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our blog of
Geeky stories & musings
Read enchanting tales about the games we’ve been working on, learn about specialized localization tips, and browse through profiles of other freelance professionals such as game developers, artists, photographers and other creative souls in the board gaming industry.
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How Much Does a Board Game Translation Cost?
What’s up, my geeky friend? Let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?! It’s probably fairly obvious, but the question I get asked the most is how much it costs to have a board game localized professionally. There’s a short answer, and a long one. The Short...
Board Games and Their Educational Value
A close friend of mine recently asked me: “What’s the best part about being a freelance translator?” Besides the fact that most days are pajama days, that is…One thing that always excites me, is that as a translator you learn so much about so many different topics....
The Process Behind a Board Game Translation
Aloha, Geekmeisters! Have you ever wondered exactly how The Geeky Pen handles the localization of board games on a daily basis? Let’s look at a case study of Tabriz, a game by Crafty Games. The Geeky Pen was hired to localize the game in German and Farsi. Here’s how...
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How to Translate Your Board Game Into Russian
Howdy, geek squad!In this post, we’ll look at Russian localization and explore considerations that go into translating different parts of your game’s text. Russian tabletop slang is replete with Anglicisms and terminology that wouldn’t make much sense to the...
How Much Does a Board Game Translation Cost?
What’s up, my geeky friend? Let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?! It’s probably fairly obvious, but the question I get asked the most is how much it costs to have a board game localized professionally. There’s a short answer, and a long one. The Short...
Board Games and Their Educational Value
A close friend of mine recently asked me: “What’s the best part about being a freelance translator?” Besides the fact that most days are pajama days, that is…One thing that always excites me, is that as a translator you learn so much about so many different topics....
How We Coined Some Terminology for Harry Potter
Translating the Harry Potter books into Dutch. It must have been a Herculean task.I think you have to be some kind of wizard yourself in order to pull it off. Not only do you have to come up with clever and funny word play for objects, potions, spells and names in...
The Process Behind a Board Game Translation
Aloha, Geekmeisters! Have you ever wondered exactly how The Geeky Pen handles the localization of board games on a daily basis? Let’s look at a case study of Tabriz, a game by Crafty Games. The Geeky Pen was hired to localize the game in German and Farsi. Here’s how...
An Exclusive Look at Bruxelles 1893
What’s up, my little geeklings?It might surprise you, but it doesn’t happen often that I get to play the games I’m about to translate beforehand. Usually, we just receive the PDFs and we start the localization process without actually having played the game. C’est la...
Freelancer Profile: Hanna Björkman
Aloha, geek squad!Here at The Geeky Pen, we try to do more than just translate games. We also want to facilitate networking, and introduce you to other talented freelancers in the board game industry. Today, we’re putting a graphic designer in the spotlight who has...
Roll-and-Writes: History of a Popular Genre
How’s it hanging, Geekazoids?Imagine it’s game night.You’re just about to start (or finish) your evening, and your gaming group needs to pick something to play. What do you decide on? “How about a roll-and-write”, someone suggests?Smart friends you have....
Playing With Fire (Ants) – Adventures in Video Game Localization
Empires of the Undergrowth is a fun real-time strategy game where you are in control of an ant colony. Your task is to create and manage an efficient nest, hatch ants, protect the queen, and evolve as a colony.The game was already released in English,...
Cannes, Baby!!
Ah, the Côte d’Azur… Where dreams are born, beers are ridiculously expensive, and the rich and famous walk the red carpet. For weeks, I’d been looking forward to doing some networking and jetsetting in the South of France.On the morning of my departure though, several...