Language Independence Project
Andy
United Kingdom
Stockport
Manchester
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One thing that has always interested me, since coming to the geek, is.. "How dependent is any particular game on it's native language".. or more succinctly "Can I get the German Edition?"
To that end, I have attempted to categorise games by how much in-game text there is, and hence how easy is it to play a foreign language edition of the game. For the purposes of simplicity I have assumed that there will be a copy of the game RULES in your own language, given that games often come with multi-lingual rules anyway, and if not one can usually find a decent translation here on our beloved BGG... I know this is not always the case for many European languages, and I apologise for not being able to fully cater to everyone.
To analyse games based on language, I have set up 5 tags to represent different levels of language use. These are described below, along with a link to the tag, which lists ALL the games currently tagged in such a way.
With a combined effort we have been able to tag all of the games in the top 100, plus quite a few other games in mine and others collections.
If you think any games in the BGG database fits in one of the language categories, please post a comment under that category indicating the name of the game... I will tag all games as people identify them, to hopefully build up a database of language independance.
Additionally, people should feel free to tag games themselves with their own interpretation of the games language level {please use the suggested tag names for consistency), that way if some games fall between the levels, it will be obvious by how many people rate a game LL-0 say, compared to LL-1, what the language dependency of the game is really like.
There is now also a wiki page about language_neutral games, which references this geeklist and the language level tags.
Thanks to Aratar there is now a list of the top 250 games on BGG showing their language level and linking to a set of English rules where possible:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/24522
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Andy
United Kingdom
Stockport
Manchester
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Language Level 0
These games have NO text on the game components, so anyone familiar with the rules can play the game regardless of which language edition it is.
This category can also include games where only numerals are used on game components, such as Niagara.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/language-level%3A0
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Andy
United Kingdom
Stockport
Manchester
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Language Level 1
These games have some text on in-game components, such as a few action cards. Anyone familiar with the rules can play the game, though may require a small cheat-sheet to decode such action cards etc.
This will also include games with little or no in-game text, but that require each player to use a summary sheet.
At this level, if there is a version of the game in your own language, it still might be worth saving a few $ by getting a foreign copy.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/language-level%3A1
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Andy
United Kingdom
Stockport
Manchester
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Language Level 2
These would be games that have a moderate amount of in-game text, such as a complete deck of cards with actions or abilities on. Any crib sheet would have to be quite extensive to allow play in a foreign language, although it could still be played with such a crib sheet, and would become easier as players become more familiar with the cards etc.
At this level, if there is a version of the game in your own language, it would almost certainly be worth spending extra $ to get, rather than consider a foreign copy.
Lord of the Rings is another good example in this category, as you would need crib sheets for all the action cards, as well as crib sheets for each board section.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/language-level%3A2
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Andy
United Kingdom
Stockport
Manchester
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Language Level 3
These games are "The Daddy". In my opinion, there is just too much in-game text for the game to be playable in a foreign language. Arkham Horror is a prime example of this, as are many of the BIG Fantasy Flight games.
At this level, any thought of cribsheets goes out of the window, as chances are the cribsheets would be bigger than the games rulebook. The game would no longer be interesting as it becomes an exercise in looking stuff up rather than thinking about your turn!
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/language-level%3A3
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Andy
United Kingdom
Stockport
Manchester
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Language Level 4
These games are fundamentally unplayable using a foreign version. This could be because the games components are language specific, so a foreign copy would be missing key components...
In this case it would not just be about translating text, but additional components would also be required, such as scrabble tiles with umlauts and other accents etc.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tag/language-level%3A4
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