Background
Born to music-teacher parents in Meschede, Germany, Wrede grew up in the town of Arnsberg, Germany.
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. As of 2014, 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. Klaus-Jürgen Wrede lives near Cologne and teaches music and religious education.