Is Sleeping Queens good for kids? Age and difficulty

You race to wake sleeping queens by playing kings, while knights steal queens and potions put them back to sleep. Dragons and wands let you block those attacks. Number cards double as simple addition sums, so it mixes luck, memory and a little maths in short turns.

What age is Sleeping Queens for?

Box says 8+

We suggest 7+ with an adult helping, 8+ on their own.

A turn is one card action then draw, and most cards are pictures or small numbers, but the addition discards need some confidence with sums. A 7 year old can play with an adult helping on those, and an 8 year old can play alone. Losing a queen to a knight can sting.

Easy to learn
2 to 5 players
20 minutes
About 3 minutes to set up (our estimate)
Competitive

Players can hurt each other's plans directly. Players can steal from each other. Content: Light fairy tale with queens, knights and dragons. A knight steals a queen and a potion sends one back to sleep, but nothing is violent or scary.

Rated from the rulebook, checked 2026-10-09

How we rate games

Rules as of the Gamewright English rulebook.

Also good for 8 year olds.

How do you set up Sleeping Queens?

Checked against the Sleeping Queens English rules of play from Gamewright, copyright 2005. The rules are a two-page sheet with no cover and no printed page numbers, so page numbers here are the PDF's pages.

Players

Split the cards into two decks by their backs. The queens have green backs and everything else has red backs (page 1).
Shuffle the 12 queens and lay them face down (asleep) in the middle of the table in four rows of three (page 1). The sheet's picture shows them four across and three down, which is the same twelve cards.
Shuffle the red deck and deal 5 cards to each player. Look at your cards and keep them secret (page 1).
Put the rest of the red deck face down in a draw pile in the middle of the queens. Players discard onto a face-up pile next to it (page 1).
The player to the left of the dealer goes first, and play goes clockwise (page 1).

Sleeping Queens in five steps

This is a walkthrough of one round at a table of three: you, Ana and Ben. Scroll down and tap things to try them. The board follows along. It is not a game, so nothing is dealt or shuffled. The queens and cards here are our own made-up set, and so are the names Ana and Ben. The real cards look different. The rules are the real Sleeping Queens rules, and every page number is a page of the rules sheet PDF (it has two pages).

Step 1 of 5: Wake the queens

1

Wake the queens

Twelve queens are asleep in the middle. Wake them, and a queen you wake is yours. On your turn do one thing, then draw back to five cards. You win with enough queens or enough points.

Tap Show the goal.

The queens and cards here are our own made-up set, and so are the names Ana and Ben. The real cards look different. Only the Rose Queen (5 points), the Cat Queen and the Dog Queen (15 points each) and the rules are the real ones (page 2).

The rules say the queens go in four rows of three. The picture shows them four across and three down, with the draw pile in the middle and a discard space under it (page 1). We follow the picture.

Ana sits to your left, then Ben. Play goes clockwise, so after you comes Ana (page 1).

2

Play a King

A King wakes a queen from the middle. Tap Wake a queen, then tap the card you would play. Try a few cards.

Tap Wake a queen, then tap the card you want to play.

The queens' places on the board are fixed for this walkthrough. In a real game they are shuffled and you can't tell them apart (page 1). The queens' point values are ours too, except the Rose, Cat and Dog Queens.

3

When someone attacks you

A Knight steals another player's awake queen, and a Sleeping Potion puts one back to sleep. A Dragon stops a Knight and a Wand stops a Potion, but only if you play it right away.

Ana plays a Knight to steal your Maple Queen. Tap the card that stops her.

After a Dragon or a Wand the sheet says each player picks a card (page 1). It doesn't say whether that means everyone at the table or only the two players in the defence, so we show only you and Ana picking.

House rule With younger kids, leave out the Knights, Dragons, Sleeping Potions and Wands for the first game, so nobody loses a queen. Put them back after a game or two. The rules sheet has no variants.

4

Discard for new cards

Don't want your cards? Discard one card of any kind, or a pair of the same number, or three or more number cards that make an addition. Tap cards to pick them, then tap Discard.

Tap the cards you want to discard, then tap Discard.

The sheet shows two sums: 2 + 3 = 5 and 2 + 3 + 4 = 9 (page 2). In both, one card equals the others added up. It doesn't say whether another split, such as 2 + 4 = 1 + 5, also counts, so we accept only the form on the sheet.

After a sum the sheet says to draw three or more cards. It also says to fill your hand back to five at the end of every turn (page 2). We just fill back to five.

5

The Jester, and how you win

A Jester lets you turn the top card of the draw pile. A power card goes into your hand and you take another turn. A number card makes players count off, and the last one counted wakes a queen. You hold four queens now: Maple, Kite, Pebble and Thistle. Ana and Ben hold the other three awake queens.

Tap the Jester, then tap Turn the top card.

The two cards the Jester turns over are fixed here, a 1 and then a King. A real draw pile is shuffled. We only use a 1, which counts just you. The sheet doesn't say what happens when the number is bigger than the number of players, so we don't teach that. Which queens Ana and Ben hold is made up too, chosen so the Rose Queen and the Cat and Dog Queens don't get in the way here.

You can go over the points goal, because you don't need the exact number (page 2). Setup, scoring and a pocket card are below.

How do you teach Sleeping Queens to kids?

The box says 8 and up. We suggest 7 and up with an adult helping, and 8 and up on their own. Number cards turn into small sums when kids discard (page 2), which is where they learn the game fastest. The queens' point values are printed on the cards.

Say this

The queens are asleep, and we are trying to wake them up. A queen you wake is yours.
On your turn do one thing, then draw back up to five cards. Play a King to wake a queen from the middle.
A Knight steals a queen someone else has woken. A Sleeping Potion sends one back to sleep.
If someone plays a Knight on you, play a Dragon right away to stop it. Against a Sleeping Potion, play a Wand right away.
A Jester lets you flip the top card. A power card gives you another turn. A number card makes you count players, and the last one counted wakes a queen.
Or discard cards you do not want: one card, a pair of the same number, or three or more numbers that add up, which you say out loud. First to the goal wins.

The rulebook has no beginner variant, so every simplification below is a house rule.

First-game simplifications

House rule Leave out the Knights, Dragons, Sleeping Potions and Wands for the first game, so nobody loses a queen. Put them back in after a game or two.
House rule Let a grown-up check each addition equation before the kid discards the cards. The rulebook asks you to say the equation aloud (page 2).
House rule Let a grown-up keep the sleeping queens in view and remind players where each one was, so it is easier to remember where a queen went after a Potion.

Watch-outs for kids ages 7 to 8

On your turn do one action, then fill your hand to five. A turn is not several actions (pages 1 and 2).
A Dragon or a Wand has to be played immediately. If you forget, you cannot play it later (page 2).
The Rose Queen takes a second sleeping queen only when she is woken from the middle. She does not when stolen with a Knight (page 2).
You can not hold the Cat Queen and the Dog Queen together. If you wake the second one, put it back face down and end your turn (page 2).
A Jester flips the top card of the draw pile. A power card goes in your hand and you take another turn. A number card means counting players around the table (page 1).
The goal changes with the number of players: 5 queens or 50 points with 2 or 3 players, and 4 queens or 40 points with 4 or 5 players. You can go over the points (pages 1 and 2).

Back for another game?

Setup: 12 queens face down in four rows of three. Deal 5 red cards each, and put the rest in a draw pile (page 1).
Your turn: do one thing, then draw back to five cards (pages 1 and 2).
King: wake any sleeping queen. Knight: steal another player's awake queen. Sleeping Potion: put an opponent's awake queen back to sleep. A Dragon stops a Knight, and a Wand stops a Potion, if played right away (page 1).
Jester: flip the top card. A power card gives you another turn. A number card makes you count players, and the last one counted wakes a queen (page 1).
Discard: one card and draw one, a pair of the same number and draw two, or three or more numbers that make an addition equation and draw three or more cards (page 2).
Rose Queen: 5 points, and takes another queen if woken from the middle. Cat Queen and Dog Queen can not be held together (page 2).
Winning: first to 5 queens or 50 points with 2 or 3 players, or 4 queens or 40 points with 4 or 5 players. If no sleeping queens are left, the most points wins (page 2).
If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to make a new one (page 2).

Every turn, four things

On your turn do ONE thing: play one card or discard (page 1). Then fill your hand back to five (page 2). Answering a Knight or a Potion happens on someone else's turn.

Play one cardA King wakes a queen, a Knight steals one, a Sleeping Potion puts one to sleep, a Jester turns a card.
Answer at onceOn another player's turn, if they attack you, play a Dragon on a Knight or a Wand on a Potion right away.
Or discardOne card, a pair of numbers, or three or more that add up. Say the sum out loud.
Fill to fiveDraw until you hold five cards.

How do you score Sleeping Queens?

Add up the numbers on each player's awake queens for their points. The first player to collect 5 queens or 50 points in a 2 or 3 player game, or 4 queens or 40 points in a 4 or 5 player game, wins (page 1). The goal changes when you change the number of players. If there are no sleeping queens left, the most points wins (page 2), so press Who won? and the helper tells you who leads. You do not need the exact points, and you can go over (page 2).

Players

Your pocket card

For the table. The front is your turn, the back is the discards, the special queens and the goal.

Sleeping Queens, the short version

First to the goal

One thing: King wakes a queen, Knight steals one, Potion puts one to sleep, Jester turns a card.
Or discard: one card, a pair of numbers, or three or more that add up.
Then: draw back up to five cards.

A Dragon stops a Knight and a Wand stops a Potion, if played right away.

The goal

2 or 3 players	5 queens or 50 points
4 or 5 players	4 queens or 40 points

Discards and special queens

Discard	1 card, a pair, or a sum
Rose Queen	5 points, wakes another if woken from the middle (page 2)
Cat and Dog	never held together