The History of The Settlers of Catan

The Settlers of Catan was invented by a German dental technician named Klaus Teuber in the 1990s. He was inspired by his interest in Viking history. It took him four years to perfect the game. During the prototype phase, he had his wife and children act as testers. His final version consisted of a stack of resource cards, some wooden houses, 19 hexagonal cardboard tiles, and two dice. It debuted in Germany in 1995 and the first run sold out so fast that Teuber himself doesn’t own a first edition of his game! He retired from his dentistry job three years after Catan’s debut to manage his successful game business, Catan GmbH. There are now multiple special editions and expansion packs for players to choose from and Teuber’s game now has fans all across the world and from all walks of life, including Silicon Valley CEOs and pro athletes. Notably, The Settlers of Catan is also credited with introducing German-style games to the United States and other parts of the world.