OUR STORY

Puzzler Media started life back in the early 1970s as British European Associated Publishers.

Today, we’re known as the only household name in puzzles but surprisingly our first print publication was not a puzzle title – it was ‘Home & Freezer Digest’. This pocket magazine featuring home and garden tips, recipes and practical advice was an essential read for those trying to navigate the new-fangled kitchen gadgets of the age.

FLAGSHIP TITLES

In 1988, we acquired ‘The Puzzler’ and ‘Puzzler Collection’. The former is the UK’s first ever dedicated puzzle magazine, established in 1972, and the latter has been the UK’s number one best-selling puzzle magazine for six decades! Since these acquisitions, we’ve launched dozens more Puzzler titles. Our strategy now, as it was then, is to continually innovate and grow.

THE SUDOKU BOOM

At the start of 2005, we were at the forefront of the sudoku boom and launched the UK’s first dedicated sudoku magazine. Little did we know how ‘Puzzler Sudoku’ would reinvigorate the UK puzzle market, creating a frenzy of copycat publications. At the end of 2005, we were acquired by DC Thomson, the media company behind ‘The Beano’ and ‘The People’s Friend’.

PUZZLES WITHOUT BORDERS

In the year 2000, we acquired Keesing UK, bringing its magazines under the BEAP umbrella with the name The Puzzle People. It was also in this year that we started creating content for third parties – mostly in print for national and regional newspapers and magazines. In the early 2000s, with ‘Home & Freezer Digest’ consigned to the waste-disposal unit, the company solidified its position as the UK’s market-leading puzzle content creator by rebranding as Puzzler Media, a name that truly reflects what we do.

Our magazine portfolio continued to develop and diversify and in 2003, we launched a Puzzler business in Australia and New Zealand. We now boast close to 100 titles globally and command almost 50% of the entire UK puzzle market.

THE POWER OF PUZZLES

Puzzler Media continues to go from strength to strength. Our passionate and enthusiastic team of puzzle experts creates over half a million puzzles each year for our own magazines and third parties. In addition to magazines, we have multiple apps, puzzles on Alexa and in Messenger, books, games and calendars. Alongside this is our successful business partnership division.

We don’t just create puzzles – we solve them for our partners looking for alternative ways to reach new audiences or engage with existing ones. The power of puzzles is proven to engage audiences and ensure they linger longer. Our bespoke content coupled with our newest technology seamlessly integrates into third-party websites and apps, including e-edition and pageturner digital publications. We do the hard work so that our clients reap the benefits.

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY

Puzzler has a strong commitment to supporting community. Each year we contribute our time and energy to local and national causes which have included organisations that focus on mental health, children’s welfare and education, dementia, food banks and homelessness.

During the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, we saw the demand for puzzles increase drastically and responded by giving thousands of free puzzles to hospitals, charities and community projects; providing free quizzes and puzzles online; and ensuring all UK subscriptions were postage free. We created a special magazine in collaboration with ‘The People’s Friend’ that went to all UK care homes, and in just eight days we compiled a new family-based magazine that raised over £18,000 for the NHS. This led to us winning both Covid Hero of the Year and Team of the Year at the national Newspaper & Magazine Awards.