A Royally Rousing Card Game

Ages 8 and Up • 2 to 5 Players

Rules of Play

 

Contents

79 cards
12 Queens
8 Kings
5 Jesters
4 Knights
4 Sleeping Potions
3 Wands
3 Dragons
4 of each number 1 through 10

Object

The object of the game is to be the first player to:
•Collect 5 queens or have 50 points in a 2—3 player game, or
•Collect 4 queens or have 40 points in a 4—5 player game, or
•Have the most points when all the queens have been awakened.

Setup

The first time you play, look through the deck to get familiar with the cards. Note that each queen has a different point value, and that there are also King, Knight, Dragon, Jester, Sleeping Potion, and Wand cards, as well as number cards from 1 through 10.

Separate the cards into two decks according to card back. Shuffle the 12 queen cards (green backs) and place them face down (asleep) in the center of the playing area in four rows of three. Then shuffle the red backed deck, deal five cards to each player, and place the remaining cards face down in a draw pile in the center of the queens. (Players will discard cards onto a face up pile next to the draw pile.) Look at your cards but keep them secret from opponents.

How to Play

The player to the left of the dealer goes first and continues clockwise. On your turn, take ONE of the following actions, then draw a card:

Play a King to awaken a Sleeping Queen from the playing area. Place your king face up on the discard pile, then pick any queen from the center area and place it face up in front you so that all players can see. It is now “awake”. If you pick the lucky Rose Queen, you get to wake up an additional Sleeping Queen!

Play a Knight to steal any one of your opponents’ awakened queens. Place the knight onto the discard pile, then select any one of your opponents’ queens and place it face up in front of you.

Dragons: Your opponent can stop your knight by immediately playing a Dragon card from her hand. Discard both Dragon and Knight cards and each player picks a card from the draw pile. This does not count as a turn for the Dragon card player. Play continues to the left of the Knight card player. Play a Sleeping Potion card to put any one of your opponents’ awakened queens back to sleep. Place the Sleeping Potion card on the discard pile, then select one of your opponents’ queens and put it face down in any open space among the other Sleeping Queens. (Strategy Note: For future turns, try to remember the queen’s point value as well as where it is placed.)

Wands: Your opponent can defend against a sleeping potion by immediately playing a Wand card from her hand. Discard both Wand and Sleeping Potion cards and each player picks a card from the draw pile. This does not count as a turn for the Wand card player. Play continues to the left of the Sleeping Potion card player.

Play a Jester card and take a chance!

Place the Jester card face up on the discard pile, then turn the top draw pile card face up. If it is a power card (King, Knight, Dragon, Potion, Wand, Jester), add it to your hand and take another turn. If it is a number card, starting with you and continuing to the left, count off the number of players equal to the number on the card. The last player counted gets to awaken and keep a queen from the center!

Discard one or more cards to draw new cards.
There are three different ways you can do this:
1. Discard a single card of any kind and draw one card, or
2. Discard pair of identical number cards and draw two cards, or
3. Discard three or more number cards that make an addition equation and draw three or more cards.

For example: If you have numbers 2, 3 and 5, you can discard all three cards since 2 + 3 = 5. Or if you have a 2, 3, 4, and a 9 you could discard them all because 2 + 3 + 4 = 9. Be sure to announce your equation out loud when discarding.

Don’t Forget:

At the end of each turn, pick enough cards from the draw pile to fill your hand back to five cards.

Special Queen Powers

A few queens have special powers when awakened.
The Rose Queen, while only worth 5 points, has the special ability to take another queen with her if awakened from the center. If you find the Rose Queen, select another Sleeping Queen and place both face up in front of you.

You cannot simultaneously hold both the Cat Queen and the Dog Queen because they fight like cats and dogs! For example:
If you have the Cat Queen and then wake up the Dog Queen, you must put it back face down and end your turn.

Ending the Game

The first player to collect 5 queens or 50 points worth of queens in a 2—3 player game, or 4 queens or 40 points worth of queens in a 4—5 player game wins. Points are counted by adding up the numbers on each awakened queen. Alternately, play ends when there are no more Sleeping Queens left in the center and whoever has the most points wins.

Queenly Questions

Q: What if the draw pile runs out?
A: Reshuffle the discard pile to start a new draw pile.
Q: If a player steals the Rose Queen from an opponent with a knight, can she also take another queen, like when the Rose Queen is awakened?
A: No, the Rose Queen only takes another queen with her when she is woken up from the middle. However, if she was put back to sleep and re-awakened, then she would take another queen.
Q: What if you forget to immediately play a Dragon card to stop a Knight or a Wand card to stop a Sleeping Potion? Can you play it a little later when you think of it?
A: No, unfortunately you have missed your chance.
Q: Do you have to get the exact amount of points to win?
A: No, you can go over.

A Word from Gamewright

Imagine a place where there’s a queen of all pancakes, a king of cookies and a pack of over-protective dragons… If this sounds like something out of a dream, it actually is! Sleeping Queens was invented by 6-year-old Miranda Evarts, who thought up the game one night when she couldn’t fall asleep. She awoke the next morning and created this wonderfully whimsical world of napping nobles, along with help from her older sister, Madeleine and her parents, Denise and Max. As you immerse yourself in the Evarts’ fantasyland, you will find a game that helps develop memory, strategy, and elementary arithmetic skills. Just be careful when playing potion cards or you might accidentally put all the players to sleep!

Game by: Miranda, Madeleine, Denise, and Max Evarts
Illustrations by: Jimmy Pickering

Games for the Infinitely Imaginative®
124 Watertown Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: 617-924-6006 Fax: 617-924-6101
email: jester@gamewright.com
www.gamewright.com
©2005 Gamewright, a division of Ceaco, Inc.
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