Translating escape games: how and why?

Since the 2010s, escape game popularity has been constantly rising. Once a local hobby, escape rooms are becoming international leisure for tourists. The most motivated teams often book a game while on vacation abroad.

Translating escape games, from their content to their marketing material, is thus becoming necessary to reach an international audience. But how to do that? What do we need to think about before asking for our escape game translation? Who should we ask to start translating our escape room material?

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THe red neon reading "Escape" can be part of the content to be translated in your escape game.

Why translate your escape game?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism in the world was expanding. Since the health crisis began, lots of players have been eagerly waiting for being able to travel again, discover new countries and, of course, new escape rooms.

Playful holiday offers are popping up all over the Internet, with escape games, treasure hunts or role play. Why? Because demand is skyrocketing and along with it, need for translation. International clients are asking for games in their native language. Whether it's French, German, Italian, or even Japanese, translating escape games means offering intelligible content to foreign tourists.

What types of content should you have translated for an escape game?

Translatable content depends on the very nature of your game, the deadlines and your budget, of course. The more content there is to translate, the more time it will take the translator to work on it and the more money it will cost.

Before finding your translator, you need to choose what contents will they have to translate. Here are some examples, depending on the type of game:

In an escape room (physical)	In an online escape game
Reception desk signage Safety instructions Game rules Consent form Clues material Visuals in the room Website Booking module Payment module	Texts of the online game Images' texts Description page Signing up page Singing up and payment confirmation emails (if any) Payment module (if any) Social media posts
In an outside treasure hunt	In an escape game to play at home
Safety instructions Game rules Game map Communications and articles in the press or online Signing up form or page Physical and digital clues' texts (if any) App content (if any) Text display at each step (posters, envelops, probs, etc.)	​Booking and payment pages Useful information (delivery area, game description, etc.) Presentation page for each game Clues and visual material Game app (if any) Images and texts

Who should you choose to translate your escape game?

The first step to having your escape game material translated is defining the languages you wrote your text into and the language(s) you need to have. Professionals call these the source and target languages. Suppose you want to translate your game from English to French. You need to look for translators whose native language is French.

To know more about how to choose your translation provider, you can visit translation associations' websites, such as SFT (Société française des traducteurs), ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpretation), or ATA (American Translators Association). They clearly explain the criteria to choose for your research. They often offer a translator directory of their members.

I believe the main criterion to look for, besides languages and professionalism, is a game specialisation, or even in escape games. Why? Because how could a translator who never set foot in an escape room be able to know the content to translate or even the terminology to use?

Choosing someone, even though they are professional translators, who don't know a thing about escape games means taking the risk to have a disappointing experience for foreign players. The very reputation of your company is at stake and translation will play (pun intended) a huge part in the success of your internationalisation.

What do you need to think about when having your escape game translated?

Your translator will need access to some elements to do their job right. Oh no, translating is not simply replacing one word with another! Translators even often have one question when asked about the translation of a word: what is the context?

Without context, we can't know if this text is linked to this image, or if this word refers to its first meaning and not the second one. Visuals are also crucial, especially in escape rooms where observation is key to playing the game.

If possible, the best would be to offer a gaming session to your translator. While playing, they will understand the game logic better than by only reading the puzzles' texts, they will see the subtilities, and they will have a better idea of the experience you want for the players (scary, funny, mysterious, etc.).

The more elements you can provide, the easier the translation will be. But that doesn't mean you will not receive questions! It's even a good sign of professionalism. We, translators, are often told we are the best readers you could have: we analyse each word, each sentence and each text to understand the intent and the meaning. We sometimes even detect unwanted inconsistencies and mistakes you may have let in your text by reading it again and again.

Even if the translation itself is a solo job, the entire process is a real team effort. Just as in an escape room, everyone has a role and strengths. By working together with your translation, you pave your path to success!

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QUI SUIS-JE ?

I am Solène, aka the Sherlock of words.

Since 2016, I've been helping my international clients solve their language cases from English and Italian to French.

With my great informers from La Linguistiquerie, I also offer services in project management and translation and interpretation suppliers.