Catan board game creator Klaus Teuber dies; Millions of games sold

Klaus Teuber, creator of the hugely popular Catan board game in which players compete to build settlements on a fictional island, has died after a short illness, according to a family statement. He was 70.

Originally called The Settlers of Catan when it launched in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, the board game has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages. It has spawned dozens of spinoffs and re-releases, including electronic versions, not to mention game-related products.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that the Teuber family announces that their beloved husband and father, Klaus Teuber, passed away on the 1st language Catan website. The family asked for privacy.

A statement by the Catan Studio team on social media reads, “While Klaus’ contributions to the board game industry are immeasurable, we will remember him most as a kind and selfless human being, an inspiring leader, and most importantly, a friend. ”

Teuber was born in June 1952 in Rai-Breitenbach, Germany. He was working as a dental technician outside the industrial city of Darmstadt in the 1980s when he started designing board games in his basement, he told The New Yorker magazine in 2014. “I’ve had a lot of issues with the company and the job,” he said. “I made games to escape. That was my own world that I created.”

In the multiplayer game, participants use five resources to build their colonies or settlements: wool, grain, wood, brick, and ore. Teuber never thought his game would become so successful; In 1998, he finally quit his job as a dental technician “when I felt Catan could support me and my family,” he told the New Yorker. The game became a family business.