LinkedIn was launched in 2003 by cofounders Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly, after which the app gradually built up its user base; by 2004, it reported one million users, by 2007, 10 million. Today, with more than one billion registered accounts and millions of daily users, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform.
Many know LinkedIn as merely a platform to support their job search: connecting eager job-seekers to hiring managers across countless industries and locations. Up until recently, so did I. Logging into the app meant scrolling through minimum-wage job offers, mindlessly applying without expecting a response, maybe even updating my resume template with my (many) skills.
That is, until I discovered LinkedIn had another, much more wonderful, use. Specifically, the Games hub. Since the initial release in 2024, LinkedIn has amassed its Games section to seven games: Pinpoint, Crossclimb, Queens, Tango, Mini Sudoku, Zip, and, most recently, Patches.
While some users question the purpose of adding an entertainment element to a platform meant for networking, LinkedIn has explained a hidden value behind the games. “Games on LinkedIn are daily, thinking-oriented games that allow you to compete with your network, spark conversations, and break the ice — all while exercising your mind in just a few minutes,” a help article on LinkedIn said. These games can also fit well into user’s routines that already include checking LinkedIn. “[LinkedIn Games are] an easier and more natural way for me to warm up my brain while I’m already checking messages and updates,” senior Nathan Yee said.
After playing my first game on LinkedIn, I was hooked. Similar to the New York Times (NYT) Games, new games are released at midnight, limiting users to one puzzle a day. LinkedIn also added an option to share your scores with other game-playing “connections” (users that have requested to “friend” you, in other words). “The scoreboard feature makes it more engaging because I can see how I stack up against people I know,” Yee said.
Not only that, but users are encouraged to build a daily streak, where they are rewarded with titles such as “superstar” and “champion” for reaching milestones ranging from playing a game one day to 1,000 days in a row.
These aspects, shared by every game offered on LinkedIn, as well as being reflected in various other minigame platforms, contribute to the addictive nature of the puzzles. From my own experience, I have grown to like these games even more than the NYT ones (shocking, I know). While the two platforms’ games share some similarities, such as the sudoku, they do have some apparent differences that might cater to one person’s preferences over another’s. For example, LinkedIn’s games mainly focus on logic and are typically solvable within two or so minutes. In contrast, NYT games are generally language-based and significantly more challenging.
After ranking and reviewing each NYT game last year, I feel adequately prepared to apply my (completely accurate and correct) viewpoint and review these games, as well.
- Tango
This game’s goal is to completely fill the six-by-six grid with sun and moon icons, where no more than two suns or moons can touch vertically or horizontally. Each row and column must also contain the same amount of suns and moons. Tango took a while to grow on me — I often found myself stuck and confused (mostly because I kept forgetting the rules). Eventually, though, I learned certain patterns to look out for and was automatically able to fill in the squares. Once the game started feeling easier, I, of course, liked it more. Apparently, enough to bestow upon it the title of… Best LinkedIn Game!
- Patches
Patches is a fairly recent release. It was introduced on LinkedIn on March 19, and is similar to NYT’s Pips game. Players aim to fill the board with colorful squares or rectangles, given the shape and sometimes the amount of boxes each shape is meant to fill. Patches is a fairly quick and fun game, and I find it enjoyable to see the boxes come together to fill the board perfectly.
- Queens
Queens, also known as Two Not Touch or Star Battle, is a game where one places one crown in every row, column, and colored shape (made up of one or more squares). Two crowns cannot touch another adjacently, including diagonally. This game fell considerably in my rankings after I downloaded multiple apps solely meant for this game and played an embarrassing amount of hours on them before finally deciding that enough was enough and I should limit myself to one game a day, via LinkedIn. Still, Queens is a fun game.
- Zip
Zip is a game where players must connect the numbered dots scattered across the board in order, and in one continuous line that cannot overlap itself. I found this game to be frequently frustrating, since I so often took one wrong turn at the beginning that I only realized later on, and would then have to backtrack and redo the whole thing. However, on my good days, Zip is wonderful and gives a great sense of accomplishment.
- Mini sudoku
Sudoku is a classic, where players fill in each number one through six (normally one through nine, but this one is mini) in each row, column, and two-by-three box. I like the game, but if I want to play sudoku, I would usually rather play the NYT ones. Their version of sudoku has the typical nine-by-nine grid and, additionally, three difficulty levels (I only ever do the easiest level, but I still like having the choice).
- Crossclimb
Crossclimb is a word ladder game where players are given seven hints for seven words, and each word changes by one letter between each “rung” of the ladder. LinkedIn changes this format slightly by scrambling the order of the words, and unveiling two extra words at the end after the first five are successfully solved and put in the correct order. I enjoy this format when I easily get the hints, but it can be difficult when unscrambling the ladder with only three out of five available words.
- Pinpoint
Pinpoint’s goal is to guess the category that the day’s words all fall under. However, players are given one word at a time. This game is so hard, which makes it less fun for me. Thus, it receives the lowest ranking in this review.
