A Colony Ship

Towards the end of August of 1999, something incomprehensible for me happened: Klaus asked me if my friends and I would like to test-play his “Starfarers” prototype. Of course we were all for it, and for a three-day period we received a handmade copy of the game.

After we had extensively tested the game, I again persuaded Klaus to give us permission to publish our gaming impressions on the Internet, together with some photos of the prototype – exactly at the same time Kosmos Verlag launched its official press release. [1]

Handmade Starfarers prototype - still with silver Mother Ships

Independently of my board game activities, my hobby of maintaining a private homepage had by this time evolved into being a self-employed web designer / web worker. Klaus found my design of the “Starfarers” pages very appealing by the standards of the time – and for the first time he noticed that, in due course, he would also need his own homepage, and that he could definitely imagine entrusting its implementation to me.

KlausTeuber.de on September 25, 2001

Prof. Easy

Around 2001, the work on the homepage klausteuber.de thus began. Fortunately for me as a service provider, this project became literally interminable: there were always new ideas to be implemented. The interactive game introductions by and with Prof. Easy, whose technical basis was inspired by my private homepage projects of those days, are surely prime examples for this. The now discontinued “Barbarossa Riddle” should also be mentioned in this context; its relaunch triggered “Klaus Teubers Spielwiese” (Klaus Teuber’s Playing Field) – which nowadays  is “PlayCatan,” since the departure from T-Online also the home of the Catan Online World.

During the game fair “Spiel ’04″ in Essen in October 2004, Klaus, Arnd, and I developed the concept for the online game “Multicatan” over a few cups of coffee, and it was my task to implement the game afterwards. Mid-2005 it went online, with great success, and at the time became the showcase for “Klaus Teubers Spielwiese.” During this period, I delved deeper and deeper into Catan projects. Deadlines for other, basically equal projects from other clients had to be carefully coordinated because they threatened to interfere with the plans for Catan’s online presence, of which I had increasingly become an integral part.

Klaus Teubers Spielwiese - in summer 2005 with Multicatan

Inspired by our collaboration on “Multicatan,” in late summer of 2005, I took heart and asked Klaus straight out if he’d like to hire me full-time instead of paying me fees for a continuously growing number of new projects with an always wider scope. After a brief, Catan-internal consultation between Klaus, Guido, and Arnd, I signed my contract with Catan GmbH on October 1st, 2005.

That’s how two of my previous hobbies – implementing websites and playing board games – were combined into my current job.  And here’s the most astounding thing: Except for the testing of company prototypes, I meanwhile hardly get around to play board games, and although my ideas for private homepage projects are somewhere in the “mental drawer,” they are rarely put into practice. Maybe we intuitively keep job and private life apart, even if our job has developed from previous hobbies.

Gero Zahn

[1] http://www.onlinepresence.de/Sternenfahrer/

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Well, I’m a producer. Got it? No, not quite, in the majority of cases. And I can absolutely understand that. At best, people know the term “producer” from the movie industry, where it has given rise to some myths.

“So you’re the Jerry Bruckheimer of the board games, right?” No, not really, but the activities of a producer are quite similar across different industries. I’d like to use my first blog posting to give some insight into my work and, thus, into the work behind the scenes of Catan GmbH.

First it should be mentioned that Catan GmbH has no offices in the usual sense. Of course, there is our “headquarters” with Klaus in Rossdorf, Germany, but basically each of us works “from home.” The advantage of it is that I was able to take up residence in the wonderful city of Hamburg and, thanks to the Internet, work with Klaus and my colleagues as if we were sitting in the same building. Okay, the coffee breaks are a little more solitary, but you get over it. In addition, on average once per month we meet in Rossdorf to talk about current projects, test prototypes, and discuss future planning.

Game round: Gero, Arnd and Guido (f.l.t.r.)

But let’s get back to the job description of a producer. A producer – and this is quite similar in the movie industry – develops and leads a project, which means that he basically is a project manager, although with much more authority and a “more extended view.” A producer plans and coordinates the individual tasks necessary to get the project going and carry it through. Since we are a small company, my responsibility includes a much wider range of activities than it would be the case in a bigger company with more diversified areas of activity. To my delight, this also allows me to participate in the development of Klaus’s board games among other things, but first and foremost I’m responsible for the area “electronic gaming,” that is, computer games, online world, Catan shop, etc.

If we decide to put an idea into practice, Klaus and I develop a concept, and the ideas and comments of colleagues and users are often incorporated. In this context, it is also my job to keep an eye on feasibility and costs. Afterwards, I take care of selecting the required programmers, graphic artists, musicians, writers, etc. and hiring them for the project. Once the project is running, I’m the chief coordinator and responsible that everything stays within the set time frame and budget. Apart from pursuing our own projects, we also grant licenses to third parties, which is why – in the area electronic gaming (e. g., Catan for mobile phones, Nintendo DS, XBOX 360, Playstation 3, etc.) – I’m also responsible for these projects. That is, I participate in contract negotiations, I help with the elaboration of the concept if need be, and I’m the primary contact for the licensee.

Well, and how does such a workday look like? My wife once said that I was just on the phone all day long. That’s definitely exaggerated, but it’s not entirely wrong either. Communicating (be it via phone, Skype, or e-mail) is somehow the main task of my job. There is always something that needs to be discussed, clarified, directed, mediated, or also appeased. But this often means that I have to pitch in and, for example, convert graphics, write texts, carry out tests, or answer a service question. However, this makes the job so interesting and varied, and that’s why I wouldn’t trade it for any other job in the world.

And how do you grow up to become a producer? Well, although I developed an early interest in board games and especially fantasy role-playing games, it wasn’t necessarily a given that one day I would emerge in the gaming industry. After growing up with the first home computers, like many others at the time I wanted to “do something with computers,” so I studied business IT. Right after graduation, a friend asked me if I wanted to join his computer games company. Much to my parents chagrin, I said yes, thinking that later I could still change over to IBM, SAP, and the like. That, of course, was a misapprehension, because once you work in the gaming industry, you’re usually lost for the reputable world of banks and software companies. However, when given the choice of either producing games that (hopefully) will bring joy to many people or developing a database for an insurance company, the decision is mostly an easy one.

I came to Catan about 7 years ago, after meeting Klaus during a joint project (“Catan – the Card Game for PC”); he later hired me as the first staff member of his newly established Catan GmbH. He had the idea of creating an online world for Catan players, and he was looking for someone who would take care of Catan’s electronic gaming projects, that is, a producer. I gladly accepted the offer and have never regretted it. And by now, my parents are quite happy with my career choice too.

Arnd Beenen

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New acquaintances always seem to ask this kind of question. Over time, I have tried different responses.

At first, I used to say: “I’m in the board game business.” Usually, people reacted with a wide-eyed “Oh ….”

I always wondered what people meant by “Oh ….” Perhaps they meant to say, “Oh … I am so sorry,” or maybe, “Oh … can you really make a living this way?”

Indeed, the more generously inclined often gave me a compassionate look, as though they were equating the board game business with a state of long-term unemployment. I often suspected that some of the people with this sort of reaction were on the brink of writing me a check, in order to supplement my unemployment benefits.

I quickly realized that I needed to come up with a different answer if I wanted to improve my perceived financial status. “I am in the video and PC games business” – I tried this when I applied for a mortgage. This answer received more “ahs” than “ohs.”
“Ah, …” as in “Ah, how interesting,” or “Ah … I heard that there’s a lot of money in this business!”

While the latter answer elicited more positive and accepting responses compared to the former, I felt that such a reply betrayed my roots. The bread and butter of what I do is undeniably related to board games! It’s true – today, our games can be played on several platforms, such as PC, Xbox, PS3, Nintendo DS, mobile phones, and more. However, it would be unfair to say that the electronic Catan manifestations are at the core of our business.

For a short while, I veiled myself in vagueness when replying: “My dad and I run a media company,” “I’m in publishing,” or worse, “I’m in the entertainment business.”
Upon being introduced to Craig, nowadays one of my best friends, I said I was in the gaming industry. For the longest time he thought I was working for a casino.

Tired of my evasive responses, I eventually stated: “My dad and I run a board game company. We also do video and PC games.” I am immensely proud of what I do and indeed very happy with my work, but I still uttered this response defensively and with a tinge of irritation.

It is really interesting that one of the first things many people ask you relates to your work. The answer to this question seems to be the nearly all-defining basis on which people judge and evaluate you. I realized that I needed to dig deeper to find a true and appropriate answer.

While digging, I asked myself why I liked board games, and why I am in the gaming business. I have to admit that I am only a casual gamer. I say “only” because I am probably not attending every single game convention, I don’t have a gigantic board game library, and my 7-year-old son beats me handily in most video games. Moreover, I am not starting my days reading the great gamer resource www.boardgamegeek.com (though I probably should).

Cooking and rollerblading before game night

Instead, I prefer pursuing various hobbies along with gaming, such as Yoga, reading, running, rollerblading, rock climbing, skydiving (admittedly, I’ve only done this once), traveling, cooking & entertaining, wine, keeping up with international affairs, and of course, dedicating myself to my family (Emily, Liam, Leif, dog, cat & chickens, which lay amazing eggs). I have a great time having good friends over, sharing a nice dinner with a bottle of wine, followed by playing board games.

While I am a casual gamer, I have been around games for most of my life. In this sense, I have always lived with what I do for a living. In my childhood, my dad would test his game designs in the inner family circle. By doing so, he invited us to experience new worlds, learn about history, be creative, and train our critical thinking skills.

My first guitar

My childhood was filled with these wonderful game creations.

At age 15, my parents gave me a guitar, which abruptly yanked me away from gaming for a while. A few years later – after I had emerged from my taciturn, somewhat confused and rebellious teenage years, which were filled with a passion for folk punk – I rediscovered the joy of board gaming.

Highly focused in the game “Bausack”

Board games connect me to the past as well as the future.

They allow me to bond, spend quality time with family and friends, explore, win, lose, and experience new real and imagined worlds.

These days I simply state: “We make board games.” I can say this with great poise and pride, because my dad’s passion for board games instilled in me an infinite sense of curiosity for life. I am happy about the fact that I have an opportunity to pass on this sense of wonderment to people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life.

Guido Teuber

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