
The Bloggers of Catan
Catanism, the blog for serious Catan fans. This blog is where Klaus Teuber and the rest of the “Bloggers of Catan” write about new game developments and provide lots of in-depth information about each title.
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January 29, 2010
The Reform of the Card Game in 2010 – Part 2

Part 2 – Expanding the Card Game In 1997, the “Tournament Set for the Card Game” was published as the first Card Game expansion. My inspiration for this expansion came from “Magic, the Gathering,” during the mid-nineties a cult game in Germany. Although the rules of the two games are totally different, they do have one thing in common: …
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January 23, 2010
The Reform of the Card Game in 2010 – Part 1

Part 1 – Birth of the Card Game A revised version of the Catan Card Game with new content and graphics will be published in fall 2010 under the title of “The Princes of Catan” (working title). In this blog and the following ones, I will talk about the background to this revision and introduce the new card illustrations as we go along. …
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January 14, 2010
How Do You Actually Become … a Product Manager for Catan

My name is Sebastian Rapp, and I am a product manager at the publishing house KOSMOS. Sounds impressive, right? In the past, I also liked to call myself the “maid-of-all-work at KOSMOS regarding Catan,” but ever since Carol supports me in the area of marketing I am only the “maid-of-almost-all-work,” fortunately … When people ask me what I do for a living, they interestingly don’t inquire that much about what a “Product Manager for Catan” does. …
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January 8, 2010
To Germany and Back: An American’s Quest for Opponents – Part 2

In Chapter One, I explained how my brother and his wife introduced me to Die Siedler von Catan (The Settlers of Catan), and how I grabbed the base game and several expansions while visiting them when they were living in Germany. Chapter Two: Hopelessly Addicted Being unaware of the American gaming market, I had no idea that Mayfair had been publishing The Settlers of Catan in English for years. …
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December 22, 2009
To Germany and Back: An American’s Quest for Opponents – Part 1

Chapter One: Play With Me! As many gamers know, finding opponents isn’t always easy. Family members are often our favorite foes, but let’s face it: if you’re into gaming, you just might be a little more aggressive than they are, and they just might get tired of playing with you because of it. …
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November 13, 2009
What Exactly is the “Catan Weekend”?

“So, what are you doing next weekend?” “Oh well, I’ll be at a work-related meeting.” Every so often I refrain from mentioning the exact name “Catan Weekend,” because it doesn’t mean much even to those who, in principle, know what I do for a living. That’s why I’m using this opportunity to place a corresponding reference here in our Catan blog, for future inquiries. Kosmos Verlag has been hosting the Catan weekend since 1998. …
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October 8, 2009
Game conventions, time and again … and it’s still fun

First of all, I’d like to briefly introduce myself. I work for the publisher KOSMOS Verlag, where I’m responsible for the entire marketing of family games and games for adults. My activities are focused on the areas “KOSMOS game instructors” and “The Settlers of Catan.” Being the product manager, my husband Sebastian Rapp helps me regarding the latter. …
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September 24, 2009
My First Game

It’s obvious – at some point I’ve tried to design a game too. I was just five years old when that happened. It is a beautiful story I like to reminisce about. Actually, the game still exists, which is why I have the wonderful opportunity to document this blog posting directly with the game map from back then. …
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September 10, 2009
Seafarers, Traders, and Wizards in 3D

In late 2005, Klaus Teuber gave me one of the beautiful Catan 3D Collector’s Editions. During the following years, this fascinating work of art inspired me to create my own add-ons. 3D vulcano It all started quite innocently when I modeled a volcano as an April Fool’s joke in 2006. I got hooked, and – suggested by the soccer world championship that had taken place in Germany in 2006 – the next thing in line was a soccer field for the permanent champion of Catan, the soccer club Catania Elasund. 3D gold river This was quickly followed by the gold river, where gold-hungry adventurers could dig for gold. …
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September 2, 2009
Part 2: How Two Hobbies Become a Profession

Last time – in the first part of this blog posting – I told how in 1997, before “The Starfarers of Catan” was published, a friend and I designed our own “Space Settlers” scenario – as a result of which Klaus and I stayed loosely in touch since fall 1998. …





