LinkedIn is probably one of the last places you’d expect to encounter games. But the professional social networking is incorporating some puzzle-like fun to help drive traffic.
Microsoft-owned LinkedIn today launched three games on the platform; it comes after a user spotted the company testing the game experiences back in March.
The decision may seem weird since the professional social network is perhaps best known for facilitating serious business connections. But in a blog post, LinkedIn executives said the gaming experience is intended to spur more interaction among users across the platform.
(Credit: LinkedIn)“We want to give people a way to exercise their brains while taking a quick break, but also give people a reason to connect with others,” says LinkedIn VP Daniel Roth. “We hope that these games spark banter, conversations, and even a healthy bit of competition among professionals around the world.”
Users can try the games at linkedin.com/games and share their scores on LinkedIn. But don’t expect much action or adventure. The games are closer to a crossword puzzle or Wordle, feature bare-bones graphics, and should take only a few minutes per day to complete.
The social network is starting with three games. Crossclimb and Pinpoint involve making trivia-based guesses to complete a puzzle while Queens is a logic game about placing chess pieces in the correct arrangement across an 8-by-8 board.
Roth added: “You’ll be able to play each game once a day, see other connections who have played that day and engage in some friendly rivalry with leaderboards.”
