LinkedIn Introduces Mini Sudoku: A Nostalgic and Competitive Puzzle for Professional Network Users
Professional networking giant LinkedIn introduces a new addition to its platform – Mini Sudoku, a condensed version of the classic number-placement puzzle game. With over 1.2 billion users, the miniature game is designed to be quick and engaging, offering a fresh take on the traditional 9×9 grid for completion in just two to three minutes.
According to Lakshman Somasundaram, senior director of product at LinkedIn, the company seeks to avoid lengthy puzzles that may detract from users’ professional activities. He stated, “We aim to provide a puzzle experience within LinkedIn, but not one that consumes extensive amounts of time.”
Mini Sudoku holds potential for fostering competition among colleagues, friends, and family members, as well as stimulating interaction between users. As with other games on the platform, Mini Sudoku increases in difficulty throughout the week.
First introduced last year, LinkedIn’s gaming options aim to enrich user experience and facilitate conversation. Millions of people play LinkedIn’s games every day, with peak activity occurring at 7 a.m. ET. Gen Z demographic represents the largest group of players, with 86% returning daily and 82% continuing to engage weekly.
LinkedIn’s expansion continues, having been acquired by Microsoft in 2016 for $27 billion. Revenue grew approximately 9% to reach $4.6 billion in the latest quarter, while membership surged to 1.2 billion users. Despite LinkedIn’s growth, Meta’s social networks claim a larger user base, with a combined 3.5 billion daily users and a 22% revenue increase.
Distinctive from Meta, LinkedIn offers recruiters tools for identifying potential candidates and enables job seekers to apply for listed positions on the site. Additionally, LinkedIn features a personalized video feed similar to Google’s YouTube, TikTok, Meta’s Facebook, and Instagram.
The development of Mini Sudoku resulted from a collaboration between LinkedIn, Japanese publisher Nikoli (popularizer of Sudoku), and three-time World Sudoku Championship winner Thomas Snyder, who has contributed to the hint feature and constructed some puzzles for the game. Snyder’s solutions for each day’s puzzle will be demonstrated in videos as well.
Originating from architect Howard Garns in 1979 under the name “Number Place,” Sudoku gained traction after Nikoli published a version called “Suji wa dokushin ni kagiru” (meaning “The numbers must be single”) in their Puzzle Communication Nikoli magazine. Readers soon abbreviated the puzzle’s name, dubbing it Sudoku.
Nikoli began licensing Sudoku puzzles to more than 100 media companies worldwide, including The New York Times and various other newspapers during the mid-2000s. Today, Sudoku is featured on The New York Times’ NYT Games app, boasting 10 million daily users.
Mini Sudoku will be available exclusively on LinkedIn each day, with selected puzzles potentially being republished in the future.