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‘Settlers of CATAN’ has more than one Minnesota connection
If you’ve ever played Settlers of Catan you likely didn’t know CATAN Studio is based here in Minnesota and some Twins players are big fans of the game!
ROSEVILLE, Minn. — A board game created in Germany has a BIG Minnesota connection in more ways than one.
If you’ve ever played Settlers of CATAN, you likely didn’t know CATAN Studio is based right here in Minnesota and some Twins players, like Royce Lewis, are huge fans of the game!
So how did this all unfold?
Alicia Lewis saw this post on X, formerly Twitter, from Twins sportswriter Aaron Gleeman. During a recent interview, Gleeman found out that Royce Lewis and some other Minnesota Twins are BIG fans of the board game.
CATAN Official replied to the tweet saying quote, “We’re a Minnesota company and huge Twins (and Royce Lewis) fans! Where can we send a stack of games?”
Two worlds colliding here….
Alicia is a player of the game and wanted to learn more about how this somewhat nerdy game made it mainstream but is headquartered in Roseville.
Also… who knew some Twins players were gaming nerds… Alicia did some digging… here’s what she found out!
If you’ve ever played the board game, “Settlers of CATAN” you know it’s all about strategy, building cities and settlements and trading commodities with other players in hopes of earning the most victory points.
“The audience for CATAN at this point is very varied,” said CATAN CEO and son of the games creator, Guido Teuber. “It started out with a lot of gaming enthusiasts. In Germany, it was already mainstreamed when it was launched in 1995, and then in the U.S. it went through different circles.”
Different gaming circles, including the Minnesota Twins dugout.
“I play with a bunch of different guys,” said Twins Third Baseman Royce Lewis.
Alicia wanted to know for those of us who play the games… who on the Twins usually wins? Who has the biggest or army longest road?
“It’s different every time we play,” said Royce. “I’d like to say I’m pretty good myself. I appreciate different strategies I learn from other guys.”
Royce says while rehabbing injuries off the field, the guys will break out the board game.
“I’m usually the guy that likes to build cities on top of cities,” said Royce.
This comes as no surprise to CATAN CEO, Guido Teuber. His late father, Klaus Teuber, created the game with team building in mind.
“We’re really aware in the world of sports that athletes have really taken to CATAN whether it’s a football, soccer, or basketball, you name it,” said Teuber. “People are smart and sophisticated. Once they play… they will get the game.”
So how did this game end up with a headquarters in Minnesota?
The game creator had a business partnership with a local game developer and the rest is history.
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Dr. Abigail Miller, Chief Medical Officer at UnitedHealthcare of MN, joined KARE 11 News at Noon to offer tips for parents.
MINNETONKA, Minn. — As teens have returned to school, many are participating – or will participate – in fall and winter sports.
Federal data estimates that over 50% of young people between ages 6 and 17 played on a sports team or took after-school sports lessons, forecasting that number to increase to 63% by 2030.
Playing sports can have physical and mental health benefits, including strengthening social relationships with friends and family. However, it can also become overwhelming and even lead to lower mental health due to the many expectations some young athletes are put under.
Dr. Abigail Miller, Chief Medical Officer at UnitedHealthcare of MN, joined KARE 11 News at Noon to offer tips for parents and promote mental health.
For more on the impact of youth sports and issues that impact young athletes, their families, coaches and officials, check out our serial blog SportsLife.
The City of Roseville hopes to lower pollution with the move.
ROSEVILLE, Minn — The City of Roseville has become the latest municipality in Minnesota to enact some form of a ban on plastics in the hope of lowering pollution.
The city is going after non-recyclable to-go containers with a new ordinance encouraging the use of compostable packing.
According to the ordinance, the new rules will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, but enforcement won’t begin until a year later. The initiative is part of the city’s ‘Green To Go’ ordinance, which allows only compostable, recyclable or reusable containers.
Hospitals and nursing homes are excluded from the new rules, which also carve out an exception for any packaging that doesn’t meet standards, but for which there is no practical alternative.
Minnesota lawmakers have often discussed wider plastic-banning or limiting legislation, with such a debate occurring over the most recent session.
Gov. Walz, his wife Gwen and son Gus pulled up to the Ramsey County elections office — accompanied by a secret service detail — and cast their ballots.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his family walked the walk on Wednesday, casting their ballots early to encourage voters to use every opportunity available to take part in the 2024 election.
Walz, his wife Gwen and son Gus hopped in their motorcade just after 9:30 a.m. and made the 10-minute journey from Eastcliff on the University of Minnesota Campus to the Ramsey County elections office on St. Paul’s west side.
Once at the office at 90 Plato, the Walz family entered the building with the governor greeting election workers. At the counter, Tim Walz told a worker that Gus, now 18, was voting for the first time. After filling out their ballots Tim and Gus fed their ballots into the machine, with a red-shirted election worker shouting, “First time voter!” The governor and Gus high-fived as the room broke into applause.
A pool reporter said other voters seemed to go about their business, noting that Gus Walz took the opportunity to compliment an elections staffer on his Anthony Edwards sneakers.
The Democratic vice-presidential candidate stopped outside the elections office for a brief chat with reporters, saying he voted for Kamala Harris for president without mentioning his spot on the ticket. Walz also addressed interviews published Tuesday in the New York Times and The Atlantic with former Trump Chief of Staff General John Kelly. In those interviews, Kelly said the former president had expressed admiration for the generals who served Adolph Hitler, adding that Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”
“If there was ever a red line, he has stepped across it,” Walz told reporters when asked about Trump’s alleged comments. “And so I appreciate General Kelly coming out at this moment.”
Trump’s campaign denied Kelly’s accounts Tuesday, with campaign spokesman Steven Cheung saying that Kelly had “beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated.”
Reporters also asked Walz about U.S. intelligence reports saying Russian interests were behind false allegations that he had acted inappropriately while employed as a teacher at Mankato West High School, and why he thought he had been targeted.
“Putin wants Donald Trump to win,” Walz opined.
