1. 01 How you score
2. 02 What you start with
3. 03 Only you
4. 04 Your Turn 1 situation
5. 05 Traps
6. 06 What experienced players say
7. 07 Your deep dives

You start on 6 VP. Only the Protestant starts lower. Rule SB p.7 If anyone has 25 VP in the Victory Phase at the end of a turn, the game ends and the highest score wins. From Turn 4 you can also win by being 5 VP clear of everyone. Rule 25.3

• Keys, 6 VP. Keys are the square cities (Lesson 1). You hold 4: London, Bristol, York and Dublin, which uncovers the "3 Cards, 6 VP" box on your card. Each box after that is worth 2 VP more, so every key you gain or lose is a big swing. Keys also set your cards. Rule 25.2, 6.2
• The Virgin Queen, 1 VP a turn. At the end of every turn that Elizabeth is still unmarried and available to wed, you get 1 bonus VP, up to 5 in the game. Rule 21.2
• Protestant spaces, 0 VP for now. The Protestant spaces track starts at 18, which pays you nothing. You get 1 VP at 20, 2 at 30 and 3 at 40. Your scale is different from the Protestant's, but more Protestant spaces is good for you too. Rule 25.2
• Bonus VP from piracy, assassinations, sailing round the world, patronage and good marriages. Rule 25.2
• The Ottoman's success. As the Ottoman's ally, you score 1 bonus VP for every 2 VP it climbs above its VP Baseline (its starting 11), and lose 1 for every 2 it falls below. Rule SB p.13

You also win on the spot, during the Action Phase, if you hold 7 keys, 3 more than you start with, with none in unrest. That uncovers the Auto Win box on your card. Rule 25.1

• London 2 regulars, Bristol 1 regular, York (no units), Dublin 1 regular.
• Berwick, on the Scottish border, 2 regulars and 1 galleon. Portsmouth 1 galleon.
• No army leaders. Your sea captain Hawkins is ready for an expedition. Rule SB p.6
• Ireland leans your way: English influence 2, Spanish influence 1. Rule SB p.7
• Elizabeth starts available to wed with an eligibility of 5, higher than any other royal. Eligibility is what a royal adds to the wedding roll. Rule SB p.7, 21.1

On Turn 1 you're dealt 3 cards for your keys plus 1 for Elizabeth's card bonus, and you hold your Home card (Lesson 2). Rule 6.2

Home card: The Virgin Queen (5 CP). Pick one:

• Swap it for any card in the discard pile, then play that card or keep it. Not a Mandatory event, and not a card you played as an event this turn.
• If Elizabeth agreed to marry this turn, break it off at the last minute. The jilted groom's power rolls on the Jilted by Elizabeth table, and you draw 1 card.

Rule Card #36, 6.2, 23.3

From Turn 3 you also get Walsingham, your spymaster, and each turn you keep only one of the two. Rule 6.1, 10

Every action row on your card is shared with at least one other power. What's only yours sits elsewhere:

• The Virgin Queen VP, 1 a turn while Elizabeth stays single. Rule 21.2
• Mary, Queen of Scots. Her panel on your card starts empty, which means she's alive in Scotland. She joins the game on Turn 2. Rule 23.3
• Walsingham, your Turn 3 Home card, with its Defensive and Offensive boxes on your card. Rule 20.8, Card #81
• Race-built galleons. From Turn 3, a galleon built in London with Hawkins there goes on its race-built side, which shrugs off some hits in Atlantic battles. Rule 17.3, 16.2

Also on your card, shared but working your way: Suppress Heresy gives you 5 Protestant conversion attempts in England (Lesson 5); Build Galleon is your only ship (no galleys); Build Expedition (1 CP, or 2 with a colony) sends a sea captain to the World Map, where he can pirate Spain's treasures for 2 CP. Rule 18.3, 17.3, 17.4, 16.5

• England is at war with France, and that war can't end on Turn 1. France's ally is Scotland, on your border. Rule SB p.7
• The Ottoman is at war with Spain, and that war can't end on Turn 1 either. England itself is not at war with Spain. Rule SB p.7
• The only enemy army next to you is 1 French regular in Edinburgh, beside your 2 regulars at Berwick.
• French ships sit at Calais (1 galleon) and Brest (1 galley). At war, they can sail out and pirate sea zones next to your ports (Lesson 4). Rule 16.4
• Declaring war on Spain costs 5 CP, and once Spain and England are at war they can never make peace. Rule 9.5 English land units entering the Netherlands also start that war, unless you're allied with Spain. Rule 9.4
• The Protestant would pay 4 CP to declare war on you. Rule Diplomatic Status chart
• No espionage on Turns 1 and 2, so Spain's English Catholic Rebellion can't come before Turn 3. Rule 19
• Running two powers. England and the Ottoman can't declare war on or pirate each other, or give each other card draws or mercenaries. They can ally and lend each other ships. The allied Ottoman can't patronize, send expeditions or spy, and gets no Home cards. More in Running Allies. Rule SB p.12, 10

• Marrying Elizabeth off early. Every turn she stays single is 1 VP. If you do agree to a wedding, The Virgin Queen card can still break it off, as long as you kept it this turn and haven't played it yet. Rule 21.2, 23.3, 10
• Passing too early. You can't pass while your Home card or a Mandatory event is unplayed, or while you hold more cards than Elizabeth's admin rating of 2 (Lesson 2). Rule 11
• Trying to build galleys. England builds galleons only. Rule 17.3
• Wandering into the Netherlands. That starts a war with Spain, and it never ends. Rule 9.4, 9.5

You control the Ottomans from Turn 1: read Running Allies.

Deep dives: Espionage is ready (Walsingham and the Catholic Rebellion, from Turn 3). Coming later: Marriage and Patronage (the Virgin Queen VP and the Jilted table); Naval Combat and Piracy (expeditions, galleons, Spain's treasure).

If you win over the Holy Roman Empire, read Running Allies.