Virgin Queen (Version 1.5)
This module is in beta. Please report any problems or suggestions to jkoepp@gmail.com. Rules are not enforced. VP totals
are not automated. If a message appears indicating a gain or loss of VPs, it's a prompt for the user to adjust the
VP marker(s) accordingly.
Acknowledgments
Testing: Ed Beach, John Charbonneau, John Clark, Robert Davidson, Dan Gallagher, Javier Morilla
Custom Hand Zoom Code: Michael Kiefte
Scenarios
- Tutorial Scenario (Use the toolbar button labeled Tutorial to access the simplified Power Cards for this scenario)
- Campaign Scenario
- Tournament Scenario
Choosing a Side
The power you choose gives you access to its hand of cards and treasures. For 2-3 player
games, the player controlling Spain/France or England/Protestants must retire and switch seats when appropriate.
Ottoman |
Spain |
England |
France |
Holy Roman |
Protestant |
Solo/Referee |
Number of Players
The Campaign and Tournament Scenarios are set up for 6 player games. For games with fewer than 6 players, use the Player Aids toolbar menu (2-5 Player Adjustments submenu) to
trigger the setup adjustments listed below:
2, 3, 4 player games |
Removes Ottoman and Holy Roman home cards, removes War with Persia and War with Poland cards from the deck; adds German Intervention and
The Sublime Porte cards to the deck. Removes Rudolf II royal and Ottoman/Holy Roman artists, scientists, sea captains, and patronage VP awards. Places starting diplomatic
influence on Ottomans and Holy Roman Empire. |
5 player games |
Removes Ottoman home cards, removes War with Poland and The Sublime Porte cards from the deck; adds German Intervention to the deck. Removes Rudolf II royal and Holy Roman artists, scientists, sea captain, and patronage VP awards.
Places starting diplomatic influence on Holy Roman Empire. |
In 2-5 player games where the Ottoman and/or Holy Roman are activated major powers, the activating power should use the Retire/Change Sides button in the
toolbar and switch sides to Ottoman or Holy Roman as necessary to view and play that power's cards. When finished with the activated major's impulse, change back to your normal side.
Control Markers
Hex control markers (HCMs) and square control markers (SCMs) are in a separate layer from other game pieces to keep
them from stacking together. To quickly review the religious status of map spaces, use the Religious/Political Control View button (next to the Hide All button) to toggle the
visibility of everything except control markers.
Right-clicking empty map space (Note: top 2 options are disabled outside religious struggle areas):
Convert to Protestant |
Places HCM (Catholic side) matching default political control of space and flips it (Catholic religious home spaces only) |
Convert to Catholic |
Places HCM (Protestant side) matching default political control of space and flips it (Protestant religious home spaces only) |
Control |
Menu for placing HCMs matching default religious control of space |
Unrest |
Adds Unrest marker if Catholic space; for Protestant religious space, adds HCM of default political control and activates Unrest layer |
Right-clicking selected control marker:
Change Religion |
Toggles between Catholic and Protestant religious control (disabled outside religious struggle areas) |
Unrest |
Adds an Unrest layer to the control marker or removes it if already active |
Remove |
Only available on HCMs |
If taking control markers from the palette (not recommended), always place HCMs on the side that matches the default religious control
of the space. This will keep the count of Protestant spaces accurate (see below).
Other features related to the religious powers:
- SCMs can be flipped without affecting the Protestant space count while on the Power Cards. This is helpful when exchanging French-Huguenot or Spanish-Dutch keys after a rebellion.
- French and Spanish HCMs on their Protestant religious side have a Rebellion! action available which will exchange them for a Huguenot or Dutch HCM as appropriate.
- French, Spanish, Dutch, and Huguenot HCMs have Cede actions to exchange for HCMs of the eligible recipient (French-Huguenot, Spanish-Dutch; see rules section 9.1 on page 12)
- English HCMs on their Catholic side in England have a Rebellion! action which exchanges them for Spanish HCMs.
Protestant Space Tracking
The Protestant Spaces marker cannot be selected or moved
manually. It moves automatically as the Protestant space count changes and notifies you when to adjust VPs. To keep the count accurate, note the following:
- Place or remove Unrest by right-clicking a map space or control marker and using the Unrest action. Don't drag an Unrest marker from the palette (manually placing a marker on a Protestant religious space will not lower the count).
- If an empty map space that is natively Protestant (most of England and the Netherlands) goes into Unrest, right-click the space and use the Unrest action.
- If a space with an HCM changes from Protestant to Catholic, flip the HCM before removing it. The count only changes on the flip of a control marker--removing an HCM on its Protestant side will not adjust the count.
- Fixing an Incorrect Protestant Space Count:
- Too Low: right-click an empty default Catholic space (France, Scotland) and convert it to Protestant. Then remove the control marker.
- Too High: right-click an empty default Protestant space (England, Netherlands) and convert it to Catholic. Then remove the control marker.
- Exchanging Keys After a Rebellion. A common error is to move the Dutch/Huguenot key to the map before flipping it, making the count too high. Use the following procedure:
- Flip the Dutch/Huguenot key that will be moving onto the map to its Protestant religious side while still on the Protestant power card.
- Drag that key marker to the map.
- Drag the French/Spanish key being replaced back to the power cards first, then flip it back to its Catholic side.
Card/Treasure Play
Cards and Treasures are found on the Cards display, accessed with the button in the main toolbar. Use the toolbar menus on the Cards display to deal the appropriate number of cards and treasures to each power.
At the start of Turn 2, use the toolbar button to give the Ottoman the Selim II card before dealing cards (if it hasn't already been played).
Each power's Home Card(s) start in its hand. When your power has both Home Cards available, choose the Discard action during Spring Deployment to send the one you don't
want to hold this turn to your Power Card without revealing it. Playing as either CP or as an Event will place it on the Power Card and trigger a message.
Home Cards are automatically returned face-up by advancing the Turn.
For live or non-ACTS play, the Hand Inventory window tracks the number of cards/treasures in each player's hand.
Cards may be right-clicked and played for CP or Event--they can be dragged to the Discard Pile/Removed From Game pile if desired, but the right-click options add a message to the chat window for everyone's benefit. Treasures can be right-clicked and expended, sending them to the Treasure Discards.
To retrieve a specific card from the Discard Pile, right-click the pile and choose "Draw Specific Cards". Cards are sorted alphabetically and display their CP value.
Cards that enter play in later turns are added to the Main Deck by right-clicking the pile on the Cards display. Note: The two cards
in the Turn 5/Cath. Leag. pile should be added to the deck manually when appropriate. Home Cards that enter play later can be added to the owner's hand by placing them on the Power Card (or playing as CP/event, which accomplishes the same thing) before the Turn is advanced--then they'll be auto-returned to the owner's hand normally when it is advanced.
Treasures in the Spanish Treasures holding box on the map can be peeked at, but only by a player using the Spain side. Treasures in the Portuguese
Treasures holding box cannot be peeked at by anyone, but can be discarded at the end of the turn if unclaimed. Treasures on the map can be awarded to a player if claimed in piracy.
Awarding Card Draws and Random Discards
For live or non-ACTS play, the toolbar buttons in each power's hand window give random draws and do random discards of cards/treasures. Some cards
(Patron of Arts & Sciences, Taxis Family Couriers, Grand Tour, Sultana Safiye) allow a player to give a specific card to another player. Right-click the card you are
giving and choose the receiving power to send the card to that power's hand. These options are only available when a card is in a player's hand.
Certain cards (Witchcraft, The Black Queen, Sir Edward Stafford) or a Gain Intelligence success can allow a player to see the contents of another player's hand. VASSAL can't make a player hand temporarily accessible to
another player. Share the contents of your hand to the other player with a
private message (in a live game) or use the camera button in your hand's toolbar to create an image to send by email (for a PBEM game).
Forces
Units for each power are stored on the Forces map window.
Land units can be Eliminated via right-click option to return them to the correct stack in the force pool.
Naval units and naval leaders are in a separate piece layer that draws beneath land units (and prevents naval and land units from stacking together).
Leaders
Leaders can be captured and sent to the captor's Power Card via right-click action, then ransomed back to their capital if previously captured. When a named leader dies due
to Untimely Death, assassination, or a wedding table result, right-click and choose the type of death. When prompted, you must choose if the leader will be removed
from the game permanently, or replaced by a Default leader and sent to the Turn Track. It is up to the players to know and choose the correct option: see the section of
rule 5.1 on page 7 for full details.
Espionage
Each power's Informants (and Spain's Jesuits), Assassination Used marker, and Cipher Key are placed on its Power Card. Informants and Cipher Keys will trigger a message when
moved to another power's Spying on You box.
Royal Weddings
Royals are removed from the game by using the Marries! right-click option after their wedding is resolved. Do not use this if the result says to
return them to the pool. Valois royals are sent to the French power card with this option rather than being deleted. The royal trading cards are on the Weddings/VP display and separated into male and female decks.
You can use these cards to show arranged marriages or view their marriage bonuses.
If a royal who is also a ruler dies (Husband Murdered result for male royals, Dies in Childbirth/Assassination for Elizabeth), use the appropriate right-click
option. The power card will be updated with an overlay to reflect the change in that power's Admin rating and Card bonus.
Patronage
Artists and Scientists should be removed from the game after their attempts are resolved, unless the result says to return them to the available pool. If they are in
a Patronized box, an option to Cancel Progress appears (use if Index of Prohibited Books or Philosopher's Stone is played). Both types of VP awards can
be sent to the Bonus VP box of the claiming power by right-click option.
New World
Sea captains may use the Circumnavigates! action (returning them to their stack) when located in an eligible ocean zone on the World Map, but it is disabled on all captains after the second use to stress that only two VP awards are available.
English sea captains with a Battle Rating of 1 can be Eliminated in Naval Combat and sent to the Turn Track, but only when located in a sea zone on the Europe Map.
Piracy markers are stacked on the Power Cards to enforce each power's limit of 3 attempts per turn.
Treasures stack with sea captains to make it easier to move a captain and his pirated loot.
Tutorial Scenario
When playing the Tutorial Scenario, note that advancing the Turn will send Spanish and Ottoman piracy markers to their default locations on the normal Power Cards. Simply drag
them from the normal Power Cards to the Tutorial Scenario power cards after advancing to the next Turn.
End of Turn Effects
Advancing the Turn marker will remove Allied markers between major powers, return Piracy markers to the Power Cards, remove Loan markers from fleets, return neutralized Informants to their owners in a ready state, return all
Assassination Used markers from the Turn Track, and return all Home Cards to the owner's hand face up and ready for use.