NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for February 18, 2026

Feb 18, 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!

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

🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview

NYT Pips for February 18, 2026 (Wednesday) is a sharp three-tier logic workout built around domino scarcity and region control.

Edited by Ian Livengood, today’s set features Easy ID 584, Medium ID 613, and Hard ID 641—each one increasing the pressure through tighter Equal zones, strict sum targets, and domino placement restrictions.

Easy uses a compact domino pool of 5 pieces, making every half count.

Medium expands to 6 dominoes and introduces stronger constraint chaining, where a single placement can collapse multiple regions.

Hard ID 641 scales up dramatically with 16 dominoes and a dense region layout that rewards players who track forced sums, repeated values, and endpoint conflicts.

If you want a full solution breakdown with logical hints, this is the perfect NYT Pips puzzle day to test your skills.

Written by Joe

Puzzle Analyst – Mark

💡 Progressive Hints

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

💡 Hint #1 - So easy

Just do it.

💡 Hint #1 - Spot the Unique Domino and Turn It into a Boundary Anchor

Before placing anything, scan the pool for single-occurrence values. Since [4-3] is the only domino containing both 4 and 3, it becomes a natural bridge piece and is effectively forced onto the boundary connecting the Red 11 and Yellow 8 regions.

💡 Hint #2 - Solve the Big Sum First to Lock Multiple Regions at Once

Prioritize the highest target sum because it usually has fewer valid combinations. Red 11 can only be built as 4+2+5, so once [4-3] is fixed, the remaining pieces [2-2] and [5-5] become the cleanest way to satisfy Purple <3 and Light Blue >4 while locking the entire structure.

💡 Hint #3 - Use the Leftover Pool to Force Equal and Inequality Regions

After the main sum is resolved, treat the remaining dominoes as a closed system. Yellow 8 is forced into 3+5, which immediately confirms [5-1]. Then Green Equal becomes a guaranteed 1-region, and the final inequality Blue >1 naturally traps the 6 into the only valid position.

💡 Hint #1 - Count Rare 6-Pips and Pre-Plan Yellow 5

Start by counting rare pips in the domino pool. With only three 6-halves available, Blue 12 and Blue >5 must consume them efficiently, which sharply narrows the possible placements. Also flag Yellow 5 early since only two dominoes can create a sum of 5.

💡 Hint #2 - Lock the Grid with Forced 12 and Forced 2

Use fixed-sum regions to force exact values. Blue 12 can only be made by 6+6, and Purple 2 must be 1+1, so the surrounding Red 2 zones become placement anchors that lock multiple dominoes at once.

💡 Hint #3 - Convert the 5-Pip Cluster into Equal-Region Certainty

After the 6s are committed, focus on the remaining 5-heavy pool. Yellow Equal becomes a forced 5-region, and that immediately restricts which 5-dominoes can still satisfy Light Blue 5 and the Bottom Purple Equal requirement.

💡 Hint #4 - Use the Late Double as a Filter to Force Red 5

When an Equal region appears late, treat it as a filter for the remaining doubles. Bottom Light Blue Equal can only take 4-4, and once that is placed, Red 5 is forced into a 1+2+2 structure, which also determines how Blue <3 must be filled.

💡 Hint #5 - Finish with Inequalities to Trap the Final 0

Use inequality regions to finish the board cleanly. Green >2 eliminates low leftovers, while Top Light Blue Equal and Top Purple Equal force exact digits, leaving Yellow <2 as the final placement trap that decides where the last 0 must go.

💡 Hint #6 - Close the Puzzle by Resolving the Last Sum Slot

Once all other regions are resolved, the remaining sum requirement becomes automatic. Yellow 5 is completed by the only domino left that can satisfy it, making the final placement a simple leftover confirmation.

🎨 Pips Solver

Feb 18, 2026

Click a domino to place it on the board. You can also click the board, and the correct domino will appear.

✅ 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 February 18, 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 February 18, 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

Dominoes Include: [6-3], [5-5], [5-1], [4-1], [1-1].

2

Step 2: Yellow >5 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 6 pips (6-3). The answer is 6-3, placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Blue 1 + Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-5, 5-1, 4-1, 1-1). The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 5. The answer is 1-5 (1 into Blue 1 region), placed vertically; 5-5, placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Purple >3 + Red Equal --(Arrows ④⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (4-1, 1-1). The domino halves in Light Red Equal region must be 1. The answer is 4-1 (4 into Purple >3 region), placed horizontally; 1-1, placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-1], [5-5], [5-1], [4-3], [2-2], [1-0]. Only one domino with 4 pips and 3 pips (4-3), [4-3] must placed in the boundary between Red 11 region and Yellow 8 region.

2

Step 2: Red 11 + Purple <3 + Light Blue >4 --(Arrows ①②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The domino halves in Red 11 region must be 4+2+5. The answer is 4-3 (3 into Yellow 8 region), placed vertically; 2-2 (one 2s into Purple <3 region), placed horizontally; 5-5 (one 5s into Light Blue >4 region), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Yellow 8 + Green Equal + Blue >1 --(Arrows ④⑤⑥)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-1, 5-1, 1-0). The domino halves in Yellow 8 region must be 3+5 (3s already come from Arrows ①). The domino halves in Green Equal region must be 1. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically; 1-0 (0 right into blank), placed horizontally; 6-1 (6 into Blue >1 region, 1 into blank), placed horizontally.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-5], [6-2], [6-1], [5-5], [5-4], [5-3], [5-1], [5-0], [4-4], [4-3], [4-2], [4-1], [3-1], [2-1], [2-0], [1-0]. Only 3 domino halves that contain 6 pips (6-5, 6-2, 6-1), need two for Blue 12 region, need one for Blue >5 region. Need one domino sum to be 5 (5-0 or 4-1) for Yellow 5 region.

2

Step 2: Top Red 2 + Blue 12 + Purple 2 + Bottom Red 2 --(Arrows ①②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The domino halves in Blue 12 region must be 6+6. The domino halves in Purple 2 region must be 1+1. The answer is 2-6, placed vertically; 6-1, placed vertically; 1-2, placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Blue >5 + Yellow Equal + Light Blue 5 + Bottom Purple Equal --(Arrows ④⑤⑥⑦⑧)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The dominoes left that contain 5 pips (6-5, 5-5, 5-4, 5-3, 5-1, 5-0). The domino halves in Yellow Equal region must be 5. The domino halves in Light Blue 5 region must be 4+1. The domino halves in Bottom Purple Equal region must be 3. The answer is 6-5 (6 into Blue >5 region), placed vertically; 5-5, placed vertically; 5-4, placed horizontally; 1-3, placed vertically; 3-5, placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Bottom Light Blue Equal + Red 5 + Green 5 + Blue <3 --(Arrows ⑨⑩⑪⑫)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-1, 5-0, 4-4, 4-3, 4-2, 4-1, 2-0, 1-0). Need one domino with the same number placed in Bottom Light Blue Equal region, the domino halves in Bottom Light Blue Equal region must be 4. The domino halves in Red 5 region must be 1+2+2. The answer is 4-4, placed vertically; 4-2, placed vertically; 1-5 (5 into Green 5 region), placed vertically; 2-0 (0 into Blue <3 region), placed vertically.

5

Step 5: Green >2 + Top Light Blue Equal + Top Purple Equal + Yellow <2 --(Arrows ⑬⑭⑮)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (5-0, 4-3, 4-1, 1-0). The domino halves in Top Light Blue Equal region must be 4. The domino halves in Top Purple Equal region must be 1. The answer is 3-4 (3 into Green >2 region), placed vertically; 4-1, placed vertically; 1-0 (0 into Yellow <2 region), placed vertically.

6

Step 6: Yellow 5 --(Arrows ⑯)

The answer is 5-0 (whole domino), placed vertically.

🎥 NYT Pips Feb 18, 2026 Solution Video — Hard 641 Is a Trap-Filled Domino Grid

This is a full NYT Pips walkthrough with practical solving habits you can reuse every day.

💡 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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