I was also a beta tester, and the reason why we have so many turns is because we signed up so long before we were able to play the game. That means that for a month (or however long it was until we were able to play the game) we were saving up turn…
What I do as a novice is every now and then take a break from the game for a couple of days. The turns really add up then and I can virtually have unlimited turns this way, I never find myself having to wait for a turn.