Tango, a puzzle game developed by LinkedIn, has been successful following the success of Queens.

• In May, LinkedIn launched three casual games with the aim of encouraging users to engage in fun activities and build connections.
• Tango, a new title similar to LinkedIn's popular "Queens," is now being rolled out by the platform.
• As the week advances, the game will become increasingly difficult, starting off easy on Mondays.

Emily Ritter now includes LinkedIn in her morning routine, which involves spending 15 minutes in bed checking her Instagram, Messages, Slack, and Strava apps and playing Connections and Strands games on her phone.

A marketing executive at San Francisco-based startup Front, named Ritter, stumbled upon a logic puzzle called Queens two months ago through a promotion on LinkedIn.

"Ritter described the activity as a fun brainteaser that allows for relaxation while being engaging."

In May, LinkedIn launched its first three games, and among them, Queens has gained the most popularity.

The company is launching its fourth game, Tango, on Tuesday. In this logic puzzle, players must fill in a grid with suns and moons based on specific rules.

Despite being among the top 100 apps on iOS in the U.S., LinkedIn lags behind other social apps like TikTok, Instagram, and X, as well as services such as Facebook, according to industry researcher Sensor Tower.

Microsoft has a successful games business, generating $22 billion in annual revenue, which it has been developing since it introduced its first Xbox console in 2001.

Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn did not include gaming for the first seven years until the Activision deal. Daniel Roth, LinkedIn's editor-in-chief, explains that the games are meant to be played in small doses, such as at the beginning of the day or as a brief break between tasks. The goal is to start discussions with colleagues and peers in the industry.

Roth stated, "You progress from your game score to other aspects."

The newspaper publisher experienced a surge in new users and subscribers following the acquisition of the viral word game Wordle, which was part of a familiar model that offered eight games.

Microsoft's revenue-generating platform, LinkedIn, does not plan to charge individuals to play its games, according to a spokesperson. In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, LinkedIn generated $16 billion in revenue, which accounts for approximately 7% of Microsoft's total revenue.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated on the company's July earnings call that the unit continues to experience accelerated member growth and record engagement, just months after membership surpassed the 1 billion mark.

This year, LinkedIn has been active, introducing AI features to aid job seekers and students in its online courses. Additionally, it has been adding a TikTok-like video feature to its mobile app.

In the U.S., LinkedIn published its eighth annual list of the top 50 large companies to work at.

Games, whether through banter, recreational sports or happy hours, are a crucial element of the best workplaces, according to Lakshman Somasundaram, the LinkedIn product management director in charge of games.

"He emphasized that LinkedIn should reflect the atmosphere of the world's top workplaces, not just meetings and paperwork."

According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn in September, 83% of the 900 members surveyed stated that the site's game was their favorite.

Thomas Snyder, the architect of Queens, explained that the game requires players to place one crown emoji in each row and column of a grid, which is similar to Sudoku. Snyder, a scientist who won the 2018 World Puzzle Championship, designed the game.

'Sooner give up my left arm'

Joe Weinman, a former executive in New Jersey, has maintained his streak of solving Queens for 46 days in a row. However, he missed one day and his streak would have been 90 if he had not forgotten to play, he stated in a LinkedIn message.

He wrote that he would rather lose his left arm than give up Queens, and he used to use LinkedIn once a week.

In July, Somasundaram began posting daily videos on a dedicated page for Queens, offering solutions to the game. These videos attracted hundreds of comments.

Somasundaram said he plans to produce videos about Tango.

Queens videos have been watched by Ritter, and she stated that she has learned to solve the puzzles efficiently.

Ritter wrote on LinkedIn that she had figured out some tricks and would enjoy new challenging games.

LinkedIn's new logic game was developed with a set of principles proposed by employees, which were reviewed by Snyder. He then provided feedback and suggested modifications, according to Paolo Pasco, the editor of LinkedIn games who has also created crossword puzzles for The New York Times.

The goal of Tango is to ensure that every row and column in the grid have the same number of suns and moons. No more than two of the same symbol can be adjacent vertically or horizontally. An equal sign between two squares means they must be the same, while an X indicates the symbols must be opposite.

The New York Times' crossword puzzle becomes more challenging as the week goes on, despite its basic concept.

LinkedIn showcases its games on its homepage and in the My Network tab. However, 40% of the players access the games through a shared link, which could have been posted in a conversation or a post. Following the completion of a game, LinkedIn allows users to easily copy their score and a link to share with connections or post on their profile.

On weekends, LinkedIn's App Store ranking tends to decrease due to less usage among people who aren't at work.

The spokesperson stated that professionals frequently engage in gaming, even during weekends.

The labor market may not be as resilient as previously believed, according to new data.