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Klaus Teuber
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Klaus Teuber
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Klaus Wilhelm Heinrich Teuber[1] (25 June 1952 – 1 April 2023) was a German board game designer best known as the creator of Catan. Originally working as a dental technician, he began designing games first as a hobby then as a full-time career.

Key Information

Four of his games won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) award: Barbarossa (1988), Adel Verpflichtet (1990), Drunter und Drüber (1991) and The Settlers of Catan (1995).[4] The latter sold over 40 million copies, was translated into 40 languages and spawned a family of expansions and versions.[5] Teuber founded the games company Catan GmbH in 2002, and his sons now direct the family business.

Teuber was inducted into the Origin Awards Hall of Fame by the AAGAD (Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design) in 2004.[6] In 2010, he received a special As d'Or in recognition of his lifetime achievement at the Festival International des Jeux in France.[7]

Early life

[edit]

Teuber was born in 1952 in the village of Rai-Breitenbach, West Germany, under the Breuberg castle.[3] As a child, he played games with model soldiers.[3] He later wrote that his favourite subject in school was geography – he enjoyed making maps – followed by history and chemistry.[8] Teuber returned to gaming as a young husband and father during his military service.[3]

At the age of 11, Teuber was given the board game Romans vs. Carthaginians.[9] Teuber graduated from high school and did military service, then studied chemistry, then completed his intermediate diploma (receiving a degree in chemistry[1]),[9] then joined his father's 65-employee dental laboratory business which fell into large problems, and his father fell ill.[10]

Barbarossa

[edit]

"When I had trouble in my former profession and needed a mental vacation, I read a book about witches and decided to make a game that follows the story first. Each development of game, I wanted to experience the world of the novel."[11]

Teuber worked as a dental technician for the business Teuber Dental-Labor[12] near Darmstadt, but he was not happy in this work.[3][13] In the 1980s, he designed his first game, Barbarossa, inspired by the fantasy trilogy, The Riddle-Master, by Patricia A. McKillip.[3][2] In the game, players make sculptures out of modelling clay, and try to guess what the objects represent.[3] After working on the game for seven years, Teuber finally showed Barbarossa to a publisher.[3][14]

The Settlers of Catan

[edit]
Main article: Catan

In 1991, Teuber started designing The Settlers of Catan, inspired by the history of Viking settlers in Iceland.[15][2] He took four years to develop the island-settling game; his major breakthrough was when he introduced hexagonal tiles instead of using squares to represent wood, ore, brick, wool, and wheat.[3][8] Catan has been credited with launching a new more "social" era for board games, introducing bargaining and bartering among players as part of the strategy to win.[2]

In 1999, he sold the dental laboratory, which was taken over by his father.

The commercial success of Catan allowed Teuber to become a full-time game designer in 1998.[3] The family game business was incorporated as Catan GmbH in 2002 and his sons Benjamin and Guido are directors while his wife Claudia and his daughter also have roles as bookkeeper and tester.[3]

The popularity of Catan continued to grow, eventually translated into 40 languages, with multiple expansions, geographically themed versions, a card game, a version for young children, a video game, and online versions, as well as a novel and other spinoffs.[15][2] For the development of the video game adaptation of Catan, Teuber created a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with "elaborate logic chains and probability matrices" so that the developers could determine the effects of each action on gameplay.[16]

In 2020, sales of Catan surged during the first five months of the global COVID-19 pandemic, as board games became popular during the worldwide lockdown.[13] As of 2023, more than 40 million copies of Catan have been sold worldwide.[5]

Despite the success of Catan, Teuber was described as remaining down-to-earth. In 2023, Dan Zak wrote in The Washington Post, "Among hobbyists and gamers he was revered like a rock star, but he looked and acted and sounded like a man who tinkered with stuff in his basement...He was, at heart, a hobbyist."[8] When Teuber was asked why he thought Catan was so popular, he said it may have been due to a "good balance between strategy and luck".[2]

Death

[edit]

Teuber died on 1 April 2023 at age 70, after a brief illness.[17]

Games, selected list

[edit]

For a more complete list, see catan.com's ludography 1988–2024

Catan game board

Game of the Year

[edit]

Teuber won the award Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) a total of four times: for Barbarossa in 1988,[3] Adel Verpflichtet (Hoity Toity) in 1990, Drunter und Drüber (Wacky Wacky West) in 1991, and Die Siedler von Catan (The Settlers of Catan) in 1995.[2]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
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Klaus Teuber

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Klaus Teuber (25 June 1952 – 1 April 2023) was a German designer renowned for creating The Settlers of Catan (later rebranded as ), a released in 1995 that revolutionized modern board gaming through its emphasis on , trading, and modular board , selling over 45 million copies worldwide as of 2025. Born in Breuberg, a town southeast of , Teuber trained as a and managed a dental lab near in the 1980s, a role he found stressful that prompted him to begin designing games as a hobby to unwind. His early designs, starting in the late 1970s, included titles like Barbarossa (1987), Adel verpflichtet (1990), and Drunter und Drüber (1993), earning him three wins of Germany's prestigious award before 's breakthrough success allowed him to retire from and pursue full-time. Teuber's portfolio expanded to over 30 games, including expansions and variants of as well as standalone titles like Entdecker (1996) and Domaine (2003), with his works collectively securing four awards in total, highlighting his influence on the genre's focus on accessible, strategic play for families and groups. In 2002, he co-founded GmbH with his sons to manage the growing franchise, which has spawned digital adaptations, TV shows, a film and TV series adaptation announced in 2025, and global tournaments. Teuber died at age 70 following a brief illness, leaving a legacy that bridged hobbyist creativity with commercial innovation in the board game industry.

Early Life

Childhood in Postwar Germany

Klaus Wilhelm Heinrich Teuber was born on June 25, 1952, in the small village of Rai-Breitenbach, located in at the foot of Breuberg Castle and surrounded by forests and gentle mountains. His father ran a in the community, providing a stable professional household that emphasized precision and care, while the rural setting offered a serene backdrop for childhood exploration and imaginative play. Teuber's early years unfolded in the context of postwar , a period marked by rapid economic recovery known as the and the ongoing division of the nation amid tensions. This environment, recovering from the devastation of , fostered a societal emphasis on rebuilding through and , which Teuber later reflected shaped his aversion to conflict-driven and his inclination toward harmonious, collaborative activities. The family's home in Rai-Breitenbach encouraged creativity, with Teuber often setting up miniature battlefields using toy soldiers to reenact historical scenes on his bedroom floor, blending imagination with the structured play typical of the era's recovering communities. Teuber's initial exposure to games came through and customs in rural , where served as a communal pastime during the postwar rebuilding years. At age 11 in 1963, he received a as a gift—a about Romans versus Carthaginians—that ignited his passion; he appreciated the components and board design. These experiences in a nurturing family setting, combined with the peaceful rural life, laid the foundation for his lifelong interest in designing games that promote cooperation over confrontation. Eventually, Teuber pursued training as a , following in his father's profession.

Education and Initial Career

After studying chemistry and completing an intermediate diploma, Klaus Teuber underwent an apprenticeship and qualified as a dental technician in the 1970s near Darmstadt, Germany, and later managed his father's dental laboratory in Roßdorf. In his daily routine at the lab, Teuber crafted dental prosthetics, a profession that offered and predictable hours, allowing him evenings and weekends free to pursue personal interests. Teuber's initial creative outlets beyond work emerged in the late 1970s, when he began drawing maps and devising simple games for family entertainment, activities that honed his skills in modeling and design—talents later bolstered by his technical training. Teuber married Claudia Teuber in 1973, and their family grew with the birth of son that same year, followed by son Benjamin in 1984; these family milestones shaped his inclination toward collaborative, game concepts.

Game Design Career

Early Attempts and Barbarossa

Klaus Teuber, a by profession, began his forays into around 1980 as a self-taught hobbyist in Rossdorf, , seeking an outlet from the drudgery of his daily work. He crafted numerous prototypes in his basement during late-night sessions after long shifts, often extending into the early hours, while his family provided essential playtesting support on weekends. These early unpublished designs met with repeated rejections from publishers, as Teuber submitted them in hopes of breaking into the industry, honing his iterative process through . After years of persistence amid these challenges, Teuber achieved his first professional success with Barbarossa, designed in 1987 and published in 1988 by Kosmos. Inspired by Patricia A. McKillip's fantasy trilogy , the game is a lighthearted party experience for 3–6 players emphasizing creativity and quick thinking over complex strategy. Players draw riddle cards and must sculpt the solution from soft clay using only their hands and provided body-part templates, fostering humorous moments as groups vote on the most accurate or amusing models; this core mechanic of card-driven challenges and communal judging created engaging, replayable social interaction. The release of Barbarossa represented a pivotal breakthrough for Teuber, earning favorable initial reception for its innovative blend of artistry and riddle-solving that appealed to families and casual players alike, finally validating his dedication after prolonged rejections and establishing him as an emerging talent in German board game design. This success was followed by Adel Verpflichtet (known in English as ), published in 1990, a bluffing and set-collection game that won the award and further solidified his reputation. In interviews, Teuber reflected on the game's origins as a culmination of his hobbyist experiments, noting how it allowed him to infuse personal creativity into accessible entertainment while still juggling his dental career.

The Settlers of Catan

Klaus Teuber conceived The Settlers of Catan as a game centered on island exploration and resource trading, drawing from his interest in creating immersive worlds to escape the demands of his career. He began prototyping the game in 1991, spending three years iterating on designs that featured a modular board composed of hexagonal tiles representing varied terrains, with dice rolls determining resource production events to simulate unpredictable natural yields. This period of development built on the moderate success of his earlier title Barbarossa, allowing Teuber to refine ideas of strategic placement and economic competition in a format. The core mechanics of the base game revolve around players acting as settlers on the fictional island of , where they construct roads, settlements, and cities to expand influence and generate resources including , , , , and . Resource cards are collected based on the numbers rolled on two six-sided dice corresponding to adjacent hex tiles, encouraging players to openly with opponents or the neutral at fixed rates to acquire what they need for development. Victory is achieved by reaching ten points through building milestones and special cards, while the robber piece—a black pawn—adds tension by allowing players to steal resources and block production on targeted hexes, fostering indirect conflict without direct elimination. These elements innovated by balancing , , and social negotiation in a replayable setup that varied with each due to randomized tile placement. After completing the prototype, Teuber faced rejections from several German publishers who deemed the game too complex or unconventional for the market. It was ultimately accepted by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag in late 1994 and released as Die Siedler von in 1995. The game debuted at the International Toy Fair that year, where it quickly sold out its initial print run, capturing immediate attention for its elegant design and broad appeal. By the end of 1995, over 500,000 copies had sold in alone, prompting international licensing deals, including with for the English-language edition The Settlers of in 1996, which propelled its global popularity. While the base game's innovations laid the foundation for the franchise, Teuber collaborated with his sons and Benjamin on early expansions, such as in , which introduced and sea exploration to extend the core resource-trading dynamics without altering the fundamental settlement-building loop. This focus on modular, expandable gameplay solidified 's role in revitalizing modern board gaming by emphasizing player agency and variability over rigid structures.

Later Developments and Family Involvement

Following the monumental success of The Settlers of Catan, Klaus Teuber transitioned to full-time , leaving his position as a in 1998 once the game's revenues provided sufficient financial stability for his family. This shift allowed him to focus exclusively on expanding the universe and exploring new design opportunities, marking his evolution from a hobbyist to a central figure in the industry. In 2002, Teuber founded Catan GmbH as a family-run enterprise alongside his wife, Claudia, and sons Guido and Benjamin, who assumed roles as managing directors responsible for global marketing, licensing, and product development. The company centralized management of 's expansive portfolio, including major expansions such as Cities & Knights (1998) and Traders & Barbarians (2007), which introduced advanced mechanics like knight combat and scenario-based to deepen strategic layers. Additionally, Catan GmbH oversaw digital adaptations, including online platforms like Catan Universe and mobile apps, broadening accessibility to international audiences. Teuber's collaboration with his sons became integral to his later output, co-designing over 20 Catan variants and spin-offs that incorporated their thematic ideas, such as exploration in Entdecker (1996) and piracy in The Starfarers of Catan (1999). Benjamin Teuber, in particular, partnered with his father on several titles, contributing to the creative process for non-Catan games like Rapa Nui (2005), an independent abstract strategy game emphasizing resource allocation. While Teuber occasionally ventured into standalone designs, such as the racing game Mississippi Queen (1997), his post-1995 work remained predominantly Catan-centric, prioritizing evolutions of its core trading and settlement-building mechanics. Through GmbH, Teuber and his family facilitated international engagement, including oversight of global tournaments like the annual World Championships and attendance at major conventions such as and in , where they promoted new releases and connected with players worldwide. This involvement underscored the family's commitment to sustaining 's community-driven growth.

Death and Legacy

Death

Klaus Teuber died on April 1, 2023, at the age of 70 after a brief but severe illness. The news was announced by Catan GmbH, the family-run company he co-founded, through an official statement expressing profound grief. In the statement, Teuber's family described him as their "beloved husband and father" and requested privacy to grieve and bid farewell in a personal manner, highlighting his deep passion for game design that brought joy to millions. Public tributes poured in from key publishers in the industry, including Kosmos Verlag, which remembered Teuber as a "dear and close friend" whose creative loyalty shaped modern gaming, and Hans im Glück, which noted the profound impact of his games on generations of players and expressed solidarity with his loved ones. Following his passing, Teuber's sons, Guido and Benjamin, continued to lead GmbH as co-CEOs, upholding the family legacy in the business he built over his long career in .

Awards and Recognition

Klaus Teuber achieved significant recognition in the industry, most notably as a four-time winner of the prestigious , Germany's Game of the Year award, which honors innovative and accessible games suitable for a broad audience. His first win came in 1988 for Barbarossa, a strategic area-control game that marked his breakthrough as a designer and highlighted his ability to blend historical themes with engaging mechanics. This accolade, selected by a of German game critics, underscored Teuber's early talent for creating replayable experiences that appealed to families and enthusiasts alike. Teuber secured his second and third consecutive Spiel des Jahres victories in 1990 and 1991. The 1990 award was for Adel verpflichtet (known internationally as Hoity Toity), a bluffing and set-collection game praised for its light-hearted social interaction and elegant simplicity. The following year, Drunter und Drüber (also known as Across the Board) earned the honor for its clever tile-laying and path-building elements, demonstrating Teuber's versatility in crafting quick, strategic fillers that encouraged repeated play. These back-to-back wins solidified his reputation as a prolific innovator in the German gaming scene. Teuber's fourth Spiel des Jahres win in 1995 for Die Siedler von Catan (The Settlers of Catan) represented a career pinnacle and a turning point for the industry. The jury lauded the game's immersive and trading system, noting its potential to draw new players into modern board gaming through balanced strategy and thematic depth. This victory, Teuber's fourth, remains unique in the award's history and propelled Catan to international acclaim. Beyond German honors, Teuber's work received international validation through the , presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. In 1996, The Settlers of Catan won the for Best Fantasy or , recognizing its excellence in fantasy and science fiction-themed and its rapid adoption in the U.S. market. Teuber himself was inducted into the in 2004, an honor bestowed on designers for lifelong contributions to tabletop gaming, affirming his enduring influence on strategic design.

Impact on Board Games

Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan, released in 1995, played a pivotal role in the Eurogame revolution, popularizing "German-style" board games that prioritize strategic depth, resource management, and cooperative player interaction over heavy reliance on luck or direct confrontation. Unlike traditional American-style games that often featured player elimination and high-stakes competition, Catan emphasized trading resources among players and building settlements without removing opponents from play, fostering a more inclusive and social experience that appealed to adults seeking thoughtful leisure activities. This design philosophy helped shift the hobby gaming industry toward Eurogames, which became characterized by shorter playtimes, balanced mechanics, and minimal downtime, influencing the mainstream adoption of board games beyond children's entertainment. As of 2025, has sold over 45 million copies worldwide, establishing it as one of the best-selling board games in history and demonstrating Teuber's profound commercial impact. The game's success spawned numerous digital adaptations, including the online platform Catan Universe, which allows multiplayer sessions across devices and has hosted global competitions like the Digital CATAN World Championship since 2021. Additionally, Catan inspired media expansions such as the Netflix scripted and unscripted series adaptations announced in October 2025, alongside ongoing international tournaments like the annual CATAN World Championship and USA National Championship, which draw thousands of participants and underscore its enduring competitive appeal. Teuber's innovations inspired subsequent designers, including , whose prolific output built upon the market Teuber helped open by blending mathematical precision with accessible strategy, contributing to the broader renaissance of modern board gaming in the and beyond. Catan's success transformed public perception of board games from mere children's toys or family pastimes into sophisticated social activities for adults, evidenced by its role in sparking hobby conventions, organized play groups, and a surge in strategic titles that emphasized and collaboration over aggression. Following Teuber's death in 2023, tributes from major outlets highlighted his cooperative ethos in an era of increasingly competitive designs; described as a cultural phenomenon that brought families together through trading and building, while praised its alchemy of persuasion and strategy that revitalized interest in tabletop gaming without fostering animosity. These reflections addressed gaps in earlier coverage by emphasizing Teuber's legacy in promoting games that encourage dialogue and equity among players. Teuber's family has continued stewardship of the Catan universe through and Catan Studio, with sons Benjamin and Teuber actively involved in expansions and variants that incorporate inclusive themes, such as the Catan Family Edition designed for broader and cooperative play among diverse age groups. This ongoing involvement ensures the game's evolution toward more welcoming mechanics, aligning with contemporary trends in inclusive gaming that prioritize shared success and reduced conflict.

References

  1. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/business/klaus-teuber-dead.html
  2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65194096
  3. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/05/klaus-teuber-creator-board-game-catan-dies
  4. https://www.catan.com/about-us
  5. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/klaus-teuber-creator-of-popular-catan-board-game-dies-at-70
  6. https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-man-who-built-catan
  7. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/04/klaus-teuber-made-catan-and-it-changed-the-worlds-expectations-for-board-games/
  8. https://deadline.com/2025/10/catan-netflix-rights-deal-film-tv-series-board-game-1236592783/
  9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/04/05/klaus-teuber-catan-game-dies/
  10. https://www.npr.org/2023/04/05/1168256131/catan-board-game-klaus-teuber-dies
  11. https://www.npr.org/2020/08/07/897271885/families-stuck-at-home-turn-to-board-game-catan-sending-sales-skyrocketing
  12. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/karriere-hochschule/klaus-teuber-von-rossdorf-nach-catan-11992385.html
  13. https://www.businessinsider.de/karriere/arbeitsleben/siedler-von-catan-erfinder-klaus-teuber-lebt-noch-heute-bescheiden-2017-11/
  14. https://www.wired.com/2009/03/mf-settlers/
  15. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/7212/guido-teuber
  16. https://www.catan.com/sites/default/files/2024-06/Legend%20of%20the%20Conquerers%20Rule%20Book%20210112.pdf
  17. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/550/barbarossa
  18. https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2023/04/board-games-retro-designer-of-catans-first-board-game-barbarossa.html
  19. https://opinionatedgamers.com/2015/06/23/sdj-re-reviews-10-barbarossa-und-die-ratselmeister-a-k-a-barbarossa/
  20. https://www.catan.com/explore-catan/ludography
  21. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/11/klaus-teuber
  22. https://www.catan.com/catan-fans/news
  23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-2aA0Sqnfo
  24. https://www.catan.com/catan-fans/news/we-mourn-passing-klaus-teuber
  25. https://apnews.com/article/klaus-teuber-dies-catan-game-83bcfb293a020fae2b3b25e95171f9e4
  26. https://cms.kosmos.de/Bilder/Footer/Presse/Presseinfos/Klaus%20Teuber%20verstorben/230404_Klaus%20Teuber%20verstorben_KOSMOS.pdf
  27. https://www.hans-im-glueck.de/?news=nachruf-klaus-teuber
  28. https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Spiel_des_Jahres
  29. https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1791817/revisiting-the-spiel-des-jahres-winners-catan
  30. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamehonor/12999/1996-origins-awards-best-fantasy-or-science-fictio
  31. https://www.originsawards.net/hall-of-fame
  32. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/catan-board-game-netflix-adaptations
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