Klaus Teuber, the creator of the Catan series of tabletop games, recently passed away at the age of 70.
Per Catan Studios, Teuber died on Saturday, April 1 from a “short, severe illness.” The studio later released a statement on Twitter, remembering him as “a kind and selfless human being, an inspirational leader, and most importantly, as a friend.”
Born June 25, 1952, Teuber first worked as a designer on tabletop games Barbarossa in 1988 and 1990’s Hoity Toity. During that time, he also worked as a dental technician.
Teuber designed 1995’s Settlers of Catan, and later transitioned to designing games full-time in 1999. The Catan series has spawned numerous expansions and spinoffs in the decades since and further expanded to video games for consoles, PC, and mobile devices.
As of 2020, the Catan series is said to have sold 32 million units worldwide and been translated across 40 languages.
Teuber is survived by his wife Claudia, and their sons, Benny and Guido.