Strandhogg Fantasy Game 2: Get to the boat!

Marty was unable to make the game today, so wahj and I played a game of Strandhogg Fantasy. I took only a few photos, but wahj should be along to post his better ones soon...

I borrowed the scenario from the Tabletop Teaser in one issue of Battlegames: the background is that the goblin scouts report that a strong dwarf column has been spotted escorting two pack mules to a ferry; guessing that the cargo they are carrying is precious, the goblin chieftain organised a dawn raid on the dwarven camp, before they can load the cargo...

As dawn breaks the dwarven sentry posted on the hilllock by the camp spotted a goblin warband heading their way, led by a band of warg riders, and supported by a troll!



The goblins enter from one corner; the dwarven ferry point is at the opposite corner, while the dwarven camp is in the centre of the table. Woods on the other two corners basically reduced the goblin approach to two: left of the pond, or right... or so I thought.


I deployed one band of rangers to the hillock, and despatched the other two to either side of the pond to block off the goblin approach, while the warriors formed to the left of the pond in a shieldwall, anticipating that the warg riders will come that way; the mule drivers headed swiftly for the ferry. I have planned the scenario such that it will take them about the same number of turns to reach it as it would take the warg riders, so time is of the essence here.

To my surprise the warg riders initially made straight for the hillock, but were repelled. They then turned to the dwarven left flank, bypassing the shieldwall and making straight for the mules this time.

I now made a mistake in my strategy - instead of driving the mules straight to the ferry, I moved them to the hillock on the left. I planned to deploy their precious cargo - a dwarven ballista, but before I could do so the warg riders have come dangerously close, forcing me to move them off the hillock again.

To the right of the pond the troll charged against a dwarven warband, was wounded twice by arrows, and finally felled in melee by a Thane.

In the centre of the table a goblin warbands fight a bloody melee with the dwarves rangers, who came off worse.

To the left the goblin chieftain leads the other warband against the dwarven warriors. Here the combat is more equal, and the two sides fight to a standstill.


Near the ferry the battle comes to a climax as the warg riders, now numbering only 3 out of the original 8, despatched the dwarven warband protecting the mule drivers and actually grabbed the reins of the two mules, but in the final moments the surviving Thane and a ranger from the centre warband slay a warg rider and caused the other one to flee.

The leader of the warg riders, himself wounded twice and seeing that it is not possible for him to drive both mules back to the goblin side of the table, decided to quit the field.


We called the game is a marginal victory for the dwarves, although if we carried on there was a chance the goblins could still win.

During the game wahj revealed that he too owned a few LOTR figures! I guess we may be playing Strandhogg again in the near future...

The rules used was Strandhogg, with fantasy modifications made by myself. The figures are all GW LOTR figures, with the exception of the troll, which is a Gamezone Troll, and the mules, which are from Mega Miniatures.

The mat and the hills are from GW. The building is from an ebay seller. The boat is a Zvezda Medieval Life Boat.