Frederic Boucher is a Canadian-born puzzle designer based in Tokyo. He's spent the last two decades quietly producing some of the most beloved packing puzzles in the modern mechanical puzzle world, and his designs are reproduced in wood by makers like Cubicdissection, Pelikan, and NothingYet Designs - and in 3D-printed plastic right here.
Frederic famously designs many of his puzzles in his head while riding the Tokyo Metro. The constraints show: his pieces are clean, his cages are tight, and his solutions are inevitable but never obvious.
Why I love Frederic's work
Frederic's designs are positive. They look small and simple, then quietly pack an enormous solve into a tiny piece of acrylic. His minimalist aesthetic fits perfectly with my own puzzle philosophy - fewer parts, more thinking.
The MINIMA series is the clearest expression of that. Each puzzle is small enough to fit in your hand, hard enough to live on your desk for days. Every hole in the cage, every angle on the L-piece, every millimeter of clearance is doing work in the solve. Once you've finished one MINIMA, you start to see the pattern - and that's exactly the moment Frederic ramps up the next one.
More than the puzzles, Frederic is a great guy. He's been a long-time subscriber on my YouTube channel, and in 2025 we finally met in person in Tokyo. We've shared coffee and beer a few times since. He's energetic, fun, and genuinely kind - I love spreading his inventions across the world.
What the puzzle community says
Frederic's work has a quiet, consistent reputation across the global puzzle review scene. Puzzle Pusher has reviewed nearly every entry in the MINIMA series and calls them "elegant" and "perfect chapters in the MINIMA curriculum." ZenPuzzler said BonBon kept them stumped for hours despite looking like five simple pieces. PuzzleMad called MINIMA Tower one of his standout designs.
The short version: when a puzzle has Frederic's name on it, serious solvers pay attention.
Where to start in his catalog
Frederic's body of work is varied - 2D packing puzzles, symmetry puzzles, 3D packing puzzles, and his celebrated collaborations with Eric Fuller (Tenchi, the Anti-Gravity Box) sit among the most respected packing puzzles of the modern era.
My personal favorite series is the MINIMAs. I was lucky enough to exchange MINIMA Slider as my official exchange puzzle at IPP43 in Italy in 2026.
If you want one Frederic Boucher puzzle on your shelf, start with MINIMA Tower. It's the most visually striking puzzle in my store and a perfect introduction to how Frederic thinks. But honestly - try everything he makes. There isn't a weak design in the catalog.
FAQ
Who is Frederic Boucher?
Frederic Boucher is a Canadian-born puzzle designer living in Tokyo. He specializes in packing puzzles, both 2D and 3D, and is also known for symmetry puzzles, impossible objects, and his collaborations with designer Eric Fuller. He famously designs many of his puzzles in his head during Tokyo Metro commutes.
What is the MINIMA series?
The MINIMAs are a series of compact packing puzzles built around a 2x2x3 voxel volume with small windows cut into the cage walls. The windows are essential - the rotations required to solve the puzzle are impossible without threading pieces through them. The original series ran 12 puzzles, each ramping up in difficulty.
Why are his puzzles so respected?
Frederic's puzzles look simple and play hard. Reviewers consistently describe his solves as "elegant" and "longer than expected." He has a gift for hiding enormous depth inside very small geometry.
Which one should I buy first?
MINIMA Tower. It's the most visually striking puzzle in my store, the clearest example of Frederic's cage-and-window design signature, and most solvers spend 4+ hours on it. From there, try MINIMA Slider, BonBon, Cubiz, and Tenchi.
Do you sell the wooden versions?
No, we produce them in 3D printing, since we aim to make great designs as available as possible. Wooden editions of Frederic's puzzles are produced in small runs by makers like Cubicdissection, Pelikan, and NothingYet Designs for collectors. Frederic has given us his blessing to make the plastic versions you see here.
If you enjoy Frederic's work, also explore puzzles by Stewart Coffin, Andrew Crowell, and Osanori Yamamoto - some of the other modern designers whose puzzles I'm honored to carry.
