Most people who use LinkedIn use it for the connections, the job opportunities, or other “normal” LinkedIn activities. I, however, have been introduced to the true hidden gems of LinkedIn that have flown under the typical user’s radar for far too long. Tucked in the “LinkedIn News” section on the desktop website, or a swipe left on their app, users can find the “Puzzle Games” section, with seven addictive games that have new puzzles each day.
While the puzzle section began with the mere three games of Pinpoint, Crossclimb, and Queens, it has since grown to include the Tango, Zip, Mini Sudoku, and most recently, Patches. An avid player of the games (and with multiple 100+ day streaks on some of the games), I believe myself to be qualified to rank these games, from worst to best.
#7 Pinpoint
Pinpoint is a word pattern game, where, with up to five clues, players must find the category that best connects the words. It starts with only one clue, then more appear after failed guesses. Players are then ranked/scored based on how many guesses it took for them to discover the category.
I’ve only played this game a couple times, and it’s just not for me. I’m not a huge fan of word games, and sometimes the categories are weirdly specific. I’d much rather play the other games LinkedIn has to offer.
#6 Crossclimb
Crossclimb is somewhat similar to Pinpoint, in that they’re both word games, but otherwise, it’s hard to find shared characteristics. In this game, there are five “main” words, all with the same number of letters, and each one has their own individual clue. After filling in all the words, players must organize them so between each word, only one letter changes. For example, if the first word is “bold” the next could be “sold” or “bald,” but not “best.” Once all five words in the middle are filled in and organized correctly, the top and bottom rows are unlocked and show a common clue between both words.
While I would rather play Crossclimb than Pinpoint, neither are ones I have streaks in. Crossclimb is just okay; I have no strong feelings toward it. Just not my favorite, and sometimes the words are a little too niche for me. As you might be able to tell, I don’t tend to be a big fan of word games.
#5 Mini Sudoku
The Mini Sudoku is exactly what the name says: a miniature version of sudoku. Instead of a board with nine numbers, the Mini only has six.
I do like the Mini Sudoku, however, my mom always absolutely mogs my time so I have to avoid it to keep my ego somewhat intact. The only way I can even try to come close to her time is to complete it on my computer, and most of the time I do the puzzles in the morning on my phone since they’re pretty annoying to find on the desktop website.
#4 Patches
Patches is a newer game, introduced just a few weeks ago. The game’s objective is to fill the board by creating colored boxes filling the amount of spaces on the board according to the number from which the box must begin. It sounds confusing, but it’s really quite simple.
Despite their novelty, I do quite enjoy the Patches games. I like getting to see the board fill with colorful rectangles and I tend to beat the average scores pretty easily, which makes me feel good about myself.
#3 Queens
Queens’ objective is to fill the board with one queen in each row and column, with no queen touching diagonally. The catch? The board is filled with patterns of different colored squares, and only one queen can be placed in each colored section. Unviable squares can be filled with x’s, although they are optional (for speedrunners and the like).
Queens is always my second choice game to play, but honestly, sometimes they’re quite challenging. I’m not ashamed to admit that sometimes I unabashedly use the hints just to fill out the board so I can keep my streak. But the satisfaction from solving the puzzle is quite unmatched! I’ve become so connected to it I even tried finding community-made versions of the puzzle, but they’re all unfortunately blocked on the school computers, so I can’t play them in my AP Government class :(. This gets ranked third simply because of my use of hints occasionally lowering the joy of the game.
#2 Tango
Tango consists of a 6×6 board, and the goal is to fill each column and row with exactly three moons and three suns each. The board already has certain squares filled, and can have operators like “=” or “x” meaning the connected squares are either the same shape (=) or opposite shapes (x).
I really like the Tango. Some days it requires quite a bit more thinking than I’m used to, as I usually tend to guess and get lucky on most of the puzzles when I’m stuck. However, the ending winning animation is absolutely incredible (the entire board sparkles!) and I have a rule for myself where I nearly never use hints.
#1 Zip
In the Zip, players draw lines between numbered dots (somewhat like Connect the Dots). Occasionally there will be walls forcing the lines to confine to a certain path, and in order to win, the path must take up the entire board.
Undoubtedly, this is the best game LinkedIn offers. I compete in this daily with my brother, who is an absolute unit at this game—he’ll show me his leaderboard where his entire friend group will play it and he will almost always be 2+ seconds ahead of everyone. Whenever I beat his score I immediately have to brag to my parents (and him) to make sure everyone knows I defeated him. 10/10 game, brings out my competitive side.