Earlier this year, an independent app researcher uncovered the fact that LinkedIn, the job searching and professional networking platform, had several potential puzzle games in the works.
The first three of those games are now here.
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Head to the LinkedIn games page and you’ll see three offerings. In Pinpoint, the game reveals clues one by one and players try to identify the common bond. Crossclimb is a trivia game where players discover four-letter answers to questions and then arrange those answers in a certain order. Queens is a Sudoku-style game where players try to fit crown icons into the correct spots.
LinkedIn says each game should only take a few minutes to play, making them perfect for a commute or a quick work break.
Like Wordle and other popular games from the New York Times, users can only play once a day.
If you’re competitive, you’ll perhaps enjoy what happens after you’ve played the games for a while. First, you’ll see which of your connections have also played – but you won’t see their scores unless they share it. You’ll also see school leaderboards that let you compete against your old rivals (my results page did indeed show another member of my college’s athletic conference) and company leaderboards that let you compete against other companies in your industry.
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Who’s behind the games? Turns out, there are some pretty notable names.
LinkedIn Games editor Paolo Pasco, who will create the daily Pinpoints and Crossclimbs games, is the current American Crossword Puzzle Tournament champion, former assistant crossword editor for the Atlantic, and crossword puzzle book author. Queens will be headed by several creators, the company says; this month’s creator is Thomas Snyder, three-time world Sudoku champion.
LinkedIn notes that the news team will make daily posts about the games, giving users the chance to engage, discover tips and tricks, talk to the creators, and more.
