about
2020 was an unprecedented time when the world felt more isolating than ever. We needed an outlet, a place for our ideas to flow, find root and grow.
We yearned to connect with our friends and family, to share and smile, to bicker and butt heads, to laugh and to cry. From this seed grew Maple Forged.
First came the table-top boardgame "Grab Your Goat!" Designed by Russ Wustenberg and illustrated by Jon Chan, this table-top game brings 2 to 4 players in delight and despair as their favorite goats scamper across a mountain of winding paths and perilous pitfalls. The first run of the game was successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2021 and shipped world wide in the spring of 2022.
Today, Maple Forged is building on a series of new projects, more board games and beyond.
team
In his work outside Maple Forged, Russell Wustenberg supports artists as they create all things enteratining. Here, he claims his authorial voice, fostering connections between those who engage with his stories. A life-long entertainer, he began his career in the opera. To date he has worked on over eighty operatic productions as a singer, stage manager and assistant director. During the pandemic, he occupied himself studying computer science at New York University.
Russell Wustenberg
Creative Development Director
Jon Chan
Director of Design
Jon Chan is an illustrator and designer. He is a graduate of Ryerson University's School of Interior Design where he learned to join his artistic passion with technical skill. Early in his career, Jon found work as a set designer in the film and television industry. Highlights from his career include IT, Molly's Game, Shazam!, Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark, and the recently finished Nightmare Alley, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. When Jon isn't set designing, he likes to spend his time illustrating and working on various art projects. His latest is Grab Your Goat! a board game created in collaboration with Russell.
www.jonchandesigns.com
IMDB