Osanori Yamamoto is a Japanese puzzle designer and one of the most prolific minds in the modern packing puzzle world. He's a full-time designer, and the pace at which he produces new beautiful designs is genuinely hard to keep up with.
His work is reproduced in wood by makers like Pelikan Puzzles, Cubicdissection, and others, and in 3D-printed plastic right here. I'm gradually expanding his line in my catalog as he keeps releasing new designs I want to share.
Why I love Osanori-san's work
Osanori is a genius. There's no other word for it. What I love especially about his packing puzzles is the minimalism - tiny piece counts, brilliant use of shapes, and a fascination with using the same shape multiple times in one puzzle. When four or five identical pieces have to slot into a tight cage through a small opening, the solve becomes extremely satisfying in a way mixed-piece puzzles can't match.
His designs also share a signature trait: they look ridiculously simple. Two pieces. Three pieces. A clean little box. You see one and think "how hard can this be?" Then you spend three hours discovering the answer.
I'm not alone on this. Friends of mine own nearly his entire catalog and praise him non-stop.
Meeting Osanori in Tokyo
I had the pleasure of meeting Osanori at IPP in Tokyo in 2025. He was kind and patient with my broken Japanese - I speak at maybe a 7-year-old level, and he listened with full attention anyway.
At the same IPP I sat down with his 6N puzzle and was absolutely blown away. A small cage, strategic holes, and a solve that taught me something new about packing puzzles in real time. Since that day I've been gradually adding more of his designs to my store as fast as I can produce them.
What the puzzle community says
PuzzleMad calls Osanori's work "complex heaven and 'simple' hell from Japan" - which is the most accurate description anyone has written. Puzzle Pusher reviewed his Pack 3 and called it "the most frustrating and rewarding 3-piece puzzle" they'd ever worked on. Pelikan Puzzles in the Czech Republic produces small-edition wooden versions of his designs that are highly sought-after by collectors. Reviewers across the community refer to Osanori and Alexander Magyarics as the absolute masters of minimal-piece packing puzzles.
Where to start in his catalog
Three Osanori puzzles to start with:
Galette is the entry point. "Galette" means wafer in French - it's a thin frame puzzle where 5 tetromino pieces have to be threaded into the frame through a tiny opening. It was a top-ten vote-getter at the IPP design competition in Paris. Surprisingly tricky, beautifully satisfying.
6N is the puzzle that blew my mind in Tokyo. A small cage with strategic holes, a solve that uses every wall of the box, and the puzzle that made me commit to expanding Osanori's line in my store.
Waltz is his 2-piece masterpiece. An 18-move solve that lands both pieces in a 3x3x3 cavity through a 2x2 entrance, with the final piece blocking the entrance once seated. It's the kind of puzzle reviewers describe with the word "masterpiece" and mean it.
Once you've done those three, climb through Toplun, Petit Ring, Shutout, A6L, and Xmas Stocking.
FAQ
Who is Osanori Yamamoto?
Osanori Yamamoto is a Japanese puzzle designer and a full-time professional in the field. He specializes in packing puzzles, both 2D and 3D, and is one of the most prolific designers in the modern packing puzzle world. His wooden originals are produced by makers like Pelikan Puzzles and Cubicdissection.
What makes an Osanori puzzle different?
Minimal pieces, maximum challenge. Osanori's signature is making puzzles that look almost embarrassingly simple - two pieces, three pieces, identical shapes - and then engineering a solve so subtle that experienced solvers spend hours finding it. Many of his designs use the same shape repeated multiple times, which creates an especially satisfying solve.
Which Osanori puzzle should I buy first?
Galette. It's the gentlest entry point and a top-ten finalist at the IPP design competition in Paris. From there, work through 6N (the one that blew my mind in Tokyo) and Waltz (his 18-move 2-piece masterpiece).
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 Osanori's puzzles are produced primarily by Pelikan Puzzles in the Czech Republic. Osanori has given us his blessing to make the plastic versions you see here.
How prolific is Osanori?
Extremely. He releases new designs at a pace that's hard to track. I follow his work closely and I'm constantly playing catch-up, gradually adding the puzzles I most want to share to my store.
If you enjoy Osanori's work, also explore puzzles by Stewart Coffin, Andrew Crowell, and Frederic Boucher - some of the other modern designers whose puzzles I'm honored to carry.
