Klaus Teuber — the creator of the beloved Catan board game — has died after a brief illness, his family announced Tuesday. He was 70 years old.
The Teuber family described Klaus as a “beloved husband and father,” and they requested the chance to grieve and bid farewell in private.
Teuber’s board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995, has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages. It has spawned dozens of spinoffs and new editions, including electronic versions, not to mention products related to the game.
Catan Studio, which develops and publishes Catan games, wrote on social media that Teuber’s legacy will “inspire and shape the gaming community for years to come.”
“While Klaus’ contributions to the board gaming industry are immeasurable, we will remember him most as a kind and selfless human being, an inspirational leader, and most importantly, as a friend,” the studio tweeted on Tuesday.
Teuber was born in June 1952 in the German town of Rai-Breitenbach. He was working as a dental technician in the 1980s outside the industrial city of Darmstadt when he took up designing board games in his basement, he told The New Yorker magazine in 2014.
“I had many problems with the company and the profession,” he said. “I developed games to escape. This was my own world I created.”
In the game, players use five resources to build their colonies, or settlements. Teuber told the New Yorker that he only left his dental technician job after he felt like Catan could feed himself and his family. Eventually, the game became a family business.
On social media, many praised Teuber’s influence on board games, as well as his creativity and sense of fun. Catan Studio wrote:
“We encourage you to honor Klaus’ memory by being kind to one another, pursuing your creative passions fearlessly, and enjoying a game with your loved ones.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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