Tourist's View: Portugal Wargaming Scene

Last week, I visited Portugal for a little sightseeing. While my gf was giving her speech in an international conference, I decided to go out alone to see one of the Games Workshop stores in Lisbon. After a metro and tram trip to Alcantra neihborhood, and with some help from the Google Maps, I managed to get to my destination: Homem Azul.

Once inside, the owner, Paulo, gave me a warm welcome. Luckily everyone seems to speak English very well in Lisbon. Before long, we started chatting about the gaming scene in Lisbon, Turkey, GW's policies, etc. According to what he says, the number of WH players in Lisbon area has been in decline for the last 5 years, from 30-40s to a handful. Even though there were some 6-7 people in the store, they weren't actual customers. It was only I who left the store with something.

The store was a three-storey one, with the highest floor containing the gaming tables, middle floor serving as the actual store. The lowest floor also had some tables and scenery but since they were stored away, it was obvious that they haven't seen any action for quite some time, sad...

The stock contained the recent releases but was lacking in variety. Something perfectly understandable for such a small business. I remember seeing the latest High Elf army book and Eldar codex, as well as the phoenix box recently released for the HEs. There were also a small selection of minis from other vendors like Avatars of War, Flames of War and Dragon Rune Miniatures. It was a little disappointing for me to see that they didn't have anything about Infinity; but still I went on and bought a goblin muso wolf rider from Dragon Rune, as well as some paints.
 
Portugal are, like almost all of the EU countries, in a financial crisis, you could tell that even by walking the streets of the town. It was sad to see that the crisis is having its toll on wargaming community in Lisbon. Before I finish, I would like to wish the best for Paulo and all the fellow wargamers out there.