What does "If this is the first ?" mean in the event "Encounter!"?

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It means that when the party's meeple starts at the bottom encounter space on the map, the very first combat of the Act uses a special "1st Encounter!" card instead of drawing normally from the Encounter deck. On the map, players begin at the encounter space at the bottom of the board [p.9 — The Map]. For that very first encounter of the Act, each player places a "1st Encounter!" card in their row rather than drawing from the regular Encounter deck [p.9 — The Map]. These special cards are set up just like a normal encounter, following the Combat Setup rules [p.10 — Combat Setup]. After that first combat is finished, the "1st Encounter!" cards are no longer needed and are set aside — they are only used once, at the start of the Act [p.9 — The Map]. For every other encounter space you land on afterward, you instead draw one regular Encounter card per player from the Encounter deck [p.9 — The Map]. During setup, the "1st Encounter!" cards are shuffled and kept separate from the main Encounter deck specifically so they can be identified and used for this first fight [p.4 — Setup]. Watch out: Don't confuse this with Elite or Boss encounters — the "1st Encounter!" rule only applies to the very first standard Encounter room of the Act, not to Elites, Bosses, or any encounter you reach later [p.9 — The Map].

What does "If this is the first ?" mean in the event "Encounter!"?

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