ASSERTIO Language Services has completed the German localization and layout work for The Cats of Mont Saint Michel, a narrative-driven cooperative board game published by RAYBOX Games. Designed by Marco Pecota and Tom Frank, with artwork by Omar Rayyan, the game takes players on an adventure set against the backdrop of Revolutionary France, where a band of heroic cats must confront the Crimson Cardinal and his vermin army.
Combining tactical gameplay with character development and branching storytelling, The Cats of Mont Saint Michel is played directly on an illustrated scenario book. Bringing this experience to German-speaking players required not only translation and linguistic review, but also a substantial amount of desktop publishing work in Adobe InDesign to prepare the German-language materials.
Translating a Narrative-Driven Board Game
Unlike games built primarily around cards and short instructions, The Cats of Mont Saint Michel contains a considerable amount of narrative content. Its interconnected scenarios allow players to make decisions that influence the development of the story, while the rules and gameplay instructions must remain clear and consistent throughout the adventure.
The German localization therefore needed to balance several requirements: accurate terminology, understandable gameplay instructions, natural dialogue and a narrative style that preserved the atmosphere of the original game. Consistency was especially important, as players encounter recurring characters, concepts and game mechanics across different scenarios.
Translation and InDesign Layout
An important part of ASSERTIO's involvement in this project was the layout and desktop publishing work carried out in Adobe InDesign. Translating a board game is not simply a matter of replacing the original text with another language. The translated material must also fit into the existing graphic design, often alongside illustrations, tables, icons and other visual elements.
German text can take up considerably more space than English, which creates particular challenges when working with illustrated scenario books and other components where the available space is limited. This makes the integration of translated content into the layout an important part of the localization process.
For The Cats of Mont Saint Michel, ASSERTIO handled the translation and linguistic work together with the adaptation of the German-language materials in InDesign. This included incorporating translated text into the existing layouts, making the necessary formatting adjustments and implementing corrections during the review process. The desktop publishing work represented a significant part of the overall project and required careful coordination between the linguistic and graphical aspects of the German edition.
Close Collaboration with RAYBOX Games
The project also benefited from close cooperation with RAYBOX Games, particularly in reviewing and refining the German-language content.
We would especially like to acknowledge Marcel Cwertetschka-Mattasits, who was closely involved in the linguistic review and quality of the German edition. His knowledge of board games and attention to the German text provided valuable feedback throughout the process, helping us address terminology, wording and other linguistic details.
Working with Marcel and Marco Pecota made it possible to exchange comments, clarify questions and incorporate revisions into the translated and formatted files. This collaboration was particularly useful in a project where narrative content, gameplay instructions and page layout were closely connected.
Following the completion of the project, Marco Pecota, Chief Designer and Creative Director at RAYBOX Games, kindly shared the following feedback:
"My pleasure, thank you for the good work."
Marco Pecota
Chief Designer and Creative Director
RAYBOX Games
More Than Translation
The Cats of Mont Saint Michel is a good example of how board game localization often extends beyond translation alone. When a game contains extensive narrative material and carefully designed components, linguistic accuracy and graphic presentation must be considered together.
For ASSERTIO, the project combined German translation, linguistic review, terminology consistency and a substantial amount of InDesign layout work. It also highlighted the importance of cooperation with the publisher's editorial team in preparing a localized edition.
We are pleased to have contributed to the German version of The Cats of Mont Saint Michel and would like to thank Marco Pecota, Marcel Cwertetschka-Mattasits and the RAYBOX Games team for their collaboration and trust.
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