Overview

 

Objective 

 

Wake up a given number of Sleeping Queens or collect a set number of points.

 

The Quick & Dirty on Game Play

 

Position the 12 queen cards face down in the middle of the playing area. Deal each player five of the other cards. Players take turns playing a card from their hands. Many of these are power cards, including: a King, which awakens a Sleeping Queen; a Knight, which you can use to steal another player's Queen; a Dragon: which stops your opponent from stealing one of your queens; a Sleeping Potion, which puts another player's queen back to sleep; a Wand, which stops your opponent from putting one of your queens to sleep; a Jester, a bit of a wild card that can earn you a new power card or maybe even a Sleeping Queen.

 

Alternately, you can play a single number card; a pair of number cards (i.e., two 4s); or cards that form an addition equation (i.e., play a 4, 2, and 6 because 4 + 2 = 6). 

 

Each of the Sleeping Queens is worth a set number of points. In addition, some of the Sleeping Queens also have special powers. The player who wakes the Rose Queen, for example, is allowed to wake a second Sleeping Queen in the same turn.  

Enjoyment Quotient

 

Score: Excellent

 

The Fun

 

Sleeping Queens is one of the most beloved games in our entertainment arsenal. Our littlest testers find the concepts of the game, like "waking" the Sleeping Queens and stopping a Knight with a Dragon card, super engaging. 

 

The art is fabulous and amusing, and our littlest testers quickly developed favorite cards, like the Chess King and the Rainbow Queen. Once you've figured out the game, play moves quickly and there's plenty of power cards to keep things interesting.    

 

The Frustration

 

Very little. Given the number of power cards, you may have to look back at the directions the first couple times you play to remember what the Wand does or which Sleeping Queen has special powers, but the rules of the game become ingrained pretty quickly.

 

The Math Factor

 

Score: Good

 

Difficulty

 

Sleeping Queens requires players to:

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• Add single- and double-digit numbers 

• Recognize when a set of numbers forms an equation

 

Frequency

 

Math comes into the game when a player is holding at least three number cards that form an equation (i.e., a 2, a 6, and an 8). The player can then announce the equation and play all of those cards in a single turn. It's a great exercise but only happens occasionally. 

 

The players can also flex their addition muscles when they wake a Sleeping Queen by adding the point value of the new Sleeping Queen to those of the Sleeping Queens they already have to see how close they are to 40 or 50 points (the threshold for winning the game).

 

Conclusion

 

Sleeping Queens is a must-have game. It's funny, engaging, and has great repeat play value. The math is somewhat incidental to the game, but there is some addition involved, and we appreciate the way the game encourages players to be on the lookout for equations. If you prefer your math on the sneaky side, this is a great bet.