GoblinTrader (GTS Madrid Sur)

If you approach GoblinTrader South from the direction of Plaza Eliptica, the first thing that you might notice is that it appears to be closed. Don’t panic, that’s the old location. It has since moved slightly further down the street, and nothing has (at the time of writing) taken over the previous units, so the signs are still there.

Walking in through the door, you pass between two sets of shelves bearing a nice selection of magazines and books, mainly on history and historical wargaming. In front of you will be the main counter, and if your visit is anything like the couple of times I’ve been in, you’ll be greeted by a smiling staff member.

Looking around the store, you’ll find an excellent selection of miniatures, mostly fantasy and sci-fi, but with a reasonable collection of historical miniatures as well (not just Flames of War). All the usual suspects are here: Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, Dreadball, Guildball, Blood Bowl, the new Harry Potter miniatures game, X-Wing, Dropzone Commander, Malifaux, etc.

Most of the back wall provides a surprisingly large selection of board games and card games for a store specialising in wargames. There are games for all the family, and games for the more hardcore strategist, eurogames and Ameritrash, cheap little card games and big-box behemoths. Pretty much everyone should be able to spot something they’ll like. There’s even a couple of shelves of RPGs, which while not an inspiring collection, included some decent titles and best-sellers.

In fact, the only noticeable absence is the lack of trading card games. This may be the only tabletop games store I’ve been in since the ’90s that didn’t stock Magic: The Gathering. However, Madrid isn’t exactly short on good trading card stores, so I can understand if they don’t want to try to compete with the stores that have large singles selections.

While there’s not much in the way of trading cards, there’s a reasonable selection of sleeves and deck boxes. Not up to the variety you’ll get at one of the more cards-orientated stores, but if you’re in the area and need some sleeves, you can pop in for some Ultimate Guard.

There’s a wide variety of scenery and terrain, featuring cast pieces, laser-cut kits, printed mats, trees, and flock.

You’ll also find a very good selection of bags and foam trays, which is something that isn’t often given much space in a lot of stores.

They also stock a broad range of tools and brushes, including Kolinsky sables, so modellers and painters should be able to find pretty much whatever they need.

Painters will also love what is probably the most comprehensive selection of paints I’ve seen in a store, with several different brands, and none that I recognised as being poor quality.

If you want to game, there are three full-size wargaming tables in the store itself, plus a couple more in the gaming zone through a door to one side. Many boxes of terrain were also visible around the gaming area, so it looks like you should be able to turn up with your forces and still have a decent battlefield to fight over. There’s also a fridge stocked with drinks, to make sure you stay hydrated while commanding your troops.

The staff were friendly, with a high level of English and happy to answer questions, such as our enquiry about the membership card scheme.

The ‘Tarjeta de Socio del Club Goblin’ has three levels: Snotling (costing just 1€ for a year), Goblin (20€), and Fanatic (30€). For the fee, you get discounts on tabletop games, plus you can use the games libraries at GTS Madrid Norte and GTS Mallorca for free. I’ve written another post going into more detail about this.

All-in-all, I’m very impressed. It’s an excellent shop for painting and modelling supplies, it’s a great shop for fantasy and sci-fi miniatures, and it’s a pretty good shop for tabletop games. If you’re into historical miniatures, then it’s a bit more hit-and-miss, but still more likely to suit your needs than most places that don’t specialise in miniatures. So if that fits your needs, or you’re in the area, I highly recommend giving it a visit.

Official website: https://www.goblintrader.es/madrid

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GTSMadrid/

Open: 11:00-14:00 every day, 16:30-20:30 Mon-Fri, 17:00-20:30 Sat-Sun.

Nearest Metros: Usera (line 6) or Plaza Eliptica (lines 6 & 11).