How to play LinkedIn Crossclimb
Crossclimb is LinkedIn's daily hybrid of trivia and word ladder: you answer five quick clues, then drag the answers into an order where each word differs from the one below it by exactly one letter. Get the ladder right and a final two-part clue unlocks the words at the top and bottom.
Looking for today's Crossclimb answer? Daily spoiler-safe hint pages for the LinkedIn games are coming to Hints & Answers soon. This guide covers the rules and the solving technique that cracks every board — see all six games on the LinkedIn games hub.
Crossclimb rules
- Answer the five middle clues — all answers are the same length.
- Drag the rungs into word-ladder order: neighbouring words must differ by exactly one letter.
- When the ladder is correct, the hidden top and bottom rungs unlock with one final clue.
- The top and bottom answers also follow the one-letter-change rule with the rungs they touch.
- Your time is the score — wrong answers aren't punished beyond the seconds they cost.
How to win at Crossclimb — strategy
1Bank the easy clues first
You can solve the five clues in any order. Sweep through and fill the ones you know instantly — having three or four answers placed makes the remaining clues guessable from their letters alone.
2Order by differences, not by meaning
When sorting the ladder, compare words letter by letter and chain the ones that differ by exactly one. Two words differing in two places can never be neighbours — that single fact usually fixes the whole order.
3The final pair is a themed duo
The top and bottom words almost always form a linked pair — two halves of a phrase, opposites, or a famous duo. Read the final clue with that expectation and it falls quickly.
4Type through, don't deliberate
Crossclimb is timed, and the clue text stays visible — a wrong letter costs almost nothing. Fast players attempt, glance, and correct rather than pausing to be certain.
LinkedIn Crossclimb — common questions
What is the goal of Crossclimb?
To complete a word ladder: solve five clued words, arrange them so each differs from its neighbour by one letter, then deduce the two hidden words that cap the top and bottom of the ladder.
Is Crossclimb timed?
Yes — your solve time is the score you share, and streaks track daily play. Mistakes only cost time, so guessing is cheap.
How often is there a new Crossclimb?
Daily — one puzzle for everyone, released alongside LinkedIn's other games. Miss a day and that puzzle is gone; there's no public archive.