Welcome to the Localization Project for Board Game Stats!
A lot of people has been asking for translation of the app in their own language. This project is aimed at creating those translations with the help of volunteers. Unfortunately professional translation of the app is not an attainable goal at the moment.
Currently Board Game Stats is available in these languages:
- Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, and Ukrainian.
The entire app for iOS and Android can be localized. There are more than 3000 terms that need translation into other languages. Because the app is still in active development, new terms to be translated are added regularly as well.
A translation website has been created on which the translations can be entered, edited and validated. You’ll need a translator login to be able to access it.
We’ve also created a Slack environment where translations can be discussed and we can answer questions about the use of certain terms.
Becoming a Translator
To become a Translator, contact us via the usual channels. Please only apply if you think you can create good quality translations to a given language – we try to keep the standard of quality high for the app, and that includes the translations. If you’re not sure, you can also volunteer to be a tester for a language – it’s very valuable to make sure the translated texts are contextually correct and all appear as expected throughout the app.
When there are already several translators for a language, we’ll only accept new translators if the existing ones are no longer active, and you have been a user of the app for some time, so you know all features in it.
When you’re accepted as translator you’ll receive a login code for the translation website, and an invitation to join our Slack.
Compensation
We would love to be able to compensate translators for their work, but currently this has to be limited to providing everything the app offers: you’ll get the app for free and all current and future in-app purchases, including a Cloud sync subscription for life. If you think of anything else which would help you, we’re happy to oblige. Want some promo codes for your friends or family – no problem.
Translation website
After logging in the translation website you’ll see three sections for the project:
- Base language: here you can view all the terms used in the app in the base (development) language
- Basic concepts: here you can view common concepts used in the app (like Game, Player, Play, Location etc.) and their chosen translation for each of the languages. This is a good reference for new translators and should be filled in when starting out for a new language to have a common starting point.
- Localizations: for each language the status of translation is listed here. Click a row to view the list of translations, or click the Translate button (if visible for you) to view an editiable version of that list and start translating.
The translation page offers helpful warnings to make sure punctation and variables are kept in the translated term.
Variables in terms
Some translatable terms contains variables that are filled-in on runtime by the app. E.g. %1$s-%2$s players which can be displayed as 2-4 players. The translation should contain the same variables (both %1$s and %2$s should occur), but their order may be different in another language.
The variable starts with a % token, followed by a number used to put the correct value at the correct place, in case the order in the translation would be different.
The $s in this case is used by the app to know if it should be a number of a string, this can also be $d in some places.
Testing
If a substantial percentage of the translation is done, it can be added to the test-version of the app available via TestFlight (on iOS) or the test track (on Android). This way you can view the translations in the app itself and check if everything is how you expect it.