NYT Pips Hints & Answers for August 21, 2026

Aug 21, 2026

🚨 SPOILER WARNING

This page contains the final **answer** and the complete **solution** to today's NYT Pips puzzle. If you haven't attempted the puzzle yet and want to try solving it yourself first, now's your chance!

Click here to play today's official NYT Pips game first.

Want hints instead? Scroll down for progressive clues that won't spoil the fun.

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🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview

The easy NYT Pips grid, built by Ian Livengood, opens with two solo gates — one a sharp ceiling and one a floor — that immediately reveal a domino. From there, two equals regions take over, forcing matching pips to cascade through the bottom half of the board. It feels less like a puzzle and more like a short chain reaction once the first tile lands.

Livengood's medium puzzle spreads the pressure wider. A top-edge greater condition feeds a three-cell equals cluster, while a bottom strip of less-than cells demands the lowest available tiles. Between those extremes, a sum region pulls one cell from each row and locks the middle into place.

Rodolfo Kurchan's hard grid is a different creature. It scatters one-cell sum, less, and greater restrictions like tripwires, then asks you to thread a long unequal region without repeating a pip. Several equals chains, including a four-cell block and a bottom run, give careful solvers enough structural rope to work from the sharp single-cell demands outward.

💡 Progressive Hints

Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!

💡 Hint 1: Find the solo gates
Look for the one-cell less-than and greater-than regions. They hand you a domino almost immediately, then the larger equals regions take over.
💡 Hint 2: Chase the equality chain
The less-1 cell at [1,2] must take the only low value available, leaving its partner at [0,2]. Then the greater-4 cell at [1,3] pairs downward with [2,3], creating one half of an equals pair.
💡 Hint 3: Solve the full chain
Place 4-0 with 0 on [1,2] and 4 on [0,2]; 6-3 with 6 on [1,3] and 3 on [2,3]; 3-5 with 3 on [3,3] and 5 on [3,2]; 1-5 with 1 on [2,1] and 5 on [2,2]; and 5-2 with 2 on [3,0] and 5 on [3,1]. The 3-cell equals region forces 5s at [2,2]/[3,1]/[3,2]; the 2-cell equals region forces 3s at [2,3]/[3,3].
💡 Hint 1: Top/bottom pressure
Look for a top-edge single-cell greater constraint and a bottom strip of less-than cells. The top one sets a high value; the bottom strip demands the lowest tiles.
💡 Hint 2: Follow the top equals cluster
The greater-3 cell at [0,3] has to pair with [1,3]. To make the three-cell equals region at [1,3]/[1,4]/[2,4] work, [1,3] must take the high side, and the double-high domino fills the other two.
💡 Hint 3: Full placement
Place 6-4 with 4 on [0,3] and 6 on [1,3]; 6-6 at [1,4]-[2,4]; 0-0 at [3,3]-[3,4]; 1-2 with 1 on [3,2] and 2 on [3,1]; 5-5 at [2,0]-[2,1]; 4-3 with 4 on [2,2] and 3 on [2,3]; and 4-1 with 4 on [1,2] and 1 on [1,1]. The sum column reads 1+5+2, and the bottom less-3 row reads 1,0,0.
💡 Hint 1: Hit the one-cell tripwires
Start with the single-cell sum, less, and greater regions. They behave like one-way doors, each forcing a specific value or a very narrow option.
💡 Hint 2: Two sums to anchor
The singleton [2,2] sum forces a value from the 1-5 domino and drags [2,1] into an equals pair. The singleton [4,6] sum starts a four-cell equals chain through [4,5].
💡 Hint 3: Top cascade
At [1,4], the less-3 singleton must be low, and its only useful partner sets [0,4] to match [0,5]. That pushes [0,6] to take the high side of the 3-5 domino. The 2-2 double fills the [1,1]-[1,2] equals pair.
💡 Hint 4: Bottom equals and unequal
The bottom equals block takes 3-3 at [8,6]-[9,6], 3-1 at [9,5]-[9,4], and 6-3 at [6,6]-[7,6]. For the unequal region, use 2-5 at [6,1]-[6,2], 0-6 at [7,1]-[8,1], and 4-1 at [9,0]-[9,1].
💡 Hint 5: Full chain
Place 3-4 with 3 at [4,6] and 4 at [4,5]; 6-1 with 6 at [4,1] and 1 at [3,1]; 2-2 at [1,1]-[1,2]; 6-3 with 6 at [6,6] and 3 at [7,6]; 4-1 at [9,0]-[9,1]; 3-3 at [8,6]-[9,6]; 2-4 with 2 at [2,5] and 4 at [2,4]; 0-6 with 0 at [7,1] and 6 at [8,1]; 3-1 with 3 at [9,5] and 1 at [9,4]; 2-5 at [6,1]-[6,2]; 6-6 at [7,4]-[8,4]; 1-5 with 1 at [2,1] and 5 at [2,2]; 2-3 with 2 at [1,4] and 3 at [0,4]; 5-5 at [6,4]-[6,5]; 4-4 at [3,4]-[4,4]; and 3-5 with 3 at [0,5] and 5 at [0,6].

🎨 Pips Solver

Aug 21, 2026

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✅ Final Answer & Complete Solution For Hard Level

The key to solving today's hard puzzle was identifying the placement for the critical dominoes highlighted in the starting grid. Once those were in place, the rest of the puzzle could be solved logically. See the final grid below to compare your solution.

Starting Position & Key First Steps

Pips hint for August 21, 2026 – hard level puzzle grid with critical first placements and strategy

This image shows the initial puzzle grid for the hard level, with a few critical first placements highlighted.

Final Answer: The Solved Grid for Hard Mode

NYT Pips August 21, 2026 hard puzzle full solution grid showing final answer with hints

Compare this final grid with your own solution to see the correct placement of all dominoes.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Easy Level

1
Step 1: The less-1 singleton
Cell [1,2] must be less than 1, so it is 0. The only tile with a 0 is 4-0, so place it with 0 on [1,2] and 4 on [0,2].
2
Step 2: The greater-4 singleton
Cell [1,3] must exceed 4. The available tiles and the nearby equals region narrow it to 6-3, with 6 on [1,3] and 3 on [2,3]. This gives the 2-cell equals region its first 3.
3
Step 3: The 2-cell equals region
Because [2,3] equals [3,3], the latter must also be 3. The remaining tile carrying a 3 is 3-5, so place it with 3 on [3,3] and 5 on [3,2], feeding the large equals region.
4
Step 4: The 3-cell equals region
Now [2,2], [3,1], and [3,2] must all match [3,2]'s 5. Place 5-2 with 5 on [3,1] and 2 on [3,0], satisfying the greater-1 region, and 1-5 with 5 on [2,2] and 1 on [2,1].

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1
Step 1: Top greater cell
The top cell [0,3] has a greater constraint, but its partner [1,3] must join a three-cell equals region. The only workable setup places 6-4 with 6 on [1,3] and 4 on [0,3].
2
Step 2: Top equals run
With [1,3]=6, the cells [1,4] and [2,4] must also be 6. The only remaining tile that can cover both with 6s is 6-6, placed vertically at [1,4]-[2,4].
3
Step 3: Bottom less strip
The bottom strip [3,2]-[3,4] holds three cells all less than 3. The double-0 tile is the only way to fill two adjacent cells there, so put 0-0 at [3,3]-[3,4].
4
Step 4: Sum column
The sum region at [1,1], [2,1], [3,1] must total 8. The bottom cell [3,1] pairs with [3,2] via the 1-2 tile, so [3,1] is 2 and [3,2] is 1. That leaves [1,1]+[2,1]=6.
5
Step 5: Middle completion
Use 5-5 at [2,0]-[2,1], putting 5 at [2,1]. The equals region [1,2]/[2,2] requires matching values, so place 4-1 with 4 on [1,2] and 1 on [1,1], and 4-3 with 4 on [2,2] and 3 on [2,3], satisfying the less-4 cell.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1
Step 1: Two singleton sums
Cell [2,2] is a one-cell sum that must be 5, so place 1-5 with 1 at [2,1] and 5 at [2,2]. This forces the equals pair [2,1]/[3,1]: [3,1] is 1, so 6-1 goes at [3,1]-[4,1] with 1 at [3,1] and 6 at [4,1], satisfying the greater cell. Separately, [4,6] is a one-cell sum of 3, so place 3-4 with 3 at [4,6] and 4 at [4,5], entering the big equals chain.
2
Step 2: Four-cell equality block
With [4,5]=4, the equals region [2,4],[3,4],[4,4],[4,5] must all be 4. Place 2-4 with 2 at [2,5] and 4 at [2,4], satisfying the less-3 singleton, then place 4-4 with both 4s at [3,4] and [4,4].
3
Step 3: Top equal pair and top-right cascade
The equals region [1,1]/[1,2] takes 2-2 at [1,1]-[1,2]. For the less-3 singleton [1,4], use 2-3 with 2 at [1,4] and 3 at [0,4]. Then [0,5] must match [0,4], so 3-5 places 3 at [0,5] and 5 at [0,6], satisfying [0,6]'s greater condition.
4
Step 4: Bottom equals cluster
The four-cell equals block at [7,6],[8,6],[9,5],[9,6] needs all 3s. Place 6-3 with 6 at [6,6] and 3 at [7,6]; 3-3 at [8,6]-[9,6]; and 3-1 with 3 at [9,5] and 1 at [9,4], satisfying the less-2 singleton.
5
Step 5: High-sum regions
In the greater-15 row, [6,4],[6,5],[6,6] must sum above 15. With [6,6] already 6, place 5-5 at [6,4]-[6,5], giving 5+5+6=16. The greater-10 pair [7,4]/[8,4] needs 6+6, so place 6-6 vertically at [7,4]-[8,4].
6
Step 6: Unequal closing
The six-cell unequal region must contain all different values. Place 2-5 with 2 at [6,1] and 5 at [6,2]; 0-6 with 0 at [7,1] and 6 at [8,1]; and 4-1 with 4 at [9,0] and 1 at [9,1]. This completes the distinct set 2,5,0,6,4,1 and finishes the grid.

💡 Pro Tips for Similar Puzzles

Start with Constraints
Always begin with the most constrained regions - sum regions with small numbers or tight spaces.
Use Equal Regions
Use "equal" regions as anchors - they eliminate many possibilities quickly.
Work Systematically
Let the rules guide your placement rather than guessing randomly.
Double-Check
Verify each region's rules are satisfied before moving to the next.

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