LinkedIn Pinpoint 900 Answer & Analysis
Today's Pinpoint Answer
Editorially verified for the Oct 17, 2026
Words & how they fit
Each clue and why it belongs in the category
- Defibrillator
Electrode paddles
The paddles deliver an electric shock to the patient.
- Steamboat
Paddlewheel blades
The blades turn to propel some steamboats through the water.
- Canoe
Hand-held canoe paddle
A paddler uses it to move the canoe through the water.
- Atari 2600 (to play some Pong?)
Paddle controller
The controller moves the Pong paddle on screen.
- Table tennis (to hit the ball!)
Table tennis paddle
Players use it to hit the ball.
| Word | Connection | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Defibrillator | Electrode paddles | The paddles deliver an electric shock to the patient. |
| Steamboat | Paddlewheel blades | The blades turn to propel some steamboats through the water. |
| Canoe | Hand-held canoe paddle | A paddler uses it to move the canoe through the water. |
| Atari 2600 (to play some Pong?) | Paddle controller | The controller moves the Pong paddle on screen. |
| Table tennis (to hit the ball!) | Table tennis paddle | Players use it to hit the ball. |
How to Solve it
A step-by-step walkthrough of this puzzle
- 1
Steamboat and Canoe 🚤
Steamboat and canoe make watercraft seem like the likely category, since both are boats. But the defibrillator does not fit that reading.
- 2
The Atari Pivot 🎮
A defibrillator is not a boat, and the Atari clue points to a Pong controller. Look at the parts used to move or hit something: they reveal the shared link.
- 3
Table Tennis Test 🏓
A canoe is propelled with a hand-held paddle, and a steamboat can use a paddlewheel. Table tennis uses a paddle to hit the ball, confirming the same feature across all five clues.
Things that have or use paddles.
Recent Pinpoint Answers
The last 7 days of solutions
What connects Defibrillator, Steamboat, Canoe, Atari 2600 (to play some Pong?) and Table tennis (to hit the ball!)? That's Pinpoint #900, the LinkedIn puzzle from Saturday, October 17th, 2026. Tap any clue above to open a nudge for that word, read the final hint if you want one more push, then reveal the category. Below the answer there's a full walkthrough: the wrong turn these clues invite, the clue that breaks it open, and what each word actually pairs with.
What connects Defibrillator, Steamboat, Canoe, Atari 2600 (to play some Pong?) and Table tennis (to hit the ball!)?
The answer to Pinpoint #900 is Things with paddles. Every clue in the set — Defibrillator, Steamboat, Canoe, Atari 2600 (to play some Pong?) and Table tennis (to hit the ball!) — belongs to “Things with paddles”, which is the thread you're looking for.
If you got there in one or two clues, the giveaway was almost certainly Defibrillator paired with Steamboat — that combination rules out most of the categories a single word could belong to. The clue-by-clue breakdown above the fold shows exactly where each word lands.
How Pinpoint works
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Goal | Guess the category that connects all five clue words (for example, “Apple, Dell, Acer, HP” → computer brands). |
| Clues reveal one at a time | You start with one word and get another after each wrong guess, up to five — the fewer you need, the better your score. |
| Guesses | Type the category; the game tells you if you're right. You have a limited number of tries. |
| Reset | A new Pinpoint puzzle drops every day at midnight Pacific Time (3:00 a.m. Eastern). |
Solving a clue set like this one
- Put the first two clues side by side before guessing anything. Defibrillator on its own fits a dozen categories; Defibrillator plus Steamboat usually fits one or two.
- If your first theory dies on clue three, don't patch it — throw it out. A theory that needs an exception for one clue is the wrong theory.
- Check for a shared word before you check for a shared topic. Pinpoint loves sets where every clue sits in front of (or behind) the same hidden word.
- Say each clue out loud. Homophones and phrases hide in plain sight when you only read them.
How Pinpoint scoring works
You see one clue to start and earn another after every wrong guess, up to five. Solving on clue one is the best possible result and solving on clue five still counts as a win, so there's no reason to rush a guess you're not confident in — a wrong answer costs you a clue you can't get back.
Other Pinpoint clue sets
Every Pinpoint puzzle has its own page here, filed under its clue words. Use the calendar above to jump to another day, or open the main Pinpoint answers page for the current puzzle.
Frequently asked questions
What connects Defibrillator, Steamboat, Canoe, Atari 2600 (to play some Pong?) and Table tennis (to hit the ball!)?
They're all “Things with paddles” — the answer to Pinpoint #900 from Saturday, October 17th, 2026.
What was the Pinpoint #900 answer?
Things with paddles. The walkthrough under the answer explains why each of the five clues fits.
Why is Defibrillator a clue for Things with paddles?
The clue-by-clue table above gives the exact pairing for Defibrillator, along with the other four clues in the set.
How do I see today's Pinpoint answer instead?
Open the main LinkedIn Pinpoint answers page — it always shows the current day's clues, hints, and answer, plus a countdown to the next puzzle.