"Austin Game Stores Closed" Topic

Just a note from the Texas Capitol City that in addition to Great Halls Games closing, Whose Turn is It? on South Lamar has closed as well.

Great Halls is closing? Bummer – I was only in Austin for a little over a year but I loved that place.

And also a good place to get 15mm Essex…

If you are looking for historical gaming in Austin, several of us have relocated to Dragon's Lair on alternating Wednesday nights, typically the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.

A good alternative to Whose Turn Is It is Mages Sanctum, check it out.

Ivan DBA, could you tell us more about your Wednesday meetings at Dragon's Lair? My own small group of Austin gaming buds (who used to meet at Great Hall Games) have tried Mage's Sanctum, which is located pretty far south. This suits some of us more than others! Lately, we have done more gaming at one guy's house than we used to.

I live pretty close to Dragon's Lair and even talked with DL's events manager, a really nice guy, a couple weeks ago. Still, without meaning to be unkind, we just haven't decided if Dragon's Lair is for us.

Thanks in advance for any info!

Jeff

Great Halls is closing? Bummer – I was only in Austin for a little over a year but I loved that place.

Not closing but closed. Frankly ever since they moved from Lamar to Burnet it seemed that the writing was on the wall. They didn't carry as much, I went three times and each time they had less in the store, and the new location itself had a "temporary" feel to it. It was pretty obvious that they weren't restocking stuff.

Dragon's Lair has a bunch of cool stuff but since I am much more into historical than fantasy they really don't stock much for me. So, it's back to the internet for my stuff. The good thing for me about DL is that they are in the same center as Precision Camera so I stop in about every Saturday.

Hi Jeff,

I'll send you a PM with my email address.

Even though we aren't playing games that Dragon's Lair carries, they have been very welcoming, reserving four tables for historical games every Wednesday. Most days, we are only using two of those tables, so you could absolutely show up and grab a table almost any Wednesday.

We played DBA (and HOTT) tonight, and Sharp Practice a couple weeks ago. Going forward, Hail Caesar, Jugula, Congo, and SAGA are all planned, but no specific dates yet. (We just finished a 6-month SAGA campaign).

There is a separate group that plays Bolt Action too, but I'm not sure which night they have. (Dragon's Lair carries a few Bolt Action and Konflict '47 items, as it happens.)

This is not Great Hall Games. You won't walk in and find a wall of Flames of War, Essex 15mm Ancients, or other historicals. And yes, there are a lot of people in the back playing collectible card games and RPGs. Many of these folks are not historicals grognards, but instead are millennials who play other games. But the venue is welcoming, well-lit, and with ample table space. Come join us for a game some time.

I stayed at the DPS barracks for about six months in 1990. There was model shop on South Lamar. Does anyone remember that?

I stayed at the DPS barracks for about six months in 1990. There was model shop on South Lamar. Does anyone remember that?

Not me but King's Hobbies is open on North Lamar (and an excellent model store it is).

There are a number of small, newer gaming stores in Austin these days, but hardly any of them feature historical games (board or minis), or stock miniatures beyond Fantasy or Sci-Fi types, and few have sufficient table space to accommodate historical miniatures players. Dragon's Lair is one of the few prospects to take over some of the business that Great Hall Games once had, but it's a long and congested drive from my end of town (this is an increasing problem in the new boomtown Austin). It's a shame that so many of the "gaming stores" are oriented toward card games or selling food and drink with a little optional gaming tossed in as a hipster gimmick. And these places want to promote the games they sell, not the miniatures they don't.