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How to play Sleeping Queens (2026): Sleeping Queens is a quick card game for two to five players, ages 8 and up, invented by a six-year-old and published by Gamewright. Players wake up queens with kings, steal them with knights and put them back to sleep with potions, while simple number cards add a little arithmetic. A game takes about 20 minutes. This guide follows the official Gamewright rules for setup, turns, defenses, special queens and how to win.
The game you need: Sleeping Queens
One deck holds everything: the green-backed queen cards and a red-backed deck of kings, knights, dragons, potions, wands, jesters and number cards from 1 to 10.
Price band: $10–$20 (about $12) · Check today’s price on Amazon
Sleeping Queens setup
- Separate the cards by back. The green backs are queens; the red backs are the draw deck.
- Shuffle the queens and lay them face down in the middle of the table in a grid. These are the sleeping queens.
- Shuffle the red deck and deal five cards to each player.
- Place the rest of the red deck face down in the middle of the queens as the draw pile, leaving room for a discard pile.
- Keep your hand secret. The player to the left of the dealer goes first, and play continues clockwise.
What you can do on your turn
On your turn, take one of the actions below, then refill your hand to five cards from the draw pile.
Play a king
Discard a king and choose any sleeping queen from the center. Turn her face up in front of you; she is now awake and scores her point value. If you wake the Rose Queen from the center, you also wake one more queen.
Play a knight
Discard a knight to steal one awakened queen from any opponent and place her in front of you.
Play a sleeping potion
Discard a potion to put one of an opponent's queens back to sleep. Place her face down in any open space in the center. Try to remember where she went and what she was worth.
Play a jester
Discard a jester and flip the top card of the draw pile. If it is a power card (king, knight, dragon, potion, wand or jester), add it to your hand and take another turn. If it is a number, count around the table starting with yourself until you reach that number; whoever you land on wakes a queen from the center.
Discard number cards
You can also clear out cards you cannot use: discard one card of any kind and draw one, discard a matching pair of numbers and draw two, or discard three or more numbers that form an addition equation and draw that many. For example, 2, 3 and 5 work because 2 + 3 = 5. Say the equation out loud.
Defending your queens
- Dragon vs knight: if someone plays a knight on you, immediately play a dragon to block it. Both cards are discarded and each of you draws a card.
- Wand vs potion: if someone plays a sleeping potion on you, immediately play a wand to block it. Both cards are discarded and each of you draws.
- Blocking does not use your turn. If you forget to block right away, the chance is gone.
Special queens
- Rose Queen: worth fewer points, but waking her from the center lets you wake a second queen.
- Cat Queen and Dog Queen: you can never hold both. If you would wake the second one, put her back face down and your turn ends.
How to win Sleeping Queens
| Players | Win by collecting |
|---|---|
| 2–3 | 5 queens or 50 points of queens |
| 4–5 | 4 queens or 40 points of queens |
| Any | If every queen is awake, the most points wins |
You can go over the target; you do not need an exact total. If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discards into a new pile.
Tips for kids and grown-ups
- Hold a dragon or wand when you are ahead. Leaders get targeted, and a block can save the game.
- Use equations to cycle cards. Dumping three numbers at once is the fastest way to find kings.
- Play a simpler first game. With young players, leave the jesters out until everyone knows the other cards.
- More quick card games: see our best family card games for other easy picks.
Sleeping Queens rules questions
How many queens do you need to win Sleeping Queens?
Five queens or 50 points with two or three players, and four queens or 40 points with four or five.
Can the Rose Queen bonus be used after stealing her?
No. The extra queen comes only when she is woken from the center, including after being put back to sleep and woken again.
Is there a cooperative version?
Yes. Sleeping Queens 2: The Rescue is a separate co-op game for families who prefer working together.
