I played a few games today, teaching a friend to play and a couple of queries came up.

1- when setting up the asteroid counters, is there a minimum distance between counters? I know they have to be more then range 2 from the edge but is this also from counter to counter?

2- one of my friends ties had 1 damage card all ready when I then scored a crit. He drew minor explosion. I interpreted the card that this card counts as a damage card and if you roll a hit then you receive a further damage card bringing his total to 3, destroying the ship. Was this right?

1 - asteroids range 1 from each other or further (not closer).

2 - this is correct. crits count as a single damage to hull (unless stated on the card).

1- Range 2 from the edge, and Range 1 from each other.

2- Yes. Crits count as damage when face-up, and that particular one has a 50% chance of producing an additional damage.

minimum range 1, yes criticals count as damage with extra abilities.

Thanks guys. I couldn't find any reference for the first question.

For the 2nd, I knew that the crit counted as a damage card, it was that I wasn't sure if the dice result on minor explosion produced a further damage card or not. I think that explanation is missing on the card itself.

if the card says, it deals a damage if your roll a hit, it does deal another damage card, I cant remember the wording on that card tho

The main rules do not address how far apart the asteroids need to be from each other. However the range one minimum is somewhere in either the faq, or guide lines for organised play/tournaments. Most people just use that for convenience.