1559-1563

The Ottomans started by passively aiding a Protestant uprising in the Netherlands.

The passing of the Ottoman leader Suleiman saw Selim II seamlessly take over. No regime change.

The Ottomans instigated a war in Persia, the justification being that if they won, they would be awarded one permanent VP. Mehmed easily won and the Straits of Hormuz were open!

In an amazing feat of engineering, the Ottomans completed the Suez Channel (this gave them two more permanent VPs). The Red Sea is now open!

In yet more magnificence the Suleymaniye Mosque was built by the architect Sinan (three permanent VPs).

Throughout this period, while officially at war with Spain, the Ottomans did not prosecute it (the Spanish also stayed out of the East, busily battling the revolts in the Low Countries).

1564-1569

The Ottomans attempted to woo Venice with an eloquent ambassador only to find they had it all wrong. Later this failed woo becomes a repeated woe to Venice.

The ambassador was subsequently sent to the new colony at Mombasa.

Murat Reis sails round the Horn of Africa but suffers some form of mal de mer. In an amazing bit of endurance, he continues his voyage confined to his cabin while his ship and crew successfully circumnavigate the world (two more permanent VPs). He then retires, famous, but permanently green around the gills.

The Ottomans passively create a rebellion in France and the Huguenots appear.

Ragusa comes under Ottoman benevolence (control).

Cyprus is not so lucky and suffers piracy (Dragut) netting the Ottomans a massive three permanent VPs (as piracy on an unaligned Venice can only provide VPs).

The Ottomans buildup their navy and the Buda garrison, keeping a watching eye on the Spanish navy and HRE troop deployments.

The Ottoman scientist, Seydi ali Reis, fails to fully take safety precautions while conducting his experiments and dies (through snake eyes!)

At this stage the Ottomans would win a domination victory as they were five VPs ahead of their nearest rival, but that doesn't enter into consideration till Turn Four.

1570-1575

The colony at Mombasa produces nothing.

Dragut raids Cyprus again picking up another VP and then raids Candida (taking cards from the Holy Roman Empire who had aligned Venice and the Papacy).

Dragut plans a raid on the Spanish fleet at Messina. It is destroyed, but the losses were heavy (the Spanish achieved five hits with five dice). With the enemy fleet destroyed Dragut then embarks on yet more piracy on the southern Italian coast, this time against an exhausted Spain and so picking up another VP.

The removal of the Spanish fleet and the exhaustion of their treasury meant Mehmed was free to land at Tunis and siege the place, it finally fell with the last card played. This gave the Ottomans another key city, but the all-important VPs that took them over 25 and automatic win.

Not that it was needed, but Baki wrote a beautiful Elegy for Suleiman gaining another VP.

However, it was not so good for the remaining Ottoman scientist who followed his predecessors notes too carefully and blew himself up (snake eyes again).

The map at the end of turn three.

The Ottoman card with the collected VPs 14 to add to that from Keys 13 giving a wining total of 27.

The scoreboard.

Protestants (Richard) on 10.

England (Jeff) and Spain (Simon) on 16.

Holy Roman Empire (Russell) on 17.

France (Stefan) on 18.

The three turns took us around five hours of at times tense play and that was before we got into the assassinations phase.

A more balanced report is provided here by Richard:

A Win's a Win

We finally managed to officially finish a game of Virgin Queen and it was in a record 3 turns after one of the key players got lost in a dyke and couldn't see what was going on in the world....but more on that later.

The Summary:

Ottomans - Suez Canal, circumnavigation, Piracy, Piracy, Piracy!

Spain - All the money in the world tipped into a dyke with three holes and only having 2 fingers to plug them with!

England - The fight for Scotland, colonies, piracy on the high seas

France - The wedding planner, gay Paris, colonies, arts and sciences

Holy Roman Empire - The bulwark of Christianity , arts and sciences, a talent for diplomatic success

Protestants - The Dutch Insurgency

The Details:

The session commenced with a flurry of diplomatic activity the likes of which would not be seen again until the July Crisis of 1914.

The Protestants were talking to everyone. Spain engaged in lengthy discussions with France. England and the HRE were sounded out on plans.

In an emulation of their strategy in the last game we played, the Protestants offered the Spanish a random 2 card draw from their hand of 4 in order for Spain to give up Political control of Dutch home spaces (Consisting of 2 keys and various other spaces). It sounds like a bad deal for the Spanish, but taking a strategic view, it frees them from the quagmire of a civil war that the Netherlands can descend into.

The Spanish listened to the offer, but their attitude hardened as they thought they were being sold a pup and they were determined to fight for the Netherlands. The Protestant Ambassador was curtly rebuffed. With their offer to the Spanish dismissed, the Protestants sent an emissary to the Ottoman Porte who received their visitor graciously. Grand Vizier Marku revealed that they had Sea Beggars, a very powerful card for the protestants allowing for the instant political control of a port space in the Netherlands, land and naval forces and a free piracy attempt on the Spanish. After taking tea in the Topkapi Palace with his magnificence, Mehmed, the Protestants agreed to give up two cards for the Ottomans playing Sea Beggars. Possibly a bit generous to offer 2 cards out of a total of 4, but the benefits of a instant Key and troops and vessels seemed worth it.

With the end of diplomacy the Ottomans shocked the room and announced that the Protestants were giving them a 2 card random draw. What's going on here then? They only have 4 to start with anyway. Spain and France announced an alliance with the French offering their access to the Netherlands for nothing in return.

No new wars were declared and then Spain Spring deployed to the Netherlands ready to fight any protestant rebellion.

Turn 1

The Ottomans true to their word, played Sea Beggars and the Dutch took control of Antwerp. The Dutch Republic is born. Despite the might of Spain, the Protestants held onto this key for the rest of the game. In hindsight, it would have been much better if the Protestants had also asked the Ottomans to play this card as late as possible in their turn. This would have given the Spanish player less time and opportunity to react to it, but what is done is done.

The Ottomans next big move was to make an attempt on building the Suez canal. Providence smiled on them and they got it at their first attempt, needing a 6 on a D6.

With the passage to the Indian Ocean secured, an expedition was sent forth and a colony established at Mombasa. No Christian would ever see this place until the Portuguese in another epoch. Leaving their colonists behind to proselytise the locals, the Ottoman Sea Captain Murat Reis commenced an epic attempt at circumnavigating the globe from east to west. Pushing his sturdy galley with its lateen sails he rounded the tip of, first Africa, and then South America. Battered, Murat passed all his navigation rolls and successfully crossed the Pacific back to the Indian Ocean. The world has been Circumnavigated. 2 VP to the Ottomans! You couldn't really have asked for a better start as the Ottomans.

The Spanish marched their army from Brussels to Antwerp and started a siege. It was only after several subsequent card plays that it was realised this was contrary to the rules as there was no state of war between Spain and the Protestants. However, in the meantime, since the Protestants had responded with a successful rebellion which thus brought the status of the two powers to "At War", it was agreed that play would proceed as it was now impossible to disentangle the error. This was all rather unfortunate in that it gave the Spanish a free reign they otherwise might not have had, certainly for the balance of the 1st turn.

The English moved their forces up to confront a French allied Scotland, and conquered Edinburgh without a whimper of resistance from the French who were busy organising the most amazing soirees in the boudoirs of Paris. The English launched a colonising expedition to the New World and successfully undertook piracy against the Spanish on the Guinea Coast, scoring a Piracy VP. Piracy would be the key to this game, but more on that later.

The French launched an expedition carrying colonists to the New World, joining the English. Both successfully established their colonies. France swatted away at the protestant wave sweeping across their lands.

The HRE invested in Science and the Arts and commenced an almighty military build up, shrewdly constructing a fortress at Trieste, buttressing their defences and establishing a base from which to act against the Italian peninsula in the future.

The protestants, down to 2 cards and their home card were up against it, especially after the error in having the Spanish attack their key established in Antwerp by the Sea Beggars card. Despite the preponderance of Spanish power hurled against them, they miraculously held on with the play of Flooding, which broke the Spanish siege. An earlier attempt to assault the city was thwarted by the presence of a Dutch galleon placed by Sea Beggars which meant that the Spanish did not have the required sea power (more ships than the defender) in order to launch an assault in that round and had to spend another round sailing their galleons from Cadiz. When they did arrive, however, they blitzed the Dutch galleon in Antwerp with fire ships after the Dutch failed to intercept them in open waters. The Spanish were literally pouring on the fire, but getting nowhere.

The protestants were successful with their free piracy roll against Spain. 1 VP to the protestants.

There were happy nuptials for Philip II and Elizabeth Valois. 2 VPs to Spain and France, meanwhile the marriage between Lord Arran and Anna of Saxony was a disaster for the HRE and the Protestants as they received a -1 card penalty for their next turn.

Turn 2

France and England enjoy the bounties from their colonies and receive treasure. Virginia Dare, born to French colonists in the New World. 1 VP for France.

Spain and France renew their alliance, and the Protestants ally with England. The HRE graciously award mercenaries to the desperate protestants who are willing to accept help from any quarter in their existential battle against the might of Spain.

There is a flurry of wedding activity with HRE/Protestant and French nuptials to be resolved at the end of the turn.

The Ottomans combine their fleets and sail to the eastern Mediterranean in search of bounty. They successfully engage in piracy against the Venetians and look to their scholars for advances in science and the arts.

The Spanish, enraged by their inability to crush the Dutch, Spring deploy to the Netherlands again. With all their treasures and cards Spain have nearly three times the resources of the Dutch. Surely the Dutch cannot withstand this onslaught...or maybe they can...

The Spanish unleash a series of event cards and suppress heresy actions and achieve a significant roll back of protestant spaces, much to the chagrin of the HRE player who lets it slip that he's backed a protestant success. Protestantism is wiped out in the Netherlands, except for the mandatory single space. Things are going from bad to worse for the protestants, but they have the Sea Beggars card again and this time take Amsterdam from the Spanish, who are now having to fight for two keys, Antwerp and Amsterdam. (So the Spanish are effectively now in the same position as if they'd accepted the initial protestant offer).

The Spanish pour troops into the Netherlands and march to Amsterdam and put that newly obtained Dutch key under siege. It's looking very bleak in the polder for the Dutch. The HRE is looking on with alarm as their bet on protestant supremacy appears to be getting flushed by the Spanish wave. HRE plays Untimely Death which sees the Spanish commander Don John succumb to trench foot and then a grisly death from the festering open wound. (I feel this is almost a metaphor for the Spanish effort in the Netherlands in this game). This compromises the besieging force leaving it leaderless and weakened in future assault attempts. The Dutch retain a slim chance of holding Antwerp. The Spanish press on undeterred and hurl themselves against Antwerp. They inflict hits on the defenders, but take losses too. The Dutch cling on.

The Spanish launch two further assaults on both Amsterdam and Antwerp, but their amazing run of great rolls deserts them and they are repulsed once again.

The Scottish Lords rebel card is played and this precipitates the resolution of the status of Scotland which promptly allies with the protestants giving them a crucial key in Edinburgh and potentially increasing the size of their hand to 5 card draw instead of 4. The protestants need every bit of help in their existential battle against the Spanish.

Next round, England retrieves The Scottish Lords rebel card using the Elizabeth I home card special ability and having shorn up English diplomatic support successfully realigns Scotland as an ally. Good for England, bad for the protestants.

England and France both send forth additional colonists to the New World with the French settling Buenos Aires and the English another North American colony.

The protestants successfully rebel in Calais, establishing a Huguenot key. This attracts a swarm of French which try to crush the upstarts. With help from their Spanish allies playing cards to suppress heresy in France, the shoots of Protestantism wither under a hail of repression. Crucially, Calais clings on after a series of abortive French assaults, but finally falls against overwhelming forces, but this consumes the rest of French resources.

The HRE continue a massive military build up as the Ottomans are on their borders in Buda and Belgrade. A tense stand off that continues for the rest of the game. Will anyone blink here or will it just be a phony war?

The Ottomans fail all their science and art patronage as does the HRE with the inquisition tracking down the heretics (pfff ...as if the world is round...) and the "artists" running off with the money. But it doesn't matter. The Ottomans have steadily built up a VP score of 22 with a combination of good fortune and judicious play. Just 3 short of a game winning total. They are going to be very difficult to stop. The English and Protestants are powerless to do anything. Only the might of Spain and the HRE can stop them.

The Mary Queen of Scots wedding to Henry III launches a dynasty. 2VPs to France, but she is captive in England after the second rebellion of the Scottish Lords.

Turn 3

No one thinks to engage in diplomacy to try and stave off a certain Ottoman victory.

HRE plays Holy League and resolves the status of Venice and the Papacy. In a blow to Spain, the Papacy allies with the HRE. With the change of alliance, the Papal Galley slips out of Messina at a crucial moment. The HRE also allies Venice. With this diplomatic success, the HRE leaps quietly to within 2 keys of victory, but will time run out for them? The alliance with Venice also brings a nasty twist to be revealed...

The Ottoman fleet sails to Sicily and catches the Spanish Galleys in port. The Ottomans are given a bloody nose by the Spanish who score 5 out of a possible 5 hits, but the Spanish are wiped out. (Ed: this attack on the Spanish fleet in Messina was actually made later in the turn when the Spanish were exhausted (out of cards) and had the intent to not only open a final piracy attempt against Spain (who had no fleets or cards at that stage so it could only net VPs) but also to allow a strike at Tunis or Naples.) This is the ONLY combat between the Spanish and the Ottomans in the entire game, as the Spanish inexplicably allow the Ottomans to do as they please in the Mediterranean. The Spanish did not even go for the (very) low hanging fruit on offer there in the early game turns. Algiers and Tunis could easily have been wrested from the Ottomans if Spain had made a bit of an effort there, rather than continue to pour EVERY card and treasure into attempting to stop the Dutch. The Mediterranean is now effectively an Ottoman lake with only the Venetian and Papal galleys theoretically, but practically unable, to offer any resistance. The Ottomans are now set up to deliver the Coup d' Grace.

And what does Spain do in this position? Surely the predominant power of the day must seize the day and finally stand up to the Ottomans, perhaps in a grand alliance with the HRE. Nope wasn't even discussed. Amazingly, they pour all the resources into more attacks on Antwerp and Amsterdam.

The Amsterdam assault fails and the attackers must fall back as they are now too weak to enforce the siege. The Antwerp assault has been stalled, because of insufficient Spanish naval power.

The protestants continue to hold out in Antwerp, but the Spanish are sailing a fleet into the North Sea to give them the necessary preponderance of naval power over the protestants (there is a Dutch galleon in Amsterdam) to allow them to launch a final assault. The only hope for the protestants is really a long shot. They firstly need to intercept the two Spanish galleons and then defeat them with their single galleon. This is the only way to prevent an assault attempt on Antwerp.

The Dutch galleon slips out of Amsterdam and passing the interception roll (needing 9+ on 2D6) required catches the Spanish unawares. The fight is short and both sides inflict a single hit. The defender (Dutch) wins the tie and one Spanish Galleon is lost and the other must retreat (So much for the Spanish Armada). Antwerp is saved! The Spanish now sit impotently outside Antwerp, out of cards, out of ideas and out of hope.

England unleashes Drake on the Spanish and he brings home a successful haul of 2 treasures. These are very valuable to any power, but particularly to the smaller powers as they are constrained by limited cards to play, but will they be able to use them? Time is running out.

France flits about, doing not sure what. Perhaps something needing discovering? Mon Cher, meet Mon Cher, what a match!

The Ottomans who are already in a winning position for the end of the turn, now deal a final slap in the face to the Christian powers and sail unopposed into the Mediterranean.

The Ottomans unleash their pirate fleets and have the maximum three piracy attempts, all of which are successful netting them a bounty of victory points and an extra card drawn from the HRE, whose ally Venice was targeted on each occasion. They storm ahead on the VP total, but it is not over yet.

Ironically, allying Venice has cost the HRE cards which wouldn't otherwise have been available as a reward for successful piracy against an unaligned minor power.

In what can only be described as adding insult to insult, the Ottomans embark troops and sail to the independent key of Tunis. This key has been sitting there a sweet prize for a Spain willing to merely pluck it at their leisure. The Ottomans fail their first assault, but then take it on their second attempt. They don't need to take this key to win, but it crowns an emphatic victory for the Ottomans.

The turn is played out to establish the final VP totals.

The Henry of Navarre's wedding to Anna of Austria is a success with each power gaining a +1 card marker for the next turn, but this is now moot as the Ottomans are in a game winning position. It's just a fight for the minor placings.

Another success for the Valois marriage machine with the successful nuptials of Charles II of Austria and Marguerite de Valois pushes the VP tally along for France and the HRE who are fighting it out for second place.

The avalanche of suppress heresies in this turn has whittled the protestants down to 25 spaces, giving Spain 4 VPs, 2 to the protestants and 1 VP to England.

The final totals were Ottomans 27, France 19, HRE 18, England and Spain 16 and the unbowed protestants on 10.

Congratulations to Mark on a superbly played game.

Epilogue:

The Ottomans were able to set up a commanding lead through a combination of very good fortune in turn 1 combined with the Spanish unwillingness to offer them any resistance and then the very measured game play to create an unassailable VP total.

It is worth noting that at the end of the game, the Spanish held exactly one key (Brussels) in the Netherlands which they would have had if they had accepted the protestant offer. In our last game, the Spanish did accept the protestant offer and held on to Brussels for the rest of the game, despite repeated attempts by the protestants to wrest it from them. Whilst that game had to be abandoned before officially finishing, the difference in where the Spanish and Ottomans ended up (ceteris paribus) in that game as opposed to this one could not have been more stark. In the former game the Spanish were 1 key away from a military victory in turn 6 and they had swept the Ottomans from the sea and were taking keys off their home spaces. In this game they had absolutely no chance of winning, because they poured everything into the insurgency and literally nothing into anything else.

The Netherlands is a quagmire for the Spanish. The protestant has nowhere else to go and it just ends up in an attritional campaign which saps resources which the Spanish could use elsewhere. If they do a deal of some kind, all they need to do is have a single large garrison in Brussels and continually suppress heresy. Easy to do for them with their new world treasures and that's more than enough to keep the protestants busy. At the very least, it gives them another option and the protestant is incentivised to go after France because of the way the card draw system works further working to the Spanish advantage.