Sleeping Queens 2 Rules

Sleeping Queens 2

The Rescue

ages 8+

2 to 5 players

Rules of Play

40 number cards
(four of each #1-10)

12 queens

10 kings

6 Wild Gnomes (|)

5 Switch Witches (|)

5 Sleeping Willows (|)

4 Spell Books

10 rescue companions

6 knights & stands

1 custom die

Overview

The queens are awake and have journeyed back to their castles to resume their normal royal lives, but this is not a happily-ever-after story quite yet! On the way home, the kings landed in some perilous predicaments that require the queens’ help. To rescue the kings, the queens need to first find rescue companions hiding in the forest. The first player to rescue the required number of kings wins!

2 players — rescue 4 kings
3-4 players — rescue 3 kings
5 players — rescue 2 kings

Set Up

1. Separate the cards according to card back:
main deck, kings, and rescue companions.

2. Shuffle the main deck and stack it face down in the center of the playing area. Then draw the top card and place it face up next to the deck to start the discard pile.

Note: If it’s a card with a|, shuffle it back
into the deck and draw another card.
(See “|Instant Action Cards|” for more.)

3. Shuffle the rescue companions and arrange them face down in a grid
around the main deck.

4. Scatter the kings face up around the rescue companions.

5. Give each player a random knight and place it in a stand. Return the
other knights to the box.
(See “Knights” for more.)

Note: In a 2-player game, do not play with the black knight.

6. Place the die and turn guide cards within easy reach.

How to Play

The person who most recently found a lost item goes first and play continues to the left.
On every turn, take the following steps in order:
1. Roll the die and, depending on the result, do the following:

On a 1,2 or 3 Draw 1/ 2 / 3 cards from the main deck

On a dragon(d) • Each player passes their knight to the player on their left.

• You may wake up one sleeping queen (if any) in front of you.

• Roll again. (If you roll a dragon

2. Play all Instant Action cards (|)
(Switch Witch, Wild Gnome, Sleeping Willow),
in any order you choose.'

3. Place any number, Spell Book, and/or queen cards
face up in front of you to form your realm.

4. Take one or more of the below actions, in any order you choose:
• Make a math equation with your number cards to take a face-down rescue
companion from the middle.
• Play a pair of number cards to wake up all of your sleeping queens.
• Play a Spell Book to look through the discard pile and take one number card.
• Rescue a king with a queen and matching rescue companion.

5. Discard down to five or fewer cards. At the end of your turn, you may keep a
maximum of five cards in your realm (or six with the green knight), excluding rescue companions and rescued kings. Choose which cards you wish to discard and place them face up on top of the discard pile.

Note: If the draw pile runs out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new one.

Knights

Knights are on patrol to help protect your realm.
Each knight has a special power that helps the player controlling it.

red knight Add or subtract a 1 to (or from) any number card to complete a math equation.

blue knight If you roll a 1, you may choose to re-roll the die.

white knight Protects against Sleeping Willows.

black knight Protects against the Switch Witch. (Cannot be used in a 2-player game.)

purple knight Draw one more card than rolled on the die.

green knight Keep up to six cards in your realm at the end of your turn.

When a player rolls a dragon, all knights move one player to the left.

|Instant Action Cards|

There are three types of Instant Action cards in the deck: Wild Gnomes, Switch Witches, and Sleeping Willows. Each card must be resolved after drawing cards and before taking any further action. If you draw more than one Instant Action card, you may choose the order in which to play them. (If you draw more than one of the same kind, play each as a separate action.)
Place the card(s) on top of the discard when done.

Wild Gnomes

Magical gnomes roam through the forest and grant special abilities
if you are lucky enough to meet one! If you draw a Wild Gnome card,
roll the die to see which power you can immediately use:

1 Take a face-down rescue companion from the middle.
2 Steal a card from another player’s realm.
(Except for rescue companions or kings.)
3 Take a queen from the discard pile.
dragon - Swap any two knights in play.

Switch Witches

Conniving Switch Witches lurk in the forest and may pop out at any time
to give you the power to swap any one card in your realm (queen, number,
Spell Book) with a card in another player’s realm. You can also swap rescue
companions but the rule for that is special: you may swap them as long as
your opponent also has one to swap. If you cannot (or choose not to) use a
Switch Witch, simply discard it.

Sleeping Willows

Sleeping Willows grow throughout the forest and have the power to put
all of your queens to sleep! If you draw a Sleeping Willow, you must put
all of your awake queens to sleep. (Turn the cards face down.) If you do
not have any awake queens or your realm is protected by the White
knight, an east wind blows and the Sleeping Willow affects the next
player (to the left) with awake queens! If no one has any
awake queens, nothing happens.
Note: A sleeping queen cannot rescue a king.

How to Wake a Sleeping Queen:

• If you have a pair of matching number cards in your realm
(example: two 7s), you can wake up ALL of your sleeping queens.
Discard both cards and then turn all of your queens face up.
• If you roll a dragon, you can wake up one of your queens.
Note: You may always peek at your sleeping queens.

Other Cards

Spell Books
You may use a Spell Book to look through the discard pile and take one
number card and add it to your realm. Discard the Spell Book after use.

Notes:
• You may choose to save a Spell Book for another turn and may have
more than one in your realm, but remember the five-card limit.
• You can look through the discard pile before choosing
whether to use your Spell Book.

Queens
The queens are awake and ready for action! If you draw a queen card, place
it face up in your realm. Each queen has a symbol in the top left corner
indicating which category of rescue companion must match up with it to
rescue a king.

Finding Rescue Companions

A menagerie of magical creatures is hiding throughout the kingdom, each
endowed with a special tool that can help the queens rescue the kings.
To summon a rescue companion, you must make a math equation using the
number cards in your realm. You can use any combination of number cards to
make any kind of equation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division),
as long as it meets the following requirements:

• You can only use one type of operation per equation.
• You cannot have operators (+ − × ÷) on both sides of the equal sign.

How to Rescue a King

To rescue a king, you must play a queen and their matching rescue companion.
Once you have both a queen and a companion with the same symbol, take the following steps during your turn:

1. Place the queen on top of the discard pile.
2. Return the rescue companion face up to the center grid.
3. Take any one king card from the middle and place it off to the side in your realm.

Reminder: Rescued kings cannot be taken from your realm.

Ending the Game

The game ends immediately when one player has rescued the following number of kings:
2 players — 4 kings | 3-4 players — 3 kings | 5 players — 2 kings

A Word from Gamewright

As you may already know, Sleeping Queens is one of our most beloved games. Created by then 6-year-old Miranda Evarts (along with her family) and first published in 2005, the game has become a world-wide best-seller. So when we heard that they made a sequel during the pandemic, we were royally excited! Packed with a mix of familiar elements and some fun new characters (hello Wild Gnomes!), and punctuated by Jimmy Pickering’s ever-charming illustrations, we hope you’ll find this game to be a worthy successor!

Game by Denise Evarts and family
Illustrations by Jimmy Pickering
Graphic design by Mitch Morris

Game Wright