In 2019, while working as a manager at the Beneficial Living Center — a garden supply store in Arcata, California — Justin Schwartzman was doing something completely routine: breaking down a box. It had contained a dozen shot glasses used for measuring plant nutrients. But this wasn’t just any box. Its unique structure, with a lid that opened one way and an insert that folded the other, caught Justin’s attention. He noticed the circular cutouts in the insert were just the right size for ping pong balls.

Curious, he began tinkering. He cut a hole in the front panel of the box and taped a piece of paper inside to create a return ramp. The insert was propped at an angle, sloping upward toward the inside of the lid — which now acted as a backboard. His artistic co-workers decorated some ping pong balls with colored sharpies, and just like that, Shoot-To-Win was born — a makeshift counter game that customers could play for discounts and small prizes.

The playful energy it created in the store was infectious, and when Justin brought home another box to make a second version, things got more intentional. He added a larger ball return and new elements like wings and gutters to better contain the balls. The kids helped decorate it with colorful duct tape- making this new version much more functional and attractive than the first iteration.

When a friend saw the homemade game and encouraged Justin to consider marketing it, the idea clicked. He reached out to Jeremy Harris, owner of WoodLab Designs, whose expertise in flat-pack, laser-cut products made him the perfect collaborator. The goal? To turn this rough cardboard concept into a product that could be mass-produced and assembled by the buyer. It needed to stay lightweight, fun, and cost-effective — something that could be die-cut from sheets of cardboard.

Justin came up with the name Bounskee even before designing the Skee-Ball® style top- now called the Classic Top. As more gameplay styles emerged, he realized Bounskee wasn’t just one game — it could be a modular game system. Together with Jeremy, they created multiple prototypes, refining the mechanics, look, and build-it-yourself appeal.

Bounskee’s development had its ups and downs. An early attempt to mass-produce the game in cardboard ran into logistical snags, and the arrival of COVID-19 put things on hold. But when Jeremy mentioned in late 2020 that his business was busier than ever, Justin offered to help in the evenings — learning to run laser cutters and picking up valuable design skills along the way.

By 2021, the dream of making Bounskee out of cardboard at scale was still alive, but die-cutting came with steep startup costs. Tooling alone was expensive, and cost-effective production runs started at 1,000 units. With no efficient way to make them in-house, Justin turned to Kickstarter — hoping crowdfunding could unlock the first large production run. He painted one of the prototypes and gave others to friends to decorate, leaning into the artistic potential of the game and positioning it as a hands-on, DIY project anyone could personalize.

In the midst of the campaign, Justin planned a local tournament — the 1st Humboldt Open Bounskee Classic — hosted at Septentrio Winery. He designed and built eight high-end wooden Bounskees that would be used for the tourney and also doubled as trophies, complete with engraved backboards featuring the event logo. At the time, he hadn’t intended to sell the wood version — it was just a way to make the tournament feel special.

But the tournament changed everything.

Participants loved the look and feel of the wooden Bounskees. A few local businesses asked if he could make custom versions with their logos. And though the Kickstarter campaign ultimately fell short, the excitement and response to the wood sets convinced Justin to pivot. Making them from wood wasn’t much more difficult than prototyping in cardboard — and the result was stunning.

With that shift came the birth of his creative brand, Justoneus Creations — an umbrella for Bounskee and other handcrafted ideas he had brewing. The build-it-yourself game became BYO Bounskee, a signature version of the product that reflected Justin’s original design and philosophy: combining play with creativity, competition with expression.

From there, Bounskee grew rapidly. More "playing tops" and attachments were created — including the Baseball Top, Casino Top, Lucky Shot Top,Tic Tac Top, Basketball Hoop and Slots Attachment— each bringing a fresh spin on classic games. In 2023, Justin held the 2nd Humboldt Open Bounskee Classic Tournament at Humboldt Brews in Arcata. Shortly thereafter, he took Bounskee national by competing on Season 10 of The Blox, a reality show competition for entrepreneurs. There, he deepened his knowledge of business, honed his vision, and returned inspired — only to find his production setup had changed and he no longer had access to all the equipment he needed for efficient production. With support from his parents, he relocated to Corvallis, Oregon, and set up his own shop, continuing to evolve and improve the product.

Despite setbacks, Bounskee never stopped bouncing forward. Once production resumed with an improved design in 2024, Justin threw another tournament- the Inaugural Corvallis Open Bounskee Classic Tournament at Conundrum House. That summer, Bounskee was featured at GameACon West in Palm Springs, California where he hosted yet another tournament.

Back in Corvallis, Justin began expanding Bounskee’s role as a tool for community engagement and fundraising. He created a custom Bounskee set for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which his local chapter now uses to draw in and connect with community members at events. At a carnival game themed fundraiser for Zonta, he ran a high score contest to help bring in money for their organization. He also donated a Bounskee to Philomath High School as a prize for a semester-long high score contest envisioned by their special education teacher to encourage faculty to visit her classroom and build relationships with her students. As Bounskee continues to evolve, its potential as a platform for community building, fundraising, and creative promotion is just beginning to be explored.

Justin’s vision remains bold: a build-it-yourself game that brings people together through competition, creativity, and community — a game that anyone can make their own. From a modified cardboard box in a garden shop to a modular wooden game set with tournament trophies, artistic aspirations, and dozens of ways to play, Bounskee is more than just a game — it's a movement in the making.