Puzzle magazines have grown strongly through the COVID-19 year, with more than two million Australians now reading them monthly.

The total has increased an exceptional 492,000 – up 30.8 per cent for over-14-year-olds – on a year ago, according to new research from Roy Morgan.

Morgan says the growth is driven by millennials and Generation Z.

Leading puzzle magazines are often closely associated with a higher circulation magazine and help to raise the profile and readership of the primary magazine.

Puzzle magazines measured include Take 5 Mega Puzzler, Take 5 Pocket Puzzler, Australian Women's Weekly Puzzle Book, Woman's Day Superpuzzler, Better Homes and Gardens Puzzle Book, That's Life Bumper Puzzle, That's Life Puzzler on the Go, New Idea Jumbo Puzzler, New Idea Mr. Wisdom's Whopper and Lovatts Puzzle Magazines.

Women are the most avid readers of puzzle magazines – now read by 1,268,000 women, up 173,000 ( 15.8 per cent) from a year ago. However, readership of puzzle magazines by men has increased far faster and is up by 320,000 (63.5 per cent) to 824,000.

The readership figures are based on personal interviews with more than 60,000 Australians over the last 12 months including around 5000 interviews each month.