How to Play Sleeping Queens

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Learn this fun family game with our complete rules guide

Co-authored by Hunter Rising Reviewed by Ashton Wu

Last Updated: January 19, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Setup
|
• Taking a Turn
|
• Winning the Game

|Show more |Show less

If you’re looking for a light and easy game that only takes minutes to learn, then Sleeping Queens is the perfect addition to your next game night. During the game, players use cards from their hands to collect Queens and earn points, and each card has a powerful action paired with it. If you’re ready to start playing and want a simple rules explanation, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading for how to set up, play, and win a game of Sleeping Queens so you can have fun with the whole family!

Things You Should Know

• Players: 2–5
• Age Range: 8 and up
• Objective: Be the first person to collect 5 Queen cards or 50 points if there are 2–3 players (4 Queen cards or 40 points if there are 4–5 players)

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Setup

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1. 
   1
   Arrange the Queen cards face-down in 3 rows of 4. The standard game of Sleeping Queens has 12 Queen cards that have blue backs. Shuffle the Queen cards, and arrange them in the middle of the table in 3 rows that each have 4 face-down cards. When the Queen cards are face-down and in the middle of the table, they’re considered to be “sleeping.”

   • Some out-of-print editions of Sleeping Queens have 16 Queen cards, so arrange them in 4 rows that each have 4 cards.
   • Each Queen has a point value between 5–20 points listed in the top-right corner of the card.
2. 
   2
   Shuffle and deal 5 red-backed cards to each player. The remaining cards with red backs are what players will use during their turn to take actions throughout the game. Thoroughly shuffle the cards and deal out 5 to each player. Put the remaining stack of cards in the middle of the table so everyone can easily reach them.
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Section 2 of 3:

Taking a Turn

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1. 
   1
   Take 1 action on your turn. The player to the left of the dealer takes the first turn, and then players take turns clockwise around the table. On a turn, a player is only allowed to take 1 action, which is usually playing or discarding a card. We’ll cover the actions in more detail in the following steps, but the basic actions are:

   • Playing a King to take a Queen
   • Playing a Knight to steal a Queen from someone else
   • Playing a Sleeping Potion to put a Queen back
   • Playing a Jester to reveal a card from the deck
   • Discarding number cards to draw new cards from the deck
2. 
   2
   Play a King to take any face-down Queen card. When someone plays a King card from their hand, they may choose any of the face-down sleeping Queens from the middle of the table. Once a player takes a Queen, they flip it face-up and set it in front of them for everyone else to see. The face-up queen is now considered “awake.” Then, discard the King and draw 1 new card from the deck.

   • If a player wakes up the Rose Queen, they immediately get to choose another sleeping Queen to wake up. That player puts both Queens in front of them.
   • The Cat Queen and Dog Queen can’t be collected by the same player (because cats and dogs don’t like each other). If a player already has one of these Queens in front of them and reveals the other, they must put it back in the row face-down. They do not choose another card to take.
3. 
   3
   Use a Knight to steal a Queen card from an opponent. If a player sets down a Knight card on their turn, they can choose any Queen that was woken up by another player and steal it from them. That player keeps the stolen Queen face-up in front of them. Then, discard the Knight and draw a new card.

   • The Strawberry Queen cannot be stolen by a Knight.
   • Players may play a Dragon from their hand to stop a Knight from stealing their Queen. Both the Dragon and Knight get discarded, and both players draw a new card from the deck.
4. 
   4
   Play a Sleeping Potion to put an opponent’s queen back in a row. When someone plays a Sleeping Potion, they choose any Queen that’s awake in front of another player. They then flip the Queen face-down to put it back to sleep, and place it in any empty space in the rows on the table. Then, discard the Sleeping Potion and draw 1 card from the deck.

   • Sleeping Potions do not work on the Strawberry Queen.
   • Players may counter a Sleeping Potion by playing a Wand card. The targeted Queen stays awake, and the Sleeping Potion and Wand both get discarded. Then, both players draw 1 new card.
   • Strategy Tip: Try to remember the point value and the position of the Queen that’s put back to sleep.
5. 
   5
   Play a Jester for a chance to draw a card or get a face-down Queen. When a Jester is played, the player flips over the top card of the deck. What happens next depends on the type of card that’s revealed.

   • If the card is a King, Knight, Sleeping Potion, Dragon, Wand, or another Jester, the player adds that card to their hand and immediately takes another turn.
   • If the revealed card has a number on it, then the person who played the Jester starts a count by pointing at themselves and saying “1.” Players go clockwise around the table counting up until they reach the number listed on the card. The player who says the card’s number gets to wake up a sleeping Queen and place it in front of them. The person who played the Jester then draws 1 card from the deck.
6. 
   6
   Discard number cards from your hand to draw new cards. Number cards have values between 1–10, but playing them normally doesn’t have any effect. A player may choose to discard 1 or more cards, and then draw the same number of cards from the deck following these rules:

   • Players may discard 1 card of any value to draw 1 new card.
   • Players may discard 2 cards with the same value to draw 2 new cards.
   • Players may discard 3 or more cards that make a simple addition equation to draw the same number of cards. For example, a player could discard a 1, 3, and 4 (because 1 + 3 = 4) to draw 3 new cards.
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Section 3 of 3:

Winning the Game

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1. 
   Win the game by collecting 4–5 Queens or by accumulating 40–50 points. The game immediately ends when a player collects enough Queens or reaches a set point total, but it depends on how many people are playing. If there are 2 or 3 players, then a player with 5 Queens or at least 50 points wins. With 4 or 5 players, then someone with 4 Queens or at least 40 points wins.

   • Alternatively, the game ends if all of the Queens from the rows in the middle of the table are taken. If no one meets the other win conditions, whoever has the most points wins.
   • It’s okay if you have more points than you need to win the game.

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