In LinkedIn Queens you place one crown in every row, every column and every coloured region of the grid. The catch is that no two crowns can touch, not even diagonally, and a new puzzle appears every day at midnight Pacific Time.
Queens is the LinkedIn game people seem to love and hate in equal measure. It looks simple, then you hit a grid where every region seems to need the same square. Once you know the rules and a couple of habits, it's far less frustrating.
Everything below comes from LinkedIn's own help page for Queens, plus a few solving habits that follow from those rules.
The three rules
- Each row has exactly one crown.
- Each column has exactly one crown.
- Each coloured region has exactly one crown.
On top of that, crowns can't sit in adjacent cells, and LinkedIn spells out that this includes diagonals. That diagonal rule is the one that catches most people out on their first few games.
How placing works
Clicking or tapping a cell cycles it through three states: empty, an X mark and a crown. The X is your own note that a crown can't go there. You start with an empty grid after tapping Start game.
- Open Queens from the Games hub, My Network or LinkedIn search.
- Tap Start game.
- Tap a cell once to mark it with an X.
- Tap again to place a crown.
- Tap again to clear the cell.
- Keep going until every row, column and region has its single crown.
The help buttons and settings
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hint | Highlights a region where a crown must go, or points out wrong placements |
| Undo | Removes your last placement |
| Clear | Removes every crown and X from the grid |
| Auto-check (Settings) | Highlights rule breaks; cells get red stripes when there are too many crowns |
| Auto-place X's (Settings) | Marks cells that can't hold a crown, based on the crowns you've placed |
Auto-place X's saves a lot of tapping. Once a crown is down, every cell it rules out is crossed off for you, which makes the next move much easier to spot.
A simple way to solve it faster
These aren't official tips, just what follows from the rules once you've played a few:
- Start with the smallest region. If a region only has one or two cells, its crown has very few places to go.
- Look for a region that sits entirely in one row or column. That row or column is then spoken for, so you can cross off every other cell in it.
- Use the touching rule. A crown wipes out all eight cells around it, so after each placement check what's left in nearby regions.
- When two regions are squeezed into the same two rows, those two rows belong to them, so cross out everything else in those rows.
- Guess only as a last resort, and use Undo straight away if it breaks a rule.
If you like this kind of thinking away from LinkedIn, there's a list of logic puzzle games for keeping your brain sharp worth a look.
Mistakes that waste the most time
- Forgetting the diagonal. Two crowns in neighbouring rows can still clash if they sit corner to corner.
- Placing a crown just because a row looks empty. Check the region rule too, because a region that's already got its crown rules out every other cell inside it.
- Ignoring your X marks. They're there to save you rechecking the same cells, so use them freely.
- Pressing Clear when Undo would do. Clear wipes every crown and X, which throws away all your good deductions along with the bad one.
Most slow Queens games come down to one of those four, not to a hard grid. The fix is the same every time: slow down, check all three rules plus the touching rule before each crown, and let your X marks do the remembering. It feels slower at first, but you'll finish faster because you won't be unpicking a wrong crown five moves later.
What your results page shows
When you finish, LinkedIn shows your score against averages for all members, your company, CEOs and other groups. You'll also see your streak, reminders for the next puzzle, the leaderboard if you're eligible, and that day's discussion post. From there you can jump to games you haven't played yet.
Missed yesterday's puzzle?
You can't go back. LinkedIn says previous puzzles expire at midnight Pacific Time and can't be played after that. If you want to keep a streak going, that's your daily deadline, which in the UK lands early in the morning.
Playing as a guest
You don't need an account to play Queens, but a guest score is deleted after 30 minutes and you can't keep a streak or see the leaderboards. Sign in before that half hour runs out and LinkedIn keeps your result.
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Is Queens just the eight queens puzzle?
It borrows the idea of placing pieces so they don't clash, but the coloured regions make it a different puzzle. Every region needing exactly one crown is what gives each day's grid its shape, and it's why the smallest region is usually your way in.
My advice
Switch on Auto-place X's, start every grid with the smallest region and don't forget the diagonal rule. Keep Hint for when you're stuck, because it's quicker than staring at a grid for five minutes. And if you're sharing your time, tag the colleague you're competing with, because that's half the fun.
This guide is part of my LinkedIn Help: 28 Guides to Profile Views, Impressions, Algorithm and Account Fixes.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of LinkedIn Queens?
Place one crown in every row, column and coloured region, and make sure no two crowns touch, including diagonally.
Can queens touch diagonally in LinkedIn Queens?
No. LinkedIn's help page says crowns can't be placed in adjacent cells, including diagonally.
How do you place an X in Queens?
Tap a cell once for an X, twice for a crown and a third time to clear it.
What does Auto-place X's do?
It automatically marks cells that can't hold a crown, based on the crowns you've already placed.
When does a new Queens puzzle come out?
Every day at midnight Pacific Time, when the previous puzzle expires.
Can I play old Queens puzzles?
No. LinkedIn says previous puzzles expire at midnight Pacific Time and can no longer be played.
