Card game
Sleeping Queens
Wake the queens with kings, then guard them from knights
- Players
- 2–5
- Best with
- 3-5
- Play time
- 15–20 min
- Age
- 8+
- Rules
- Easy
- Language
- Little reading
Sleeping Queens is a card game for 2 to 5 players: you play kings to wake up face-down queens, steal other players' queens with knights and send them back to sleep with potions. A game takes about 20 minutes. The box says 8 and up, but the only maths is adding numbers up to 10, so it also works for younger children who can do that with an adult nearby, and it was invented by a six-year-old. Both Indian specialist stores that list it, Board Games India and Gameistry, were out of stock on 5 October 2026, and Gamewright's genuine deck is also sold on Amazon.in as an import.
Is Sleeping Queens right for your table?
A good pick for
- Children who are learning addition: throwing away sets like 2, 3 and 5 (because 2 + 3 = 5) to draw new cards is regular maths practice that feels like part of the game
- Mixed-age family tables: there is luck in every draw, so a child has a real chance against adults
- Travel and waiting rooms: it is a single deck of 79 cards in a small box
- A gift for a child who already likes UNO and is ready for a game with more choices
Skip it if
- Your child gets upset when things are taken away. Knights steal queens and potions put them back to sleep, and that happens every game
- You want a game of skill. The cards you draw decide a lot
- You need it this week. Both trusted Indian stores were out of stock, and Amazon.in had only an expensive import.
How Sleeping Queens plays
The 12 queen cards go face down in the middle of the table in a grid. Each queen is worth between 5 and 20 points. Everyone gets five cards from the main deck, which holds kings, knights, dragons, sleeping potions, magic wands, jesters and number cards.
On your turn you play one card, then draw back up to five. A king wakes any sleeping queen and you keep her in front of you. A knight steals a queen from another player, unless that player blocks it with a dragon. A sleeping potion sends another player's queen back to sleep, unless they block it with a wand. A jester turns over the top card of the deck: if it is a power card, you take it and play again; if it is a number, you count around the table and whoever the count stops on wakes a queen.
If your hand is no good, you can throw away number cards and draw the same number of new ones. You can throw away one card, a matching pair, or three or more cards that make an addition sum, such as 3, 4 and 7. The sum has to be said out loud, which is where the maths practice comes in.
A few queens have special rules. Waking the Rose Queen lets you wake a second queen too. The Cat Queen and the Dog Queen won't sit together: if you already have one and wake the other, she goes straight back to sleep and your turn ends.
With 2 or 3 players, the first to collect 5 queens or 50 points wins. With 4 or 5 players, you need 4 queens or 40 points. If every queen is awake before anyone gets there, the player with the most points wins.
Takes about 5 minutes to teach. Every card has a clear picture, and the number cards just show 1 to 10, so children can play without reading the card names. An adult needs to read the short English rules once. Children do need to add small numbers.
Buying Sleeping Queens in India
There is no Indian edition and no Indian distributor. Gamewright is an American publisher, so every copy in India is imported. Gameistry listed it at ₹2,100 and Board Games India at a lower price, but both were out of stock on 5 October 2026, and Board Games India's price may change when it comes back. If you need a copy now, the imported copy on Amazon.in is the realistic option.
Buy the standard Gamewright game (item 230). It has 79 cards: 12 queens, 8 kings, 5 jesters, 4 knights, 4 sleeping potions, 3 wands, 3 dragons and 40 number cards (four each of 1 to 10). Gamewright's Anniversary Edition comes in a collectible tin with 85 cards and some new queens and kings, including a Strawberry Queen who can't be stolen or put back to sleep. Gamewright lists it as out of print. A Flipkart listing that bundles the 10th Anniversary Tin with Sushi Go! turned up in web search, but we did not check its seller. Sleeping Queens 2: The Rescue! is a separate, standalone game (84 cards, 10 rescue companion tiles, 6 knight pawns and a die) in which you play queens to rescue kings. It was not on Amazon.in or at a trusted Indian store on 5 October 2026. Bored Game Company once had a Sleeping Queens page, but that link now opens its general board-games list.
How to make sure you get a genuine copy
Clone risk: Medium- Look for the Gamewright logo and the credit to Miranda Evarts on the box. The standard edition's barcode is 759751002305.
- Count the cards: 79 in all, including 12 queens, 8 kings, 4 knights, 3 dragons, 4 sleeping potions, 3 wands, 5 jesters and 40 number cards.
- The queen cards have a different back from the rest of the deck, and each queen shows her point value.
- Check the name. Games with similar names on Amazon.in, such as 'Sleeping Monsters', are different games from other brands, not Sleeping Queens.
- Compare the price. Gameistry listed the genuine deck at ₹2,100 on 5 October 2026. A deck selling for a few hundred rupees under an unknown brand is a warning sign.
Amazon.in searches on 5 October 2026 showed only Gamewright's listing under the Sleeping Queens name, plus a differently named game from another brand. A single card deck is easy to reprint, and the genuine one costs about ₹2,000 to import, so check the brand and card count before you buy.
If Sleeping Queens isn't quite right
Sushi Go!
Another small Gamewright card game for 8 and up, with picking and passing cards instead of stealing
UNO
Simpler and much cheaper, and a good step before Sleeping Queens for younger children
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
A louder, faster card game for when children want to slap and shout
Dragomino
A gentle tile game for ages 5 and up, with nothing taken away from other players
Questions people ask about Sleeping Queens
What age is Sleeping Queens suitable for?
Gamewright marks it 8 and up, for 2 to 5 players. The only maths is spotting pairs and adding numbers up to 10, and the game was invented by a six-year-old, so younger children who can add small numbers may manage with an adult helping.
Does Sleeping Queens help with maths?
It gives regular practice with simple addition. To swap cards, you can throw away three or more number cards that make a sum, such as 3, 4 and 7, and players add up queen points to see who is close to winning. It is a game first, so treat the maths as a bonus.
Where can I buy Sleeping Queens in India?
Board Games India and Gameistry (₹2,100) both list it, but both were out of stock on 5 October 2026. Gamewright's edition is also sold on Amazon.in as an import. There is no Indian edition.
What is the difference between Sleeping Queens and Sleeping Queens 2?
Sleeping Queens 2: The Rescue! is a separate game, not an expansion. You play queens to rescue kings, and it adds tiles, knight pawns and a die. Start with the original, especially as we did not find the sequel on sale in India.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the publisher, Indian distributors and the store listings below. Prices were checked on 5 October 2026.
Prototype notes for review (won't appear on the live site)
- Amazon match: exact link, high confidence. Listing title seen: "Sleeping Queens for All, Pack of 1".
- How it was found: COMPOSIO_SEARCH_AMAZON on amazon.in, 5 October 2026, queries 'Sleeping Queens card game Gamewright', 'Sleeping Queens', 'Sleeping Queens card game', 'Gamewright Sleeping Queens' and 'Sleeping Queens 2 The Rescue Gamewright'. B0009XBY3A was the only Sleeping Queens card game listing: ₹2,182 (MRP ₹3,999), rated 4.9 from about 9,000 ratings. Its price is close to Gameistry's ₹2,100. No Anniversary Edition or Sleeping Queens 2 listing appeared.
- The barcode 759751002305 comes from overseas retailer listings found through a web search, not from an Indian store or a box we checked.
- Neither Indian store states its edition. Both use the standard game's description (twelve queens), so both are treated as the standard Gamewright edition.
- Board Games India's ₹960 was recorded while the item was out of stock. It is much lower than the other prices and may be out of date.
- Seller of Amazon.in listing B0009XBY3A. Amazon pages were not opened, per policy. The Gamewright brand comes from the listing's URL slug, and 'imported: true' rests on Gamewright being an American publisher with no Indian distributor found.
- Play time: Gamewright gives 20 minutes for the standard game and 15 minutes for the Anniversary Edition. time_min 15 is a guide for smaller groups, not a measured time.
- Designers: Gamewright credits Miranda Evarts as the inventor, with help from her sister Madeleine and parents Denise and Max. Only Miranda is listed in 'designers'.
- best_players ('3-5') is an editorial judgement from the rules: with more players there are more queens to steal and protect, and the jester count goes further round the table. It was not tested with a group.
- The product image is Gameistry's product photo. A small thumbnail was viewed and shows the Sleeping Queens box front at an angle; the edition printed on it was not readable at that size.
- The Flipkart listing that bundles the 10th Anniversary Tin with Sushi Go! was seen only in web search results. It was not opened, and its seller was not checked.