Creator of Catan board game dies

The inventor of the hugely popular Catan board game, Klaus Teuber, has died at the age of 70, the franchise's German publisher has said.

Teuber passed away on Saturday after a "short and serious illness", publisher Kosmos said in a statement Tuesday.  

The Catan creator had "inspired millions of people around the world with his many award-winning games", Kosmos said.

More than 40 million copies of Catan, which was originally known as Settlers of Catan, have been sold since it first appeared on the market in 1995, with the game being translated into over 40 languages.

In the game, players compete to colonize the unoccupied island of Catan.

By building settlements and roads using resources that can be traded, players compete to collect points and control the island.

Born in 1952, Teuber began life as a dental technician before making a career in the world of boardgames.

Teuber's first game "Barbarossa" was released in 1988, before blockbuster success Catan.

"I always tested the games with my family first," Teuber told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in 2017 in an interview together with his son Benjamin.

"I was fortunate enough to have a father that I didn't have to ask to play with me, he came into my room and asked me," Teuber's son said. 

 

AFP