Puzzle Answer TodayHow to play Pinpoint
Pinpoint is LinkedIn's daily word-association puzzle. You get up to five clue words, one at a time, and have to name the category that links them. The fewer clues you need, the better.
The rules
- The first clue word appears. Type a guess for the category that links all the clues.
- If you are wrong, the next clue appears. You have five clues, and five guesses, in total.
- Your score is how many clues you needed. Getting it on the first clue is the best possible result.
- Close wording counts: LinkedIn accepts many ways of writing the same answer.
A new puzzle comes out every day at 12:00 AM Pacific Time.
A small example
This one is ours, not LinkedIn's. The five clues, in the order they would appear:
- Cup
- Pan
- Cheese
- Fruit
- Short
"Cup" alone could be almost anything. "Cup" and "Pan" together start to suggest kitchen things, but "Cheese" and "Fruit" don't fit a kitchen. Put each word in front of another word and they all work: cupcake, pancake, cheesecake, fruitcake, shortcake. The answer is Words before “cake”.
Strategy
1. Wait for the second clue
One clue fits hundreds of categories; two clues usually fit only a few. Unless the first word is very unusual, a second clue is worth more than an early guess.
2. Try "words before" and "words after"
Many Pinpoint answers are compound words or phrases: things that come before or after a common word. Say each clue with "-ball", "-book", "-cake", "fire-" or "back-" and see what sticks.
3. Use every meaning of a word
Clue words often have several meanings. "Post" can be a job, a letter, a wooden pole or an online message, and the answer may hinge on the less obvious one.
4. Name the category, not an example
If the clues are Orange, Lemon and Lime, the answer is the group ("citrus fruits"), not another member of it ("grapefruit").