. Again, this is great for younger kids. We just find that the other player ALWAYS has a block card in her hand.

Next, the Jester card is just…weird. That said, when we first starting playing my youngest actually liked the card. Again, it might just be what a younger kids would love.

Is Sleeping Queens Worth Adding to You Family Game Shelf?

Sleeping Queens is an interesting game for sure. I believe that kids as young as 5 would like the twists and quirkiness of this game. However, despite reports to the contrary, my older kids are not enthusiastic about it. It is cleverly thought out and even adds a little math skills in too. The artwork and quality are both fantastic. If you have younger kids, we highly recommend adding Sleeping Queens to your Family Game Shelf.

Wake up your game shelf with Sleeping Queens Here. Canadians can wake up and shop for Sleeping Queens here. They have also released a Sleeping Queens 2–haven’t tried it yet but it looks like even more fun.

For more fun card games kids will love check out Finders Keepers, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and Happy Families. Also check out our Family Game Shelf shop for tons of seasonal and original games including our Whacky Putt mini golf game and our line of Escape Rooms!

Rating:

Pro: unique, options, quality,
Cons: older kids don’t enjoy as much
Mom: addition, critical thinking,