'The Settlers of Catan' to be adapted for film and/or TV

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The Settlers of Catan will be adapted for film and/or TV.

Producer Gail Katz has acquired feature film and television rights to the Klaus Teuber board game. The game has sold more then 22 million copies since its debut in 1995, and sees multiple players build settlements by acquiring and trading various resources.

"I've been wanting to see an adaptation of the game for years, ever since my Catan-obsessed college-aged kids introduced me to it," Katz said in a statement. "The island of Catan is a vivid, visual, exciting and timeless world with classic themes and moral challenges that resonate today. There is a tremendous opportunity to take what people love about the game and its mythology as a starting point for the narrative."

The Settlers of Catan is published in 30 languages in 50 countries, and an online version has been downloaded more than 1.6 billion times. The original game inspired several expansions, including Catan: Seafarers and Catan: Knights and Cities.

Katz is known for her work on In the Line of Fire, Air Force One and The Perfect Storm, and executive produced CBS drama The Agency and ABC series Cashmere Mafia. Her latest film, Pawn Sacrifice, starred Tobey Maguire and Liev Shreiber, and opened in theaters in September 2014.