How to Play LinkedIn Queens
Queens is a placement puzzle played on a grid split into colored regions. You’re looking for one crown per color, one per row, and one per column. Crowns also need breathing room at their corners. Most of the work is crossing out squares until a crown has only one place left to go.
Queens rules
- Place exactly one crown in each row, each column, and each colored region.
- Crowns must be separated. Even two squares that meet only at a corner are too close.
- Mark eliminated squares with an X so you can see the candidates that are still available.
Let one crown place the next
Step 1. Find the one-square region in the top row. Its single cell, in column 2, has to hold a crown. 
Step 2. The first crown blocks columns 1, 2 and 3 in row 2. Column 4 is the only spot left in that row. 
Step 3. The second crown blocks column 3 in row 3, leaving column 1. The last crown goes in row 4, column 3.
How to play on LinkedIn
- Look for a tiny region or a line where almost every square is blocked.
- Click or tap a square to cycle through blank, an X, and a crown. After placing a crown, cross out the rest of its row, column and region, plus its immediate diagonal neighbors.
- If you like help with marking, Settings has Auto-place X’s. Auto-check flags placements that break the rules.
- Hint can point to a region or flag a mistake. Use Undo to take back your last placement or Clear to start the board again.
Queens solving tips
Use a region trapped in one line
If all possible squares for a region sit in row 5, its crown must take row 5. Cross out other colors in that row before you know the exact square.
Look for two regions sharing two columns
If the only candidates in two regions are in columns 2 and 3, their crowns must use those two columns. Eliminate every other color’s candidates in those columns.
Ask what both options would block
If a region has two candidates, look for squares that touch both. Either crown placement rules those squares out, so mark them now and see what that frees up.
Common questions
Can two Queens sit on the same diagonal?
Yes, with a gap of at least one square between them, provided their rows, columns and regions are all different. The corner rule applies to immediate neighbors.
Do I have to mark every empty cell with an X?
X marks are scratch work. Once the crowns satisfy all three placement rules and the no-touch rule, the board is solved.
What does Auto-place X’s do?
It fills in the squares your placed crowns rule out. You can still add deductions of your own, such as eliminating other colors from a row reserved for one region.
Why did the crown I placed get flagged?
Check its row, column and color for another crown, then look one square away on each diagonal. A crown can pass the first three checks and still touch another at a corner.
When does Queens reset?
LinkedIn releases a new puzzle every day at midnight Pacific Time. Find previous solutions in the Queens answer archive.