LinkedIn Zip Rivalry: How to Beat Your Connections
“LinkedIn Zip rivalry” is the daily race to beat your connections' solve times on the same one-stroke Zip puzzle everyone plays. It runs on three things: the “I cracked the Zip, your move” challenge you can send after solving, the connections leaderboard that ranks your network each day, and the streak you build by winning day after day. There is no button labeled “Rivalry,” it is simply the competitive layer around LinkedIn's daily Zip, and the way to win it is to know the path faster than anyone you're up against.
What LinkedIn Zip rivalry actually is
Zip is LinkedIn's daily one-stroke path puzzle: you draw a single continuous line that visits every numbered node in order and fills every cell without ever crossing your own line or a wall. The instant you finish, LinkedIn records how long it took, and that solve time is the whole game behind the rivalry. There is no separate mode literally named “Rivalry”; it is the competitive layer wrapped around the same daily board that everyone in your network plays. Because you all solve the identical puzzle, the only thing separating first place from last is speed, which is exactly what turns a quiet daily puzzle into a race.
The “your move” challenge
When you finish, LinkedIn lets you hand the puzzle to someone else. The share text reads “I cracked the Zip, your move,” and that single line is what kicks off a rivalry: you have solved today's Zip and you are daring a connection to beat your time. It is a social prompt, not a different puzzle, so if one lands in your messages you just open the same daily board and play. For the full breakdown of that message, see what “cracked the Zip” means on LinkedIn.
The connections leaderboard
The rivalry became official in October 2025, when LinkedIn added a connections leaderboard to its games. It ranks you each day against your first-degree connections who played the same game and opted in, so instead of a faceless global score you see exactly where you land among people you actually know. The rankings refresh every day for each game, which resets the contest with every new puzzle. Two caveats: enough of your connections have to be playing for the board to appear at all, and anyone can opt out of being listed. LinkedIn also runs school and company leaderboards, so the rivalry can scale from a single colleague up to an entire alma mater.
How LinkedIn compares your score
The connections leaderboard is not the only place your solve time gets measured. The moment you finish, LinkedIn stacks your time against averages for all members, for your company, and for CEOs, so a single solve can tell you that you beat a slice of everyone who played, edged out most people at your employer, and, in the line people screenshot most, came in smarter than a given percent of CEOs. The company and school cuts need scale to show up, roughly 500 or more employees, and on top of those averages sits the connections leaderboard that ranks you against first-degree connections who played and opted in. Together they turn one solve time into several rivalries at once: you versus the average member, you versus your office, you versus the executives, and you versus your own network.
Streaks, speed, and how to win yours
Beyond the daily leaderboard, LinkedIn tracks a streak for every day you keep solving, with milestones as it grows and a streak freeze to cover a day you miss, so consistency becomes its own rivalry against yourself. That freeze is earned, not free: you get one streak freeze for every 5-day streak, you can hold at most two per game at a time, and LinkedIn applies it automatically to cover a single missed day without adding to your streak. New puzzles drop at midnight Pacific, and since everyone races the identical board, the real edge is knowing the route before the clock starts. That is what this site is for: every daily Zip gets a step-by-step path video and written walkthrough within minutes of the drop. Watch today's LinkedIn Zip answer to see the exact path, or browse the full archive of solved Zip puzzles, then go reclaim the top of your leaderboard.
Frequently asked
What is LinkedIn Zip rivalry?
LinkedIn Zip rivalry is the head-to-head race to solve the daily Zip puzzle faster than your connections. There is no separate game mode called Rivalry; it is the social layer around the same daily board, made up of the “I cracked the Zip, your move” challenge you can send after solving and the connections leaderboard that ranks everyone in your network who played that day. Since you all solve the identical puzzle, solve time decides it.
How do you beat your connections at LinkedIn Zip?
One number decides the rivalry: your solve time. The faster you draw the single valid path from the first numbered node to the last, the higher you rank. Because everyone plays the same daily board, knowing the route before you start is the real edge, which is why solvers watch the day's walkthrough first.
What does “I cracked the Zip, your move” mean?
It is the challenge message LinkedIn lets you share after finishing. It means you solved today's Zip and you are daring a connection to beat your time. It starts the rivalry between you two; it is not a different or harder puzzle.
Does LinkedIn have a Zip leaderboard for friends?
Yes. Since October 2025 LinkedIn shows a connections leaderboard that ranks you each day against first-degree connections who played the same game and opted in. You need enough connections playing for it to show up, and you can opt out of being listed. LinkedIn also runs school and company leaderboards.
How does the LinkedIn Zip streak freeze work?
You earn one streak freeze for every 5-day streak and can hold up to two per game at a time. LinkedIn applies it automatically when you miss a day, so it covers that single missed day and keeps your streak alive without adding to it.
How does LinkedIn compare your Zip score?
LinkedIn compares your solve time against averages for all members, your company, and CEOs, and it also ranks you on the connections leaderboard against first-degree connections who played the same game and opted in.