Pedja Banovic joins me for the last Meet Your Maker of 2025. The author of A Compendium of Meta-Puzzles, a hit with puzzlers worldwide, has a wealth of experience creating original puzzles. In this interview, he discusses how the book came into existence, his puzzling journey and his favourite puzzle designers. He also teases some details about his next project!
(Meet Your Maker is an interview series featuring creators of puzzle and mystery games and experiences from across the globe. We aim to shine a spotlight on both established creators and those who are just setting out on their journey. Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.)
Please introduce yourself!
I am Pedja Banovic, a puzzle author with a passion for collecting, studying and analyzing puzzles from around the world. I was born in Belgrade, Serbia, spent part of my life in Valencia, Spain, and now live in Berlin, Germany, with my partner. I create mostly classic pen-and-paper puzzles, such as crosswords, logic problems, visual puzzles and different kinds of word games, mostly in Spanish and English, though I’ve worked in German and Serbian too. Apart from puzzles, I’m fascinated by anything that involves mystery – whether it’s in literature, film, art or history.
You have over 20 years of experience creating puzzles. Can you talk a little about your puzzle journey?
I was obsessed with puzzles even as a kid, so at the age of nine, I co-presented a children’s radio show, where I hosted my own 10-minute puzzle segment. Each week, I introduced a different type – crosswords, anagrams, cryptograms. I also created puzzles for a kids’ magazine at that time.
Serious collaborations with important publishers started about 23 years ago. The best part of these collaborations was always new puzzle types: I invented more than 50 original formats, many of which became popular in Spain and were published widely. In later years, I began creating in English for UK and US audiences, which is now my main focus.
What makes a great puzzle?
For me, the best puzzles are those that involve some kind of intrigue, the ones that awaken curiosity and make you really want to know the answer. I also love it when the solving experience produces a strong “aha!” moment. That burst of satisfaction when a seemingly impossible task suddenly resolves into a beautifully clear, coherent solution is priceless. And I always appreciate puzzles with an element of surprise, the ones that give you something rewarding and unexpected at the end.
A Compendium of Meta-Puzzles is my favourite puzzle book of the year. How has the reception been in general?
Thank you so much, that really means a lot. The reception has been great so far! Readers keep contacting me through different social media to share how much they enjoyed the book. This is my first book (until now all my works have been published only in magazines and newspapers), so for me it’s really exciting to have all this feedback and contact with the readers. And I absolutely share the joy with them because I really had lots of fun working on the book. I’ve also had great reactions from other puzzle creators, which I value enormously.
Was the book commissioned, or did you pitch it?
I pitched the book. Actually, the project I pitched was a bit broader; it was supposed to be a collection of both meta-puzzles and standalone puzzles (one per page) with the common feature that they were all without instructions. My editor, Francis Heaney at Puzzlewright Press, suggested focusing just on the meta-puzzle format. And that was a good decision because it gave the book a unique identity and drew more attention to this new concept of meta-puzzle sets.
I saved the single puzzles for other projects (some of them have been published in Games World of Puzzles in the meantime), and I finished a total of 22 themed meta-puzzle sets for the book. One additional meta-puzzle, similar to the ones in the book, was published in the Holiday Issue of Games World of Puzzles last year.
Where do you even start with creating something like this?
I travel quite a lot, so every time I’m in a new country, I look for puzzle books and magazines, because they often contain unusual local puzzle types and original ideas I haven’t seen elsewhere. Sometimes, if I don’t know the language, or if the puzzles are written in a script I can’t even read, I’ll find myself staring at a complex puzzle, trying to guess how it works without any understanding of the text. That gave me the idea – wouldn’t it be fun to create puzzles where solvers have to figure out the rules for themselves? Escape rooms were also a big influence, since they, too, are puzzles without instructions, and that’s what makes them exciting. So these were my inspirations.
Then, during the times of the pandemic, like many people, I had a bit more free time – so all these ideas came together and I suddenly knew how I wanted the book to look and feel. I escaped from Berlin, which during the pandemic was a cold and boring place, to Gran Canaria for a whole winter, and I completed most of the puzzles there.
How did you approach creating a meta-puzzle set?
I worked from three main lists of ideas. The first list contained puzzle mechanisms for smaller elements, sorted by solution length – from long phrases to single words or even single letters. In the second list, I collected the potential themes and final solution phrases. The third list contained the most precious ideas – the key mechanisms which reveal final answers; I tried to make them all different and fun. These “final reveal” mechanisms usually served as the starting point for each set, and then I would draw from the other two lists to build the rest around them.
Is it more difficult to playtest a meta-puzzle? Is each puzzle tested in isolation first?
I tested the meta-puzzles as complete sets, since discovering the correct starting point is an essential part of the solving process. Testing them separately would have taken away that sense of discovery. I had a small but dedicated team of testers while working on the book, and their feedback was invaluable. Since the book’s release, I’ve connected with many new puzzle fans, and I’m sure some of them will help with future projects.
I’m very keen for a sequel to this book – is one coming?
I would love to do it, and I’m already collecting the ideas and making some drafts. I hope there will be a sequel, but if it doesn’t happen, these new meta-puzzles will be published in some other way for sure.
Do you have any other projects in the works?
Yes – too many! I started two self-published puzzle book series (mostly with crosswords): Club Enigma (in Spanish) and Zybius (in English, for the UK audience). I’m also working on a new book that I hope will be interesting for the fans of A Compendium of Meta-Puzzles. Instead of smaller sets of puzzles, this book will be a single, large, interconnected puzzle experience, framed by an introductory story with the feel of a mystery thriller. I’d like to make the readers super intrigued by the story, and the only way to uncover the ending will be by solving the entire book. And unlike my previous book, I’m planning not to include solutions at the back — to make it even more immersive.
Do you play a lot of puzzles, or does it feel too much like ‘work’?
Creating puzzles does not feel like work to me; it feels more like playing. Of course, deadlines can add stress, but if I have enough time, I absolutely enjoy the creation. That’s what makes the puzzles come out good at the end. So of course, apart from creating them, I love solving them too. I especially like discovering creative and unusual puzzle ideas. I love escape rooms and board games too.
Are books your preferred medium for puzzles, or have you been tempted to create a boxed experience or physical escape room? What themes would you be drawn to?
I’d love to do both, and I’m sure some of my ideas could translate really well into those formats. I enjoy trying new things, and I’m open to collaborations! As for themes, I love playing with all kinds of settings – detectives, spies, secret societies, dystopian futures – as you can see in the book. All classic tropes can be fun if done in a new way.
Who are some of your favourite puzzle creators?
I admire the work of Eric Berlin in the US. He produces some interesting crossword variations and word games. In the UK, Alex Bellos has published some amazing puzzle collections. I also enjoyed The Master Theorem by the mysterious author known only as “M.” But if I had to pick one all-time book favourite, it would be the GCHQ Puzzle Book. It inspired me a lot and introduced me to some wild techniques that really pushed me as a solver. It’s really, really difficult.
Do you have any final words?
I’d like to thank you for running such a great website – it’s a fantastic resource for both creators and fans of immersive puzzle experiences. This genre is constantly evolving, and your site is a perfect place to stay up to date with all the amazing new projects out there. Keep up the excellent work!
Thank you!
A huge thanks to Pedja for this interview – it is always great to meet people with such an innate passion for puzzles. As a result of this interview, Pedja has taken the time to create some new social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook. He plans to share some of his previously unpublished puzzles here, as well as post updates on any upcoming projects. If you love a puzzle, make sure to give him a follow (links below)!
With the holidays fast approaching, I couldn’t think of a more perfect gift for puzzlers than A Compendium of Meta-Puzzles. I recommend it to people at every opportunity and will continue to do so! You can pick up your own copy of the book by clicking one of the links below!
Follow Pedja online
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