Even if he had never designed another game, Klaus Teuber would rank as one of the greatest game designers of all time just for The Settlers of Catan. But his ludography also includes about three dozen non-Catan publised games, including the clay-sculpting party game Barbarossa, the set-collecting strategy game Hoity Toity and the building game Drunter und Druber -- all of which won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award in Germany. Recently, Teuber was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

What's your favorite recently played (for the first time) game?

Recently, I played Verflixxt, a game by Wolfgang Kramer. The luck factor is pretty big in this game and a player's scope of influence is fairly limited -- and yet, we had a fantastic time and I really liked the game.

What game do you want to play most that you haven't played yet?

I am very interested in playing Hazienda, another Wolgfgang Kramer game, published by the Hans im Glueck company. Both the author and the company stand for high quality games.

Candamir: The First Settlers was recently released in English. Please tell us a little about the game and why you wanted to design a "prequel" to the Settlers series.

"The Settlers of Catan" novel in Germany, by bestselling author Rebecca Gable, describes the journey of a desolate Viking tribe searching for a new homeland. Candamir is the protagonist of the novel.

The Catan novel inspired me to create a new game (i.e. Candamir), in which players assume the roles of settlers, who are challenged with carving out an existence for themselves on the island of Catan.

Although technically a board game, Candamir harbors a lot of RPG-style elements. Players build up their character with features such as strength, agility, charisma and prowess. Characters meet challenges, adventures, brew potions and can creat commodities.

The 10th Anniversary Settlers of Catan 3-D Special Edition Treasure Chest set is absolutely gorgeous. (And the more I look at it, the more tempted I am to buy it!) How many people do you think will spend $380 to acquire it?

$380 is a lot of money. On the other hand, the game offers a lot of value (such as the hand-painted figures, for instance). Catan sales have reached a critical mass in the U.S. I estimate that every 100th Catan player would be interested enough in this premium offering.