Apparently, we are big Gamewright Games fans.  We had finished a game of Sleeping Queens, and I thought we had such a great time playing, as usual, that I would share it here.  And as I looked for who distributed it, sure enough Gamewright was on the box.  So, if you haven’t checked out their games, we think you should.

                Anyway, Sleeping Queens is a card game.  We seem to be playing more card games right now.  I think it’s because we can take them outside, and if we need to run inside due to a quick change in weather, like we’ve been experiencing, it’s a quick clean up, allowing us to dash inside.

                The cards are vibrantly colored and the illustrations are a lot of fun.

                The goal of the game is to be the first player to obtain either five queen cards or accumulate fifty points.  Queen cards are won by playing a king card, or through the use of the Jester card.  Of course, there is a catch with playing the Jester card though, after all he can be a trickster. 

Attack cards allow you to force another player to return one of their queens and others that let you steal another player’s queen card for yourself.  There are defensive cards as well.  Dragons and magic wands become great cards to have on hand to thwart attacks.

Additionally, there’s a math practice component in this game. 

                Queen cards have values written in multiples of 5.  Players need to keep track of the point values to determine if they reach fifty points before obtaining five queens. 

                Also, there are numbered cards.  If you can create a number sentence using the cards in your hand, you can replace that amount from the draw pile.  For example, if a player has cards with the values of four, five, and nine, the number sentence 4 + 5 = 9 could be made.  This would allow the player to replace those cards with three new ones, hopefully drawing a king or other useful power card.

                It’s a pretty quick game to play.   And if you’re looking for a game to travel with, it doesn’t take up much room in packaging or set up.  You get to sneak in a little math practice as well, always a bonus in my opinion!

Another great game for practicing addition facts, as well as mental math, is Zeus on The Loose. Follow the link to read more about it!

What are some of your favorite ways to practice math facts?