
- BGG rank
- BGG #2,953
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Flying Colors
- 1–4 players
- 240 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2003

Rules assistance for Flying Colors: Beat to Quarters, Vol II
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Flying Colors: Beat to Quarters, Vol II is an expansion for Serpents of the Seas released in 2021. It was designed by Mike Nagel and its main mechanics are Hand Management.
Beat to Quarters, Vol II (Serpents of the Seas) is an official expansion to Serpents of the Seas by GMT Games, LLC and requires a copy of that game to play. One of the most common criticisms of the Flying Colors system is the clutter of status markers on the map and that they may detract from game play. This concern can be minimized somewhat by using status sheets and a handy pencil to keep track of things on paper. This, however, adds a separate record-keeping aspect that the design of the game goes out of its way to avoid. Beat to Quarters provides the ultimate way by which to keep track of the status of individual ships through the use of individual tracking cards that are kept conveniently near the map and that are laid out to conveniently hold a variety of status markers such as Broadsides Fired, Sail State, Rigging Damage, and Hull Damage. The cards are designed to be printed at a standard 3.5 by 2.5 inch size so that they can be slipped into card protectors for extended usage. Individual tracking cards are included for all 255 individually named ships included with Serpents of the Seas. But that’s not all! As a bonus, Beat to Quarters also includes the print-and-play components for an entirely new way to play Serpents of the Seas. Drawing from games such as Naval War, Modern Naval Battles, and (in particular) Enemy in Sight, Beat to Quarters can be played with just the ship tracking cards, a special set of markers and 8.5 x 11 inch tracking board, and the status markers from Serpents of the Seas. The ship cards are organized into squadrons that maneuver and fire against the opposing fleet within a relatively small playing area. With Beat to Quarters, you can play the huge battles without the space requirements for several game maps. NOTE: This volume of Beat to Quarters only includes marker sheets for the British, French, and American fleets. There are insufficient Spanish, Venetian, and East India Company ships to form a fleet, but these ships can be included in the fleets of the other nationalities as desired or added to the cards from the first volume of Beat to Quarters. With Beat to Quarters, you can either enhance or completely change your enjoyment of Serpents of the Seas! Card play modifications to Flying Colors. —description from the publisher
Flying Colors: Beat to Quarters, Vol II belongs to these categories: Card Game, Wargame, and Print & Play. Its main mechanics are Hand Management. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Flying Colors: Beat to Quarters, Vol II are: Mike Nagel. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Flying Colors: Beat to Quarters, Vol II as an expansion for Serpents of the Seas. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Serpents of the Seas to use it. Check that your edition of Serpents of the Seas is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.