Licensed board and card games: localisation that protects your brand

A licensed game arrives in a new market with beautiful components, strong gameplay, and a recognisable brand. Yet players immediately notice familiar character names translated differently than in the film, iconic catchphrases rewritten, or terminology that changes between the box, rulebook, and cards. The game is mechanically identical – but it no longer feels official.

For licensed products, consistency protects the brand, while localisation brings the game to life for players. Our proven process ensures both.

For more than 10 years, locatheart has been localising licensed board and card games, working on titles based on Spider-Man, The Witcher, Harry Potter, Stranger Things, PAW Patrol, and many other well-known IPs.

We bring together localisation expertise and deep genre knowledge to deliver authentic player experiences across genres such as:

• Board games
• Card games
• RPGs
• Party games
• Family games
• Strategy games
• Educational games

With over a decade of experience translating licensed products, we understand that exceptional quality is built on more than accurate translation – it comes from a consistent, carefully managed localisation process.

Our proven workflow is designed to protect every license, ensuring the brand’s voice, terminology, and identity remain consistent across every stage of production. It includes:

Expert linguists: Every project is assigned to translators and editors who are familiar with a given title and have experience working with the relevant genre.

Glossary management: We work with client-provided glossaries while creating and maintaining project-specific terminology to ensure consistency from start to finish.

Style guide compliance: Every translation follows the publisher’s and licensor’s editorial guidelines, tone of voice, and formatting requirements.

Approved terminology: Character names, locations, items, catchphrases, abilities, and other key terms remain consistent throughout the product.

Official translation alignment: We match the terminology used in films, TV series, video games, books, or previous releases, following the reference version agreed upon with the client or recommended by our team.

Linguistic sign-off: We review PDFs before production, checking the final text in context and identifying layout- or production-related language issues.

Multilingual DTP: We adapt the client’s source project files into multiple language versions, preserving the original layout while accommodating language-specific typography and formatting requirements.

End-to-end product localisation: We localise every player-facing element, including boxes, rulebooks, cards, tokens, packaging, and marketing materials.

Because licensed games often grow into product lines, we maintain consistency across expansions, reprints, new editions, and related titles. The result is a localisation that feels like a natural extension of the original brand – accurate, consistent, and ready for publication.

From industry leaders to growing publishers, card and board game producers across Europe rely on us to localise their licensed titles. Many have trusted us as their long-term localisation partner for over five years – a testament to the quality, consistency, and reliability we deliver.