How to play LinkedIn Mini Sudoku
Unofficial hints. Not affiliated with LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Mini Sudoku is a 6×6 sudoku. The grid is split into six boxes of two rows by three columns, and each row, column and box has to hold the digits 1 to 6 exactly once. You are given a handful of digits to start from and the rest follows by elimination.
The smaller grid changes how it feels rather than making it trivial. With six cells to a box, a single placed digit rules out a whole sixth of that box at once, so answers arrive in chains: place one digit and two or three more usually follow within a move or two. If grids are new to you, this is a friendly place to begin.
LinkedIn Mini Sudoku at a glance
- Board
- A 6×6 grid in six boxes of two rows by three columns
- Goal
- The digits 1 to 6 exactly once in every row, column and box
- New puzzle
- Every day at 12:00 AM (Los Angeles), 2:00 AM (New York), 7:00 AM (London), 12:30 PM (New Delhi) All reset times
- Where to play
- LinkedIn app and website, in the Games section
- Price
- Free with a LinkedIn account
The rules
- The board is 6×6, split into six boxes of 2 rows × 3 columns.
- Each row, each column and each box must contain the numbers 1 to 6 exactly once.
How a game goes, step by step
- Start by hunting hidden singles. Pick a digit and a box, then check which of the box's empty cells already have that digit somewhere in their row or column; when only one cell survives, that cell is the digit.
- Write the digit in and immediately rescan the row, the column and the box it landed in. On a grid this small, one placement often forces the next two.
- When singles dry up, look for a naked pair: two cells sharing a row, column or box that both hold the same two candidates and nothing else. Those digits are spoken for, so strike them from every other cell in that line or box.
- Then check the boxes against the lines. If a digit's last candidates in a box all sit in one row, that digit can be struck from that row everywhere outside the box, and the same trick works down a column.
- Cycle through the three checks — singles, pairs, box interactions — until the grid fills. Most boards need nothing deeper than that.
Three tips for your first games
- Write your candidates into the empty cells instead of holding them in your head. The oblong boxes create eliminations that are easy to overlook otherwise.
- Work the rows and boxes that are almost full first. They have the fewest options left and tend to cascade into the boxes above and below them.
- If you genuinely run out of forced moves, test a cell with two candidates rather than three, follow the consequences, and switch to the other candidate as soon as a digit is needed twice in one line.
Questions about LinkedIn Mini Sudoku
How is Mini Sudoku different from an ordinary sudoku?
Same idea, less board: six digits instead of nine, and boxes of two rows by three columns rather than square ones. The oblong boxes are the real difference, because such a box overlaps two rows and three columns, which creates eliminations a square box would never give you.
What is a hidden single?
A digit that has just one legal home left inside a row, column or box — even when that cell still shows two or three candidates of its own. You find them by scanning one digit at a time instead of juggling every candidate in a cell, which is why it tends to be the quickest technique to apply.
Do I ever need to guess in Mini Sudoku?
Rarely. Hidden singles, naked pairs and box interactions clear most boards on their own. If nothing at all is forced, testing a two-candidate cell is cheap here, because a wrong branch runs into a contradiction within a move or two on so few cells.
When does a new LinkedIn Mini Sudoku puzzle come out?
LinkedIn releases every game's new puzzle at midnight Pacific Time. Right now that is 12:00 AM (Los Angeles), 2:00 AM (New York), 7:00 AM (London), 12:30 PM (New Delhi). The puzzle is the same for every player in the world and stays up until the next reset.
Is LinkedIn Mini Sudoku free?
Yes. LinkedIn Mini Sudoku is free to play with a LinkedIn account, in the LinkedIn app and on the website. You'll find it in the Games section.
What happens to my streak if I miss a day?
A streak counts consecutive days on which you finished the puzzle, so a missed day starts it again from zero. Playing soon after the reset is the safest way to keep it; if you're stuck, our daily page reveals one hint at a time so you can finish without seeing the whole solution.
Can I play older LinkedIn Mini Sudoku puzzles?
LinkedIn only shows the current day's puzzle. Our archive keeps the hints and the solution for every past puzzle we covered, so you can check a day you missed.