Board Game Localization – Done Right

Reach more players by releasing your game in other languages!

For all your board gaming needs: Our experienced and dedicated team of translators has been providing board game translation, copy editing and DTP services for over 10 years. Rulebooks, components, marketing assets, crowdfunding campaign pages … you name it!

Our translation studio is powered by the publishing house Board Game Circus, so you can trust that we know our way around the board game business. We’ll use all of that expertise when we’re translating your game.

Tell us about your game

OUR RECENT LOCALIZATION PROJECTS

Masters of the Universe Fields of Eternia

… AND MANY, MANY MORE …

Localize with Translation Circus

Translation Circus is ready to support you — with the expertise of a publishing house and our large team of translators.

Translations are key for marketing and selling your board game internationally. Localizing your game means you can reach players and localization partners in key markets such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the UK and US, and beyond.
Trust in our professional team of translators — not in translations done by hobbyists or even machine-translated texts. A poorly written translation can ruin the comprehension of your game and damage its reputation among the community of gamers. We’ll take the translation of your game seriously, making sure everything is easy to understand and fun to read.
As we learn and understand how your game plays, and ask you questions as we translate it, we also ensure the original text is the best it can be.
Whether you are a small startup or industry giant, we’ll treat your game with the same care and attention you did.
Your rulebook is the gateway to your game … and we can open it up to new players around the world.

Your game needs to be accessible and immersive – so offering players a localized version of your game is vital for reaching new markets. Let your target audience experience your game in the way you imagined.

SOME OF OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS

Our services

We go one step further than simple translation: we localize your game and adapt it to the target culture.

While we’re translating your game, we’re already thinking about the differing needs of the target culture. Starting with choosing the right way of addressing your players, we’ll also suggest adjustments to cultural references and maybe even imagery, or language-specific humor. By carefully spotting these critical elements, we make sure that your game works in every market.

TRANSLATION

As literally as possible, as freely as necessary! — That’s our guiding translation principle.

The goal of any translation is to convey the meaning of the source text the best way possible for a specific target audience. It needs to sound natural and be precise and true to the original. While translating freely to make sure the translation is idiomatic and correct, we work hard to transfer the meaning of your text and ensure nothing goes missing in translation!

LAYOUT

Our in-house graphics team can provide you with quick and affordable DTP services.

We’ll efficiently create the finalized files for your rules, box and components in the desired language. Simply send us your source files and any assets you already have, and we’ll transfer the translated text into your layout, make any necessary adjustments, and even export the print PDFs. We’re your one-stop shop for your localized game!

Apart from German, English (AE/BE), French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish, we can offer you translations from and into even more languages. Just leave a message and let us know which language combination you require and together with our extensive and trusted network of translation partners and freelancers we will make things happen!

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

„We have been trusting Translation Circus with localizing our games for quite some time now. Their professionalism and enthusiasm for board games really helps elevating our games. Looking forward to our next joint project …“

Strohmann GamesMarcel Strohmann

„Professionalism and attention to detail are the hallmarks of this team. Always a pleasure to work with and I can’t wait for our next project together.“

AEGManolis Trahiotis

„We’ve been working with Translation Circus since the early days of LOKI for translations into various languages, so today they’re a long-standing and trusted partner. It’s always a pleasure to work with them: they’re professional, their feedback is relevant and their specialization in board games is a real plus for our projects!“

LokiChloé

„The attention to detail and aim for flawless work is something I really respect in Translation Circus.“

Snowdale DesignSami Laakso

„It is always a pleasure to work with Translation Circus. The team is super efficient and always foresees possible issues and helps solving them!“

GigamicCaroline

„We have been trusting Board Game Circus Translation Studio with localizing our games for quite some time now. Their professionalism and enthusiasm for board games really helps elevating our games. Looking forward to our next joint project …“

Strohmann GamesMarcel Strohmann

„Professionalism and attention to detail are the hallmarks of this team. Always a pleasure to work with and I can’t wait for our next project together.“

AEGManolis Trahiotis

„It is always a pleasure to work with Board Game Circus. The team is super efficient and always foresees possible issues and helps solving them!“

GigamicCaroline

OUR LOCALIZATION WORKFLOW

No matter how big or small — each of our game translation and copy editing projects is done by a team of two professional translators. One of those translators will undertake the translation itself, while the other translator is responsible for checking that translation for errors. Our process of having four eyes working on each translation leads to flawless results. Should any rules questions arise, we’ll reach out to you for clarification. If you’d like to send us a copy of your game, or if it’s available online, we’ll happily play through it so we can understand it comprehensively. The final step in our quality control process is checking the new PDFs against the translated texts once they’ve been transferred into your layout.

1. Checking the source material

2. Translation

3. Copy Editing

4. PDF check

Each and every member of our language teams is a professional translator first and an avid gamer second. We use a multi-step translation test to check that each candidate has both these skills before we employ them, and it’s our principle not to give translation work to enthusiastic hobbyists.

All our translation, copy editing and proofreading jobs are handled by native speakers only.

PRICING

Usually, we charge per word (source text) for translation and copy editing jobs. Our rate includes transferring your text into our working document format, communicating feedback and questions to you, and extensive checking of the final PDFs to make sure the text flows well and is properly set out. Our DTP services can be booked at an hourly rate.

TRANSLATION

€ 0.15 – 0.19 per source word

COPY EDITING

€ 0.07 – 0.10 per source word

DTP

Hourly rate: € 55

At your service

Translation Circus – we’re juggling with words

Translation Circus was founded in 2014 and everyone involved is transparently working towards a colorful, diverse and inclusive community. We want to provide a safe space where everyone feels welcome at our tables. All of us have a history in board gaming and board game design, and we’ve combined that with our broad range of skills to bring Translation Circus to life.

As an open-minded translation community, we love to share our passion for board games and our expertise within the board game industry with gamers from all kinds of cultural backgrounds. Let’s bring your game translation to life!

Sven

Translation Director • Managing Director Assistant

I am into board and card games since my earliest childhood days. Which braught me to where I am today: in the position of Translation Director at Translation Circus. I supervise our teams and have their backs, which allows them to focus on the most important activity – flawless translations. As a client, I am also your contact person and provide advice and support in all matters.

I play pretty much every type of game, from party and family games to evening filling strategy games. What I am striving for in gaming is that everyone involved enjoys playing.

Daniel

Managing Director

I am a creative entrepreneur and avid gamer. Prior to Board Game Circus I have acquired knowledge and expertise in media design, publishing, marketing/promotion as well as artist-, event- and community management. I am a communicative networker, always striving for exciting cooperation and challenging projects.

In terms of board games my preferences are games that are easy to learn, play fast and offer interesting choices. My heart beats for card games and dedicated two-player games, preferably with astonishing artworks.

Frank

Translator

Working with language as a professional translator in the diverse field of games at Translation Circus is a dream come true for me. Together with our open-minded team and our great supporters I get to break new ground every day and inspire people with board games that dare to be different in so many ways.

I particularly enjoy trick-taking games and classic board games that are easy to teach and interactive.

Lisa

Editor • Translator

I am an editor, professional translator and of course, passionate board gamer. As Board Game Circus is both a publishing house and a translation studio, I take care of our clients’ localization projects as well as the games we publish and develop ourselves. What I love about the board game industry is the diversity, creativity and the people we are working with.

Sitting at the gaming table, I enjoy engine builders and highly thematic games with outstanding artwork the most — ranging from nature-related ones to games with themes you rarely see — and I’m a big fan of party games and quick and easy games that everyone can enjoy while chatting and spending quality time together.

Editor at Translation Circus

Maurizio

Graphic Designer

Building on years of expertise in the field of creative graphic design, at Translation Circus I take care of anything related to the design of rules and components.

When I find the time to join others at the board game table, I am particularly interested in timeless classics.

Anna

Cultural Anthropology Consultant

I am an anthropologist, specialized in peace and conflict studies as well as anthropology of violence. I am very passionate about the history of cultures, ethnic minorities, theories of modern civilizations and especially the (unfortunately often-violent) social conflicts of our times. My studies and fieldwork focus on Native American tribes and the cultural development of southeast Asia.

I would like the board games industry to benefit from an anthropological point of view – since many great games are based on the history of the world’s people. One step at a time – starting with Translation Circus!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR GAME

Instead of using the form you can send us an email. That’s useful if you plan on sending attachments. Preferred method for larger files is sending us links to cloud storage.

Send Email (good for attachments)

* Cover art and corporate logos are copyright of their respective owners.

Board Game Localization – Done Right

Reach more players by releasing your game in other languages!

OUR RECENT LOCALIZATION PROJECTS

… AND MANY, MANY MORE …

Localize with Translation Circus

Translation Circus is ready to support you — with the expertise of a publishing house and our large team of translators.

Your game needs to be accessible and immersive – so offering players a localized version of your game is vital for reaching new markets. Let your target audience experience your game in the way you imagined.

SOME OF OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS

Our services

We go one step further than simple translation: we localize your game and adapt it to the target culture.

TRANSLATION

As literally as possible, as freely as necessary! — That’s our guiding translation principle.

LAYOUT

Our in-house graphics team can provide you with quick and affordable DTP services.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

„We have been trusting Translation Circus with localizing our games for quite some time now. Their professionalism and enthusiasm for board games really helps elevating our games. Looking forward to our next joint project …“

„Professionalism and attention to detail are the hallmarks of this team. Always a pleasure to work with and I can’t wait for our next project together.“

„The attention to detail and aim for flawless work is something I really respect in Translation Circus.“

„It is always a pleasure to work with Translation Circus. The team is super efficient and always foresees possible issues and helps solving them!“

„We have been trusting Board Game Circus Translation Studio with localizing our games for quite some time now. Their professionalism and enthusiasm for board games really helps elevating our games. Looking forward to our next joint project …“

„Professionalism and attention to detail are the hallmarks of this team. Always a pleasure to work with and I can’t wait for our next project together.“

„It is always a pleasure to work with Board Game Circus. The team is super efficient and always foresees possible issues and helps solving them!“

OUR LOCALIZATION WORKFLOW

1. Checking the source material

2. Translation

3. Copy Editing

4. PDF check

PRICING

TRANSLATION

COPY EDITING

DTP

At your service

Translation Circus – we’re juggling with words

Sven

Daniel

Frank

Lisa

Maurizio

Anna

TELL US ABOUT YOUR GAME

Get your quote or ask us anything. We’ll get back to you right away.

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