Klaus-Jürgen Wrede
Encyclopedia
Klaus-Jürgen Wrede is a German
board game
creator, the creator of the best-selling Carcassonne
and Downfall of Pompeii.
Born to music-teacher parents in Meschede
, Germany
, Wrede grew up in the town of Arnsberg
, Germany. He attended college in Cologne
, learning music
and theology
.
While on a vacation Wrede created Carcassonne which was published in 2000 by Hans im Glück
in German and Rio Grande Games
in English. Carcassonne has become one of the most popular games at BoardGameGeek
over recent years; , of the thousands of games on the website, only The Settlers of Catan
has more user ratings.
As a child he played games such as Monopoly
and chess
. He later played games such as Kremlin
, Civilization
, Age of Renaissance
, Tikal
, Ra
, and Tigris and Euphrates
. His favorite game designers include Wolfgang Kramer
, Reiner Knizia
, Alan R. Moon
, Klaus Teuber
, Uwe Rosenberg, and Karl-Heinz Schmiel.
Klaus-Jürgen Wrede lives near Cologne
and teaches music and religious education. His favorite music includes soul, Wagner
, Sting, Brahms
, U2
, jazz, Supertramp
, and Chopin
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
creator, the creator of the best-selling Carcassonne
Carcassonne (board game)
Carcassonne is a tile-based German-style board game for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and Rio Grande Games in English....
and Downfall of Pompeii.
Born to music-teacher parents in Meschede
Meschede
Meschede is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:Meschede is situated in the Ruhr valley, near to the Hennesee, south of the nature-park Arnsberger Wald...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Wrede grew up in the town of Arnsberg
Arnsberg
Arnsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg's administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:...
, Germany. He attended college in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, learning music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.
While on a vacation Wrede created Carcassonne which was published in 2000 by Hans im Glück
Hans im Glück
Hans im Glück Verlags-GmbH is a German board and card game publisher. Though many of their own games are language-independent they themselves publish only printings for the domestic market which include only German-language rules; English-language printings of their games have been published...
in German and Rio Grande Games
Rio Grande Games
Rio Grande Games is a board game publisher based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The company primarily imports and localizes foreign language German-style board games.-History:...
in English. Carcassonne has become one of the most popular games at BoardGameGeek
BoardGameGeek
BoardGameGeek is a website that was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko as a resource for the board gaming hobby. The database holds reviews, articles, and session reports for over 45,000 different games, expansions, and designers. BoardGameGeek includes German-style board games,...
over recent years; , of the thousands of games on the website, only The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources...
has more user ratings.
As a child he played games such as Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
and chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. He later played games such as Kremlin
Kremlin (board game)
Kremlin is a board game parody of Soviet government. The game takes its name from the Moscow Kremlin, the physical location of the main Soviet government offices. It was designed by Urs Hostettler and released in 1988 by Avalon Hill...
, Civilization
Civilization (board game)
Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in Britain in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil , and in the US in 1981 by Avalon Hill. The game typically takes eight or more hours to play and is for two to seven players...
, Age of Renaissance
Age of Renaissance
Age of Renaissance is a board game designed by Don Greenwood and Jared Scarborough and published by Avalon Hill in 1996. The game is for 3-6 players and the box claims that the game should take 2-6 hours to play, though as with any serious multiplayer strategy game, this can entirely depend on the...
, Tikal
Tikal (board game)
Tikal is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by Ravensburger in German and by Rio Grande Games in English...
, Ra
Ra (board game)
Ra is a board game for two to five players designed by Reiner Knizia and themed around Ra, the sun-god of Heliopolis in ancient Egyptian culture....
, and Tigris and Euphrates
Tigris and Euphrates
Tigris and Euphrates is a German strategy board game designed by Reiner Knizia and first published in 1997 by Hans im Glück in German . Before its publication, it was highly anticipated by German gamers hearing rumors of a "gamer's game" designed by Knizia. Tigris and Euphrates won first prize in...
. His favorite game designers include Wolfgang Kramer
Wolfgang Kramer
Wolfgang Kramer is a German board game designer.Kramer formerly worked as an operations manager and computer scientist, but since 1989 he has worked full-time on game design. He has designed over 100 games, many which have been nominated for or have won the Spiel des Jahres...
, Reiner Knizia
Reiner Knizia
Reiner Knizia is a prolific German-style board game designer. Born in Germany, he developed his first game at the age of eight. He has a PhD in mathematics, and has been a full-time game designer since 1997, when he quit his job from the board of a large international bank...
, Alan R. Moon
Alan R. Moon
Alan R. Moon is an author of board games, born in Southampton, England, and currently living in the United States. Despite his nationality, he is generally considered to be one of the foremost designers of German-style board games. Many of his games can be seen as board game variations on the...
, Klaus Teuber
Klaus Teuber
Klaus Teuber is a German designer of board games. He won the Spiel des Jahres award four times, for The Settlers of Catan, Barbarossa, Drunter und Drüber and Adel Verpflichtet. He retired from his profession as a dental technician to become a full-time game designer in 1999. , he lives in ...
, Uwe Rosenberg, and Karl-Heinz Schmiel.
Klaus-Jürgen Wrede lives near Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and teaches music and religious education. His favorite music includes soul, Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, Sting, Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, jazz, Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, and Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
.