Maker · the cabinet's people
Wil Strijbos
Sequential-discovery puzzle designer · Netherlands
Wil Strijbos is a Dutch puzzle designer renowned for precision-machined metal puzzles in the sequential-discovery tradition, where solving requires finding and using a chain of hidden tools and mechanisms concealed within the puzzle itself. He began collecting puzzles in the early 1970s and made his first puzzle box, the 'First Box,' around 1984.
Strijbos won the Hikimi Puzzle Competition in 1990 with his 'Just Fit' puzzle, an early milestone in a career that made his anodized-aluminium designs some of the most sought-after among collectors worldwide. His puzzles are frequently produced in limited runs and bear his signature on the body.
He is regarded as a pioneer of the sequential-discovery genre, with deceptively simple-looking objects that conceal elaborate multi-step solutions.
Style signature
Gleaming anodized-aluminium cylinders and boxes, often blue, that look minimal but hide multi-stage sequential-discovery solutions requiring concealed tools. Many pieces carry his engraved signature.
Notable works
- First Box
- Lotus Flower
- Aluminium Cylinder series
- Just Fit
- First Cross
- Angel Box
In the cabinet
Pieces tied to Wil Strijbos we're tracking right now.
Lotus Flower Puzzle - Sequential Discovery Puzzle 
Butterfly Lock Box – “Pleasure and Pain” Puzzle 
The Dovetail Trilogy - By Wil Strijbos 
Yin Yang (69 Puzzle) - Metal Brain Teaser 
7 Move Burr Puzzle - Phillippe Dubois Aluminium Burr 
Dovetail Cube #01 – Metal Brain Teaser 
Dovetail Cube #02 - Impossible Puzzle 
Dovetail Cube #03 - Premium Metal Puzzle 
First Cross - Premium Metal Puzzle 
Heart in Heart - Metal Puzzle 
Premium Metal Puzzle Set by Wil Strijbos 
The First Cylinder Puzzle Questions about Wil Strijbos
Who is Wil Strijbos?
Wil Strijbos is a Dutch puzzle designer famous for precision anodized-aluminium sequential-discovery puzzles, in which the solver must uncover and use hidden tools to progress. He made his first puzzle box, the 'First Box,' around 1984.
What is Wil Strijbos best known for?
He is best known as a pioneer of sequential-discovery puzzles and for his metal designs such as the 'First Box' and the popular 'Lotus Flower,' machined from anodized aluminium and prized by collectors worldwide.
What is the Wil Strijbos First Box?
The First Box was Wil Strijbos's first puzzle box, originally designed around 1984 and made in a tiny initial run of six for prominent puzzle collectors. He later reissued it in an improved blue anodized-aluminium version bearing his signature.