Sleeping Queens review - Box Image

Sleeping Queens Game Review & FAQ

Play Time: 20 Min / Players: 2-5 / Complexity: Low / Age: 8+ we think 5+ / Publisher: Gamewright / Designer: Miranda Evarts

Sleeping Queens Ratings and Summary

BoardgamingParent.com

Kids Rating
Teen Rating
Parent Rating

Summary

Kids rating from our daughters (6 & 9).
Teen rating from our son (13).

Kids view: “I like the different pictures on the queens. My favourite is the heart queen.
Teen view: “An easy way to make my sisters happy and it’s enjoyable.”
Parent view: “Great for teaching basic maths to younger kids. The cards are well illustrated and so cute.”

3.5

Pros

  • Easy to setup
  • Quick to play
  • Helps with basic maths – great way to learn those basic facts
  • Can change quickly who’s winning so keeps everyone interested.

Cons

  • Highly recommend using card sleeves as cards bend easily and with the queens this can make them easily recognised.

What You Will Find in Our Sleeping Queens Review


My youngest daughter has a short attention span for games, so we are always on the look out for a cool game that play quick and can keep her attention. Sleeping Queens designed by Miranda Evarts and published by Gamewright fits the bill perfectly, read on to find out why. We also have some useful frequently asked question at the end of this review in case you want to find out more about Sleeping Queens.

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Overview: Sleeping Queens is simple but so much fun

Sleeping Queens review - Initial set up
Sleeping Queens initial set up.

How do you play Sleeping Queens?

Objective

The object of the game is very simple, to awaken the Sleeping Queens and earn a certain number of points to win the game. According to the game rules it is first to 5 queens or first to 50 points in a game with 2 to 3 players or first to collect 4 queens or get 40 points in a 4 to 5 player game. In practice because my children love collecting the queens so much, we ignore the points target and just play until we have collected all the sleeping queens.

Set Up

Sleeping Queens is super easy to set up. You shuffle the 12 queens and then place them face down with 6 cards on each side of the draw pile. You shuffle the game cards and place them in the centre of the queens. Each player is dealt five cards to start the game.

Turns

To begin, the player to the left of the dealer goes first. In your turn you may do one of the following:

  • play a single card of any kind and draw a card
  • play a pair of matching numbered cards and draw two cards
  • finally, you may play three or more numbered cards that make an addition equation and draw three or more new cards. For example, if you have two 5 cards and a 10, you may play all three as 5+5=10. This is our favourite play as it is a great way for children to learn some basic maths.

The twist is that some queens have special powers. The Rose Queen allows you to awaken another queen, gaining you two queens in one turn. The Cat and Dog Queen cannot be held by the same player so if you have the Cat Queen and happen to select the Dog Queen you must place it back effectively losing your chance to take a queen. These wee twists keep the game interesting and keeps who will be the overall winner a surprise till the very end.

What are the different cards in Sleeping Queens?

  • Queens of course, which are initially placed face down next to the draw pile and can be awakened by players
  • Kings awaken a sleeping queen from the centre
  • Knights steal a queen from another player. The player who the knight was played on can play a dragon to stop the effect of a knight
  • Dragons can be used to counter a Knight card
  • Sleeping Potion cards put another opponent’s queen back to sleep
  • Wand cards can be used to counter a Sleeping Potion card
  • Jester cards allow players to pick up cards on the draw pile until they get a number card. You then count starting with yourself and continuing to the left until reaching the number on the card. The last player counted gets to awaken and get a queen. The person who played the Jester gets to keep all the cards they picked up except the numbered card. Finally, they will discard down to the hand limit.

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Gameplay: You will be blown away that this game was invented by a 6 year old and plays so well!

Sleeping Queens - Selection of King, Knight and Dragon Cards
Here are some of the cute cards.

Sleeping Queens was a favourite for our kids when they were very young. Although the box age rating is 8+ we think it’s just perfect for kids aged 5 and up. The rules are very simple, and I don’t think any 5-year-old would struggle to pick them up.

Why do we like Sleeping Queens so much for younger kids? The theme is really appealing to younger kids, in our experience even our son enjoyed it. Kings, Queens, Dragons and Knights were all characters our kids could understand and enjoy.

The cards are simple to understand but there is some good variety in what can be played to make the game interesting and keep kids engaged. Playing a Jester for example is quite exciting as you pick up cards hoping to strike a number that will allow you to gain another queen!

The main thing we love about Sleeping Queens as parents is the opportunity for kids to learn basic addition. Our girls began to really look forward to collecting the right numbered cards to form an equation and therefore be able to play more cards. This encouraged them to learn equations in a fun way. The look of satisfaction when they were able to get just the right cards for one of these equations was wonderful!

Components: Cards are gorgeous and so cute in Sleeping Queens

Sleeping Queens - Selection of Queen Cards
Here’s a selection of the cute sleeping queen cards

The illustrations on the cards are gorgeous and cute. They really appeal to young kids who love the variety of queens and kings in the deck. Each king and queen are unique, and their illustration matches their name which is a nice touch. For example, the Cat Queen has a cat themed card.

The card quality is ok, but they are a little on the thin side, so I recommend using card sleeves, especially if your kids are quite young. The box is nice and sturdy.

Final Thoughts: Discover a game your kids will love in Sleeping Queens

This is a game that even parents wont mind playing. It only takes about 10-20 minutes to play and always gets lots of smiles and laughs. All our kids and parents (if I’m being honest) have their favourite queen and therefore even if someone doesn’t win overall, they may still get their favourite queen and feel victory that way.

Is Sleeping Queens easy to learn? Yes, very easy. Our 6-year-old had no trouble picking Sleeping Queens up in a few minutes.

What will Sleeping Queens teach my kids?  Sleeping Queens is great for teaching basic maths. You can combine three or more cards to create basic equations, for example playing two 5’s and a 10 card is allowed because 5+5 =10. Our daughters used to love doing this while playing Sleeping Queens, it really encouraged them to look out for simple equations.

What age is appropriate for Sleeping Queens? We think Sleeping Queens is easy enough to learn that most kids from 5 and up will be fine to play.

Does Sleeping Queens have good replay value? This game is ideally suited to a young audience due to its simplicity. I think kids under 7 or 8 will love playing Sleeping Queens over and over, our kids did at that age. So, replay value for younger kids is great. Once they are older than that they will probably find it too simplistic.

We hope you enjoyed our Sleeping Queens review. If you have any more questions or just want to share your thoughts on this game please leave a comment below, or get in touch through our contact page.

About the Authors

We are parents who love board gaming. We have three children and have been enjoying board games as a family ever since we had our first child. We share our real unbiased experiences and opinions on board games so you can decide if they are right for your family. We also write guides and articles to help you get the most out of your family game time. If you enjoy our content and want to support us you can do that through our Ko-fi page by clicking on the button below.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can you steal the Strawberry queen in Sleeping Queens?

Yes, you can steal the Strawberry Queen, however when the Strawberry Queen is stolen you cannot use its power to collect another Sleeping Queen.

How many kings are in Sleeping Queens?

There are 8 kings in Sleeping Queens

How many queens do you need to win Sleeping Queens?

According to the game rules it is first to 5 queens or first to 50 points in a game with 2 to 3 players or first to collect 4 queens or get 40 points in a 4 to 5 player game. In practice because my children love collecting the queens so much, we ignore the points target and just play until we have collected all the sleeping queens.

What happens if the draw pile runs out in Sleeping Queens?

Simply shuffle the discard pile to start a new draw pile.

What are number cards for in Sleeping Queens?

Number cards can be played as singles, a pair of matching cards, or three or more cards can be played if they create a basic equation.

 What Queens are in Sleeping Queens?

Here is the list of Sleeping Queens:

  • Heart Queen 20 points
  • Dog Queen 15 points
  • Pancake Queen 15 points
  • Cat Queen 15 points
  • Ladybug Queen 10 points
  • Sunflower Queen 10 points
  • Moon Queen 10 points
  • Peacock Queen 10 points
  • Cake Queen 5 points
  • Rose Queen 5 points
  • Rainbow Queen 5 points
  • Starfish Queen 5 points.
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4 comments

  1. I know this is an old post but I’d love to know what size card sleeves you use for this game! Do you use them just for the queen cards or all the cards?

    1. Hi, we used sleeves on all the cards. The cards I believe are standard card size 63mm x 88mm and we used green mayday sleeves which fit fine. The code is MDG-7041 but you could use another brand that fits that size we just happen to use those because we tend to find them a bit cheaper and they work well.

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