If you have a card that allows you to flip face up cards face down, does it cease to count as double damage?

It seems obvious but loads of players in my area insta-flip it face down and deal another face down on top to show the double damage. Now obviously this neuters the ability of certain cards to mitigate the damage.

Yes. If a DH is flipped face down it us just a single damage.

A lot of oeopke do what you describe, dealing an extra card and immediately flipping it down. That is definitely contrary to the rules, but most of the time it is a harmless little quirk, but as you recognized, it can be really important if there are other effects in the game that can flip damage cards face up or face down.

Does what count as double damage? That mysterious face down card? Those only count as a single damage.

Those players who flip Direct Hit over and deal an extra card are ALL doing it wrong. Where does the Direct Hit card say "deal ship another face-down card and then flip this face-down?" It doesn't. It stays face up unless you have some other effect which turns it face-down which has the added benefit of increasing how many cards the ship needs to take to be destroyed; assuming that it stays face-down.

No, if you can flip it facedown, it no longer counts as double damage. Does the Direct Hit card tell you to deal another damage card? No, it doesn't, so you should never deal another one. Does it say to flip it facedown immediately? Again, no it doesn't. So it can only be flipped by another effect.

As long as the Direct Hit is faceup, it counts as two damage. That effect is in play as long as that card is still faceup. It's the same with any other Damage card with an ongoing effect.

Does it count as cheating if your actions are detrimental to yourself?

"deal ship another face-down card and then flip this face-down?" .

By way of comparison, the equivalent card in Armada DOES say this "deal an additional face down damage card, then flip this card face down", highlighting how direct hit in x-wing is different by NOT saying that. I was a little surprised that they didn't change the wording of direct hit when the new damage deck came out. Would have given a slight buff to saboteur and other "flip up" effects.

Does it count as cheating if your actions are detrimental to yourself?

I wouldn't call it cheating if it's an unintentional mistake, and this one is a common one. It's cheating when you know a player is breaking the rules, regardless of which player, and you do nothing about.

As mentioned dealing another card for it can come back to bit you if your playing against something that can flip over cards

Not too mention dealing another card alters the deck.

So now maybe that next cars is a direct hit where as the one you flipped was a pilot skill 0 one.

The card says right on it.

This card counts as two dmg

Which means one card equals two dmg.

Not deal another facedown card

Does it count as cheating if your actions are detrimental to yourself?

Most likely.

As mentioned dealing another card for it can come back to bit you if your playing against something that can flip over cards

^^ Which is a really good point. Imagine this scenario: Your ship is dealt a Damage card which happens to be a Direct Hit. You immediately deal another card and flip the Direct Hit face down. Along comes Saboteur and flips a card faceup, which happens to be the Direct Hit. Do you deal another card, making that three Damage cards now? Of course not.

As mentioned dealing another card for it can come back to bit you if your playing against something that can flip over cards

^^ Which is a really good point. Imagine this scenario: Your ship is dealt a Damage card which happens to be a Direct Hit. You immediately deal another card and flip the Direct Hit face down. Along comes Saboteur and flips a card faceup, which happens to be the Direct Hit. Do you deal another card, making that three Damage cards now? Of course not.

Or perhaps a really crazy interaction I'm told works with Rexlar. Hit a ship and deal it a face down card and a Direct Hit. Say you deal another card then flip the Direct Hit face down. Now Rexlar uses his ability to flip all THREE cards face up and let's say two the other card you happened to draw was also a Direct HIt while the first face down card (not that there's really any difference) is something inconsequential. I guess now you're dealing it two more cards before turning the direct hits back over again. Now you've seen a ship take 5 damage from two cards.

Thanks for the replies, I think the problem for us comes because we never remember to use crit tokens so double damage has on occasion been forgotten.

I had often thought that there was potential for problems here though, we're very much in the fly casual school of thought so it's never been an issue before, but I'm now looking at a list with damage flippers.

The thing to remember is never deal another card unless specifically directed to. And leave faceup cards faceup unless specifically directed to flip them over.