I recently caught up with Ben Huxter from Minimega to talk about where the puzzle‑loving company is headed, and how Bonza Jigsaw Crossword managed to find its way into so many retail outlets. Simple enough… except there was a twist.
The interview was conducted by Ben. Interviewing Ben.
That meant at various points the conversation involved sentences like, “So Ben, what inspired you?” followed immediately by, “Great question, Ben.” It was confusing, mildly chaotic, and honestly a little bit perfect for a discussion about puzzles.
Name-related identity crises aside, this was a genuinely fascinating chat with Minimega’s resident puzzle master. We dug into the thinking behind Bonza’s continued success, how Minimega approaches design in a crowded puzzle space, and what’s next for a studio that’s quietly carved out a unique place in both digital and physical retail.
Two Bens. One interview. No name tags were harmed in the making of this conversation.
I know Bonza started as a crossword game, both digitally and as a physical game. What is it about words and crosswords in particular?
Ben Huxter: I like the playfulness of words and how meanings can change in different contexts. I also love grid-based spatial puzzles (like Tetris). Crosswords are a mix of both.
With your jigsaw crossword, you have reached a whole new audience. Was that something that came naturally to merge these two forms or did that grow from something else?
It grew from something else, actually. At first, I thought it was gonna be a board game. But after prototyping, I found a bunch of usability issues. I ended up designing little “tabs” to hold the pieces together. That’s when I realised it wasn’t actually a board game, it was a jigsaw puzzle.
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Ben explains how he went from making a board game to making a jigsaw puzzle in this Instagram post.
It’s awesome that these are available in mainstream stores. Was it hard to get them into Kmart?
We partnered with MJM Australia, a puzzle distributor based in Melbourne. They saw the potential of the product and encouraged the major retailers to come onboard.
I see you sponsor the Australian Jigsaw team – I didn’t know there was competitive Jigsaw! How did that come about?
After realising the product was actually a Jigsaw Puzzle, I reached out to the Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association. They were amazing and invited me to attend the National Comp in Sydney, I took some prototypes and did some real-life playtesting. I fell in love with the community and Australian speedpuzzling. We were super proud to support the Aussie All Stars at the World Jigsaw Puzzle Comp this year.
Ben and team, upon realising they were making a jigsaw puzzle, took the concept to the National Jigsaw Competition in Sydney. As always, playtesting is the best way to develop a concept in gaming. Bonza support the Australian Jigsaw Puzzle team.
I see your latest game venture is aligned with Netflix. That is awesome. Where did that idea come from?
Netflix had the idea to create a daily puzzle hub. They loved Bonza puzzles and asked to work together.
What’s the gameplay for Netflix Puzzled?
It’s a daily puzzle hub with word, logic and visual puzzles.
Did you reach out to Netflix, like did you have the idea and pitched it to them, or did they come to you?
They approached us with an interest in Bonza puzzles. We made a creative proposal and went from there.
I see that Puzzled has a lot of crossovers with Netflix IP. Was that hard to manage, or did Netflix have set ideas, or were you able to be free in your interpretation?
We collaborated closely with the Netflix team to nail the tone for each property.
What advice would you give to other designers on working with a large media company like Netflix?
They have a lot of super-talented people. If you get the chance to work with people like that, take notes and learn from their expertise.
What’s next for Minimega and the world of puzzles?
We’ll keep supporting Bonza Puzzles, both digital and physical. We’d like to explore distribution in other regions, different languages, maybe? Working with licensed properties was so much fun; we’d love to do more of that.
Read our review of Bonza’s Crossword Puzzle
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