It’s no secret that my family loves playing games together.  While for a while Uno was the card game of choice (see HERE), and we still enjoy cooperative games like Mole Rats in Space (see HERE), the reigning game of choice in our house is Sleeping Queens.

Sleeping Queens is a fun card game that involves a little bit simple strategy, some basic addition skills, a small amount of remembering, and good dose of chance.  The game states it’s for ages 8 and up, but everyone in our family, from my 4-year-old up through the adults, all enjoy playing.  (As a note, addition skills are helpful but not necessary – and my 4-year-old is learning new addition facts by playing).  Sleeping Queens works for 2-5 players, so it’s a game we can all play together.

Basic play requires using the five cards in your hand to be the first player to awaken or capture five queens (or 50 points worth of queens).  Other players are trying to awaken their own queens, plus can capture the queens you’ve already awoken or put your queens back to sleep.  There are ways to prevent your queens from going back to sleep or being captured, and a few of the queens have special powers that impact their play, but overall it’s a simple game.

In our family, there are two queens that get the most play because everybody wants them.  They are the Heart Queen and the Book Queen.  To quote my 8-year-old on why they’re his favorites, “They’re worth a lot of points, but mostly because love and books are the most important things.”  Those are words that warm a mama’s heart.

If you’re playing with only two people, the game generally lasts about 10 minutes.  It can take a bit longer with more people, but it’s still a relatively fast playing game.

Sleeping Queens would make a great gift for game-loving the child in your life.  It’s also a wonderful way to connect and have fun with your family.