So the text of Crew Panic and a few other damage cards say "if x, deal 1 damage to the ship". Does this mean a damage card or a damage that could be put on a hull zone with shields. I have always played and thought it meant a card, if it's not that way it makes a number of criticals much less dangerous.

Thanks!

When damage is being dealt if it is not specified you can choose what hull zone to take it on.

Damage cards are specific types of damage so you take a card, however when it just says "take a damage" you choose a hull zone and if it has shields that hull zone looses a shield.

I don't know about anyone else but I was playing this one wrong for a LONG time.

So I'm pretty sure the wording of "deal" refers to dealing a card otherwise they use the word "suffer"

I.e. when you hit an Asteroid it says to "deal a face up damage card"(paraphrasing from memory but that is basically the wording) vs debris fields which say to "suffer 2 damage on a single hullzone"

RRG page 4, Damage, 4th bullet (top right side of the page)

When a ship suffers damage and a hull zone isn’t specified, the ship’s owner chooses which hull zone

suffers all of that damage.

Ok so pulled out my cards, crew panic says to SUFFER 1 damage, which is chosen on any hull zone(even shields) this holds the same for other cards such as ruptured engine.

But cards like structural damage and damaged controls specifically say to DEAL 1 damage card

Correct. Those that say suffer a damage card deals a card those that suffer a damage means you have to choose a hull zone and take the damage there. Of there are shields you take the damage till there are no more shields, if there is no shields take a damage card.