All Counters have a context-sensitive menu accessed by right-clicking on the counter. Some commands
are grouped into sub-menus. Keyboard shortcuts are displayed for each command and can be used instead
of using the menus.
General Commands
Activate - Activate the counter - Yellow highlight.
Mark Action Done - Change highlight from Yellow to Green to indicate Action done.
Deactivate - Deactivate counter - Remove any Yellow or Green highlight.
Change Label - Edit a freeform text label that is displayed above the unit and saved
when saving a game. Use for notes about a specific unit.
Show Range - Display a shading on the map showing the combat range of the unit. (Units with a range > 1 only)
Movement Submenu
Column - Show/hide Column mode indicator (Mobile units only).
Mark Moved - Show/hide the movement indicator.
Movement Trail - Show/hide a trail showing units movement since last cleared.
Graveyard - Move counter to the Graveyard window.
Peek at Trn - Briefly display the mounted or unmounted side that is not currently showing (Organic Transport units only).
Mount/Unmount - Show/Hide a units Organic Transport side (Organic Transport units only).
Combat Submenu
Cohesion Hit - Add a Cohesion Hit marker to the top of the stack.
Suppressed - Add a Suppression marker to the top of the stack.
Step Loss - Flip the counter to/from the single step side. If the counter has organic transport in the back, then add a Step Loss marker.
Barrage - Add a Barrage marker to the top of the Stack.
Rubble - Add a Rubble marker to the top of the Stack (Artillery units only).
Attack - Display an attack thread showing range and blocking terrain. The thread changes to red if you exceed the effective range of the counter. Click on an enemy stack to invoke the Attack Wizard.
Info - Display a panel showing the effective ratings for the current counter based on game conditions.
Rallying - Add a Rallying marker to the top of the Stack.
Engineering Submenu
IP - Add an Improved Position marker to the top of the stack (Leg units only).
Entrench - Add an Entrenchment marker to the top of the stack (Engineer units only).
Men at Work - Add a Men at Work marker to the top of the stack.
Delay Submenu (German units only, in movement submenu)
1 x Parachute Delay - Place a single Parachute Delay marker.
2 x Parachute Delay - Place a double Parachute Delay marker.
1 x Glider Delay - Place a single Glider Delay marker.
2 x Glider Delay - Place a double Glider Delay marker.
1 x AirLand Delay - Place an Air Landing Delay marker.
Artillery Specific Commands
Enter Artillery Park - Move this unit to the Artillery Park box on the Division Card. (Artillery units on top of an Artillery Park only).
Leave Artillery Park - Move this unit to the matching Artillery Park counter on the map. (Artillery units in an Artillery Park box on the Division Card only).
Disband Artillery Park - Swap this marker on the map with the Artillery Units in the matching Artillery Park box on the Division Card. (Artillery Park marker only).
Fired - Mark an Artillery Park as having fired. (Artillery Park marker only).
Attack With - Displays a list of units in the matching Artillery Park and allows the Attack Wizard to be opened using one of those units as the attacker. (Artillery Park and Naval Target markers only).
Holding the mouse steady over a stack of units activates a popup window showing a 100% zoomed view of the counters in the hex:-
The units are displayed with the bottom unit at the left, in order to the top-most unit at the right. Above the unit display is
a line of text showing:-
Hex reference.
Terrain in the Hex.
The total Mass in Steps of the units in the hex, taking into account Step Losses recorded by either flipping the counter, or by
adding a Step Loss counter.
The word Night if it is currently the Night turn.
Holding the mouse steady over an empty hex will display the Hex reference and the terrain.
Whenever a counter is selected by clicking on it, or by dragging a box around it, the outline of the counter is highlighted in a thicker
black border to show that it is current selected. The counter on the right has been selected:
If the counter is Out of Command when selected, then the counter is instead highlighted in a thick red border with a thin
red diagonal:
The "-1" label to the right of the Troop Quality is a reminder that Troop Quality is reduced by -1 whenever a unit is out of
command. A negative modifier is displayed in red, a positive modifier in blue and a green zero is displayed if multiple modifiers cancel each other out.
The Troop Quality Modifier status takes into account the following modifiers:-
Out of Command (-1)
TQR modifications due to Reduced Supply(-1/-2)
Double Cohesion Hit (-1)
IP (+1)
Entrenched( (+2)
Suppressed (-1)
Barraged (-1/-2)
Step Loss Counter (-1)
Air Landing Delay (-1)
Stacked with a Heroic marker (+1)
Modifiers to the Fire, Assault and Defence ratings are displayed down the left side of the counter, roughly in line with
the ratings printed on the counter. These modifiers take into account all modifiers specified in the Series, Exclusive and
Scenario Special rules that currently apply to the counter that are NOT caused by other markers stacked. with the unit (e.g. changes due to terrain, time, special rules).
In this case, the unit is subject to a -2 Fire and Assault rating due to it being Night and a -1 Defence modifier for being in Scrub.
To create an Artillery Park, move the Artillery Park counter from the Divisional holding box and place it on the map in the same
hex as an Artillery Counter of the same division, Right-click on the Artillery counter and select Enter Artillery Park. The Artillery
unit will be moved to the correct holding box on the Divisional card.
Artillery Units can enter an existing Artillery Park in the same way by moving to the Artillery Park marker on the map and using the Enter Artillery Park command.
To leave an Artillery Park, right-click on an Artillery unit in an Artillery Park holding box and select the Leave Artillery park
command. The unit will be moved to the current location of the matching Artillery park marker on the map.
To disband an Artillery Park, right-click on an Artillery Park marker on the map and select the Disband Artillery Park
command. The Artillery Park marker will be returned to the matching Artillery Park Holding Box on the Divisional Card
and any Artillery units in the holding box will be returned to the map where the marker was located.
To use the Attack Wizard to attack units on the map with Artillery Units in an Artillery Park, use the Attack With command and select the Artillery Unit you wish to attack with from the
list of units displayed that are currently in the Artillery Park box on the Division card.
Use the Fired command on an Artillery Park marker to indicate that an Artillery Unit has fired from that park this turn, and the Artillery Park is now subject to Counter-Battery fire. The Fired marker
is removed when the Remove Barrage Markers button is clicked at the end of a player turn.
When a leader unit is activated, a box will appear in the lower right corner containing the unit's activation limit. Use the
Activate Independents command to list any non-activated Independent units from the same division within the leaders
command range.
Selecting one of the Independent units on the menu will Activate the corresponding unit and reduce the leaders activation count by 1. Black Stripe Independent units can be activated in the same way,
but do not reduce the count of remaining Independent activations.
The Attack Wizard is a comprehensive Fire Attack calculator that can be used to resolve any combat situation within Operation Mercury.
See the separate Help item on the Attack Wizard for more information.
The Men at Work and Rallying counters are special markers that record how long a unit has been trying unsuccessfully to complete
a task. Use the Increase and Decrease commands to change the value of the marker.
Click on the Notes button to open the Notes display. There are four different kinds of notes.
The Scenario notes section is pre-loaded with the complete instructions for the scenario from the Exclusive Rule Book
The Public notes section is empty at the start of the scenario. Players can type notes into this section and
they are shared between all players, and saved when the game is saved..
The Private notes section is similar to the Public Notes, except that each player has their own personal copy. The notes are saved with the game, but
no other player gets to see your Private Notes.
The Delayed notes section is drop-box for secret information that must be recorded at the start of the game, and then revealed to your
opponent at a later time. This feature is not generally used in Operation Mercury, but may be useful for custom games. Click on the New button
to create a new Delayed note and give it a name. Click Ok, then Save. The note will be saved along with game and your opponent will be able to see the
name of the note, and the time it was created, but cannot see the text of the note until you click on the Reveal button. Once created, a
Delayed Note cannot be edited, changed or deleted by either player.
The Activation window is the core of Operation Mercury. Activation Chits for the various Armies, Divisions and Formations in the scenario are made available for use
in the scenario setup, or as reinforcements as the associated troops enter the game. Selected chits are randomized in the Coffee Mug and drawn out
one by one to dictate the order of play. The Activation board contains a number of different parts:
The Coffee Mug in the top left corner holds a stack of shuffled chits ready to be drawn. Players draw a chit by dragging a chit
off the top of the stack and dropping it into the Current Chit box. This will automatically Activate all counters belonging to that
formation (see below)
The Current box holds the current chit in play. Dropping a chit into the Current box causes all counters belonging to the associated formation
to activate.
The Purchased boxes hold chits that players have purchased for next turn at a discounted rate using Dispatch Points. It is up to
players to manually move the chits into the Coffee Mug at the appropriate time. Purchased Formation chits are face down and can only
be viewed by the owning player.
The Available boxes are no longer used, but are included 'greyed out' for compatibility with older scenario setups that may still be
in use. Available formation chits are now stored in a private window for each player. An example of the Allied Formation Chit window can be
seen to the right of the main Activation window.
The Used AMs box is an area to lay out all of the chits that have been played this turn. Before drawing a new chit, one of the players
should move the Current chit over to the next available space on the Used AMs board.
At the end of a turn, one of the players can click the Refill Mug button to distribute the Used Activation Markers ready for the next turn:
The Direct Command and Division Activation chits are placed in the Coffee Mug.
Formation Activation chits are placed into the appropriate Allied or German Formation Chit Window.
Players must manually move any purchased formation Activation Chits into the Coffee Mug.
As well as manipulating the chits manually, you can use the right-click menu available on each chit
Graveyard - Send the chit to the Graveyard.
Change Label - Allows users to annotate the chits with text.
Purchase for this turn - 2DP - Places the chit directly into the Coffee Mug.
Purchase for next turn - 1DP - Flips the chit and places it into the appropriate Purchased box.
Return to Formation Area - Place the chit in the appropriate Formation Chit window.
Activate all units in Formation - Highlight all units on the map belonging to this formation. Manually placing a chit into
the Current box will automatically invoke this command.
When activated, units belonging to the same formation or division as the chit are clearly marked with a Yellow Highlight:
This allows you to easily see where the currently active units are on the board. The Green highlight indicates an activated unit that has used
its Action. Moving a unit, or issuing it commands that represent actions (Such as building an Impoved Position or entering Column Mode) cause the
highlight to automatically change from Yellow to Green. If you need to manually may a unit as having done its action, use the 'Mark Action Done' command
on the individual counter.
At the end of the Activation, use the Deactivate All button to remove all activation highlights.
Some scenarios require the random placement of units (mainly Greek, but some non-Greek units also) accross a number of specified hexes. These units are stored in the Greek Unit Randomisation window
at scenario setup. One player must click on the Randomise Greek Units button at the top of the window to randomly allocated the starting hexes from those specified in the rules.
The units must then be manually moved to their correct starting hex before start of play. The larger scenarios may use more than one randomisation display from the smaller scenarios, all displays relevent to
the current scenario will appear in this window.
Use the Command and Dispatch markers to track the current level of Command and Dispatch Points for each Division. The Location of each marker on
the track represents the number of points currently available. The rate at which the Division gains extra points is indicated on the lower
right-hand corner of each marker.
NOTE that in scenarios 1-4, individual Brigades act as divisions and battalions as formations.
The Supply Level tracking display will be included in the Command/Dispatch window for scenarios that use Special rule S4.0 Supply Determination. Follow rule S4.0 to determine
changes to the supply level on a specific map. Right-click on the appropriate Supply marker and select the Reduce Supply or Increase Supply to change the supply level
for that Army on that map. For Diminished and Emergency Supply, the appropriate TQ and Fire rating modifiers will be displayed in the Selected Unit display, Combat->Info
display and the Attack Wizard.
The Allied Morale and Withdrawal level display will be included in the Command/Dispatch window for scenarios that use Special rule S5.0 Allied Morale and Allied Withdrawal.
To set the starting Morale or Withdrawal level at the start of a scenario, right-click on the Allied Morale/Withdrawal Level, choose the Set AWL Level command and enter
the starting Morale or Withdrawal level.
To change the Morale or Withdrawal level during a scenarion, right-click on the appropriate counters on the right-side of the display and select the Increase, Decrease, Yes
or No commands as required to record the changes. The overall Level will automatically update to show the current Morale or Withdrawal level.
To change from Morale Level to Withdrawal Level when Allied Withdrawal comes into play, right-click on the left-mouse counter and select the appropriate command. Note that the
Each Alled Unit Withdrawn is only available in Withdrawal mode.
The VP tracking display is included in the Command/Dispatch window for Scenario 4 which has its own VP mechanism. Right-click on the individual counters and select the Increase, Decrease, Yes
or No commands as required to record the changes.
The Events window contains two Decks of Event counters, one each for the Allied and German side. Whenever the Random Event chip for a side is drawn from the mug, drag the top event of the
deck and place it in the lower half of the display. Use the Return to Event Deck command to return an Event chit to its appropriate Deck.
Event chits can also be placed on the map where required. The Heroic chit will boost the stats of the unit it is stacked with in the on-board displays and Attack Wizard. The Partisan chit can be used
to initiate a Partisan attack using the Attack Wizard on the German units it is stacked with. Similiarly, the Allied Air Strike chit can be used to initiate an Air attack.
The Scenario Card toolbar button opens a window containing the scenario cards. There is one card for each of the 4 Divisions
represented in the game, plus one card for each of the 4 Brigades/Regiments that act like divisions in scenarios 1-4. The scenario cards are specific to the particular scenario.
For Divisions that are not deployed in the current scenario, the scenario card is blank and is hidden after the first time you click on any
scenario card tab.
For Divisions that are deployed, the card contains all the counters needed to complete the scenario. Cards have seperate
sections for :-
Artillery Parks - Boxes to hold the Divisional Artillery Park counters and, when deployed to the map, the Artillery Units
that reside within the artillery parks.
A Holding box for 5 German Air Strike counters for use during the scenario.
A Holding box to contain available, but currently unused Road Blcoks, rearguards and Divisional trucks
Boxes to contain the Allied Battalion attachment counters. Moving these
counters between boxes will change the Formation of the matching counters on the map and change the way the automatic Activation
and In Command checking works for these units.
Variable setup units - Units that are set up at the start of the scenario, but require one of players to
place them based on the instructions on the card.
Reinforcements - All reinforcement counters laid out in order if arrival in the lower section of the card, after the variable
setup units. Reinfocement stacks for Formations entering
the game for the first time also include the Activation Chit for the formation, which should be place in the Available
box on the Activations Chart.
Units in Operation Mercury cannot be Deleted directly from the main map board. Use the Movement -> Graveyard (Ctrl-G) command to move destroyed units to the Graveyard map.
Once in the Graveyard, units can be deleted if necessary.
Display a unit summary inventory. Units are broken down by map, then side, Division, then Formation. Clicking on a unit will
scroll the map to show the unit if the map is open. You can right-click on a unit on the inventory screen and issue commands
to the unit.
The Map Overview button displays a small-scale image of the entire map and draws a rectangle indicating size of the current view
screen. Click on the small screen image to move the view screen around. Click on the Map Overview a second time to hide the
overview map.
Use the Hide Counters button to temporarily hide all of the counters on map to enable you to examine the map terrain.
Click again to make the counters reappear. This has no effect on what your opponent sees.
The Clear Barrage button can be used at the end of a players turn to remove all Barrage markers currently on the board and to flip all Fired Artillery Park counters
back to their unfired side.
Clicking on the Line of Sight button causes all counters on the map to become transparent, revealing the terrain beneath. Click and drag from
one hex to another to draw a Line of Sight thread from the center of the start hex to the center of hexes that you move the cursor over. The range
is displayed near the target hex. The Line of Sight thread will stay visible until you click on the map. Refer to the Line of Sight rules to
determine if Line of Sight is blocked between the two hexes.
When a unit is moved, it is marked with a small yellow marker in the middle right of the counter. To clear
all moved markers on all units, click the button on the toolbar.
To clear the Moved marker on an individual unit, use the Movement -> Mark Moved command.
Use the Movement -> Movement Trail command to display a trail showing where the unit has moved since the last time the
was clicked.