Federation Commander

Hello All,
As per 5F2b,

At the end of
each turn, during the Marine Combat Phase, total the
number of Marines each side has on the disputed ship.

I'm confused. When did these marines get on the ship? I understand how the Hit and Run Raids work and I understand when they happen (Other Functions Phase of each impulse). I also understand that marine hand-to-hand combat happens at the end of a turn--but when are the marines who take part in hand to hand combat transported to the enemy ship? If it happens during the Other Functions Phase then does the attacker need to designate that these marines are not taking part in a Hit and Run and that they will be engaging in hand-to-hand combat?
Sebastian

Just state you are sending marines to make an attempt at capturing the ship.

Don't believe many people would attempt that and Hit and Runs in the same turn (HRs take away too many marines w/ little to show, if you want to capture a ship).

In FC, ship damage doesn't deplete the Marines like SFB does. So even a heavily damaged ship will have it's full compliment (other than ones used on HR raids).

Yes ,if you transport marines over you are doing hit and run or capture. You decide. Hit and run is done there and then, capture at the end of the turn.

Thank you gentlemen.

We use large, black poker chips which are placed on the target ship's card to denote 'enemy' Marines. They look nice and menacing then

That's a great idea. I'll have to start doing that

I know groups that have poker chips for all marines. Each player has his own color, and puts the ships for the Marines his ships start with by the card. If they transfer to another (friendly or enemy) ship the chips are moved around appropriately. You can instantly see who is vulnerable to boarding and who is in the middle of a boarding party battle.

Both are good ideas, thank you. I guess what's puzzling me is this notion of sending marines over to a target ship at several points during a turn but then waiting until the end of the turn to determine the outcome. I can't help but wonder what those marines are doing while they're waiting for the turn to end. I guess the root of the problem is that I need to accept the difference between game time and real time--but then differentiating between reality and fantasy has always been a problem for me.

Well, firstly it keeps things simple. But, also, what they are doing for the turn (however long they're on the ship) is that they're fighting, pure and simple. It's just that you don't get to discover the outcome of all that fighting until the end of the turn.

Really, waiting to resolve the effects of marine combat until the end of the turn isn't any more odd than the way seeking weapons are handled. It is just a way to simplify the rules and keep things easier to process.

As Kang said, just think of the marines as fighting the whole time they are on the ship, it is just that you only take the assessment of how they are faring at the end of each turn.