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Rulebook editing
One common misconception is that proofreading and editing a rulebook are the same thing. Au contraire, mon ami: they’re very different.
Proofreading is about fixing typos and incorrect formatting. Rulebook editing goes much deeper, and can involve changing sentence and paragraph structures, writing titles and examples, and even adding a table of contents, index and/or glossary.
A properly edited English rulebook is the foundation of your localization efforts. Without it, your game is dead meat! BLAAARGH!!
The Geeky Pen works with a mixed team of native US and UK English editors that have years of experience editing board games and RPG rulebooks. By putting all of their brain power together, we were able to create our own in-house style guide for editing. Note that we also offer rulebook editing in other languages. Ask us about it!
first, we’ll perform a thorough
Rulebook assessment
When you send us your rulebook, the first step is to assess its current state. This is because there are various degrees of editing. Each rulebook we receive is different, and will need to be categorized into one of many possible stages of development before we can start working on it.
The Geeky Pen provides its editors with a detailed checklist of things to look out for. Based on the editor’s assessment (30-45 minutes of examining your document), we will prepare a custom quote for you, and explain what we plan to change in order to bring your rulebook to the next level.
fundamental reasons to
Edit your rulebook
One of our mantras at The Geeky Pen is that a properly edited English rulebook is the foundation for all of your localization efforts. Any ambiguities, mistakes or inconsistencies in your English rulebook threaten to ‘infect’ other languages if you decide to translate your game later.
Think of your game as if it were a house. Would you rather build it on sand, and try to fix problems when you notice all of your furniture is sliding to one side of your living room?
Or do you want to construct it on a solid, concrete foundation from the start, and avoid issues down the road?
Even if you don’t plan on localizing your board game immediately, making sure players can pick up and play your game quickly and smoothly strengthens your reputation as a publisher. A poll launched on the popular Facebook group Board Game Revolution Community revealed that 64% of players prefer a properly edited rulebook over fancy components.
examples of
Geeky rulebooks
Deep Rock Galactic
Mood Visuals
Rulebook Editing? ✔
InDesign services? ✔
Translation:
Lumen
Lumberjacks Studio
InDesign services? ✔
Translation:
Yokohama
Synapses Games
Rulebook Editing? ✔
Languages:
Pampero
Skellig Games
InDesign services? ✔
Translation:
Taverns & Dragons
Lord Raccoon Games
Rulebook Editing? ✔
Languages:
Garden Guests
Van Ryder Games
InDesign services? ✔
Translation:
Exoplanet
999 Games
Rulebook Editing? ✔
Translation:
you are one click away from having
