Meet Jef Lippiatt

We were lucky to catch up with Jef Lippiatt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jef, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

Everyday I proactively take deliberate actions to help recharge and release my creativity. One of the main things I do is write and doodle ideas on sticky notes as soon as I have an idea. I keep sticky note pads in several rooms so they are always within reach. Another way I challenge my creativity is intentionally connecting with other creative people on social media spanning illustrators to music producers. One of the main things about keeping creativity alive is staying curious and looking at connecting different ideas in new ways. The last intentional task I do to keep my creativity alive is giving myself time to do something mindless. Giving myself space to let the creativity gel together in the background helps keep me from feeling stuck or frustrated when a creative idea isn’t quite fully formed.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am the owner and game designer of BUNKER83 LLC an independent board game publisher. I think what really makes the business special is my approach to making the entire company feel like a game. Because the brand is built around a noir-style spy named Sly, so puzzles and clues are hidden in everything from our social media posts to game materials. Sometimes these clues lead to secret product announcements and other times to discounts. So engaging with customers and followers has become somewhat of a game unto itself.

Just a few months ago I launched another new game card game, Wombattles. It is a light strategy game about battling wombats. The unique hook is that I’ve partnered with several wombat conservation non-profits in Australia because two of the three types of wombats are endangered. So the profits of this game are directly helping wombats and that is exciting.

I also recently launched a free game called Hack the Stack. You can download the rules and play the game with a standard deck of cards. And currently I’m waiting on inventory of my next game, Tactical Tic Tac Toe, to arrive so that will be launching very soon.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think the three most important skills have been a willingness to test all my ideas, staying open to learning what I don’t know and seeking help from more experienced people. All of those skills have helped me refine my ideas and push things to the next level instead of staying stuck in place.

One piece of advice I would share to someone early on in their journey, be willing to look foolish by getting out of your comfort zone. You would be surprised how many people are willing to give you feedback and help if you would just ask. Asking isn’t comfortable and you won’t always get the answer you want, but keep going.

You need to find where your ideas fit instead of trying to emulate others. Lean into what makes your ideas different.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

As a company of one with a limited but growing budget, the challenge is what area to focus the resources I have to make the most impact. During the last twelve months, I have leaned into launching more games and using a majority of my budget purchasing inventory. My goal was to establish my company has a multi-game venture not just a single game.

The trade off has been getting creative with advertising because my budget cannot prioritize that with the same level of focus. However, I see this as a positive because creativity thrives with constraints. So I’m exploring ways to get more experimental in my content creation and advertising opportunities. I try to remember that I can always adjust my focus and resources to another area of the business if I don’t see the current path working out the way I had envisioned.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bunker83.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bunker83games/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bunker83llc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bunker83games