NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for January 15, 2026

Jan 15, 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.

🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview

On Thursday, January 15, 2026, NYT Pips offers a mid-January logic workout that’s ideal for solvers who enjoy precision, structure, and measurable progress.

With winter fully settled in and routines back in rhythm, today’s puzzle set feels especially well-timed: calm on the surface, but quietly demanding underneath.

Edited by Ian Livengood, the January 15 NYT Pips lineup emphasizes clean logic paths, deliberate difficulty progression, and smart domino efficiency. Each grid encourages careful counting, elimination, and verification—perfect for players who like to pause, analyze the grid, and refine their approach rather than guess their way forward.

The Easy puzzle (ID 515) acts as a focused warm-up. Compact sums and clearly defined equals regions make it approachable, yet it still rewards disciplined thinking. This is the kind of grid where an early Pips Hint can unlock momentum and set the tone for the day.

The Medium puzzle (ID 538) adds meaningful depth, layering sum targets and equality constraints that force solvers to track remaining dominoes closely. It’s a strong test of logic flow and a great candidate for sharing a pips hint today or comparing partial solutions.

At the highest level, the Hard puzzle (ID 559) by Rodolfo Kurchan demands precision. Greater-than and unequal regions interact tightly, leaving little margin for error and rewarding players who think several moves ahead.

Whether you’re reviewing a full solution, breaking down the grid step by step, or hunting for the right NYT Pips hint to move forward, January 15, 2026 delivers a clean, focused puzzle experience designed for serious solvers—and perfect for thoughtful analysis and discussion.

Written by Joe

Puzzle Analyst – Sophia

💡 Progressive Hints

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

💡 Hint #1 - Observe

Dominoes Include: [6-3], [4-1], [3-1], [1-1], [1-0], [0-0]. The single (unique) pips is the key to solving the Puzzle.

💡 Hint #1 - Scan for unique pip counts

Begin by listing all available dominoes and spotting rare pip values or doubles. Limited options often dictate where key numbers must eventually go.

💡 Hint #2 - Anchor regions with forced sums

When a region has a strict sum and only one matching pip combination exists, lock it in early to anchor nearby regions and reduce uncertainty.

💡 Hint #3 - Build large sums from extremes

For high target sums, combine the largest available pips first, then fill the remainder with zero or low values to satisfy both totals and adjacency.

💡 Hint #4 - Resolve Equals before inequalities

Equal regions become much easier once surrounding high or low constraints are set. Commit the remaining double, then use the leftover high pip to satisfy the > condition.

💡 Hint #1 - Count rare equals first

Start by scanning the domino list for doubles. With only two equal dominoes available, identify early which Equal regions must use them to prevent conflicts later.

💡 Hint #2 - Lock an Equal region with value pressure

When an Equal region borders a > region, use the inequality to force the smaller repeated value, freeing higher pips for stricter constraints elsewhere.

💡 Hint #3 - Reserve the last double deliberately

If another Equal region remains and only one double is left, commit it immediately to stabilize the grid and reduce branching possibilities.

💡 Hint #4 - Use high-pip scarcity to narrow choices

When only a few dominoes exceed a threshold, test which Equal value keeps all inequalities viable, then place the high pips with confidence.

💡 Hint #5 - Let Equal regions absorb the lowest value

In late stages, Equal regions often collapse to zero when higher pips are already allocated, unlocking remaining > constraints cleanly.

💡 Hint #6 - Resolve Not Equal regions by elimination

With only one domino left, assign its halves to satisfy both Not Equal regions simultaneously, confirming the final placements by exclusion.

🎨 Pips Solver

Jan 15, 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 January 15, 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 January 15, 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], [4-1], [3-1], [1-1], [1-0], [0-0].

2

Step 2: Purple 4 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by all regions and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 4 pips (4-1). The answer is 4-1 (1 right into blank), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Yellow 0 + Light Blue 7 + Red Equal + Green Equal --(Arrows ②③④⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-3, 3-1, 1-1, 1-0, 0-0). The domino halves in Light Blue 7 region must be 1+6. The domino halves in Red Equal region must be 3. The domino halves in Green Equal region must be 1. The answer is 0-1 (0 into Yellow 0 region), placed horizontally; 6-3, placed horizontally; 3-1, placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Blue Equal --(Arrows ⑥)

The answer is 0-0, placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-6], [6-0], [5-5], [5-2], [4-3], [2-2], [2-0].

2

Step 2: Light Blue 4 + Green 5 + Purple 5 --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by all regions and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 4 pips and 3 pips (4-3). The domino halves in Green 5 region must be 3+2. The answer is 4-3 (4 into Light Blue 4 region), placed vertically; 2-5 (5 into Purple 5 region), placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Yellow 12 + Blue Equal --(Arrows ③④⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-6, 6-0, 5-5, 2-2, 2-0). The domino halves in Yellow 12 region must be 6+6+0. The domino halves in Blue Equal region must be 2. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 0-2, placed horizontally; 2-2, placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Purple Equal + Red >4 --(Arrows ⑥⑦)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-0, 5-5). The domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 5. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 6-0 (6 into Red >4 region, 0 up into blank), placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-6], [5-3], [5-2], [4-1], [3-1], [3-0], [2-1], [2-0], [1-1]. only 2 dominoes with the same number (6-6, 1-1) for Light Blue Equal region and Purple Equal region.

2

Step 2: Purple >3 + Light Blue Equal --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by all regions and step 1 and relative position. Need one domino with the same number placed in Light Blue Equal region, the domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 1. The answer is 4-1 (4 into Purple >3 region), placed vertically; 1-1, placed vertically.

3

Step 3: Purple Equal --(Arrows ③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-6, 5-3, 5-2, 3-1, 3-0, 2-1, 2-0). Also need one domino with the same number placed in this region. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Blue >3 + Bottom Yellow Equal + Light Blue >0 + Red 5 --(Arrows ④⑤⑥)

Confirmed by all left regions and remaining dominoes (5-3, 5-2, 3-1, 3-0, 2-1, 2-0). Only 2 dominoes left that contain more than 3 pips (5-3, 5-2). There are two choices, the domino halves in Bottom Yellow Equal region must be 2 or 3. e.g: The domino halves in Bottom Yellow Equal region must be 2. The answer is 5-2 (5 into Blue >3 region), placed vertically; 2-1 (1 into Light Blue >0 region), placed vertically; 5-3 (3 into Green Not Equal region), placed vertically.

5

Step 5: Red >1 + Top Yellow Equal --(Arrows ⑦⑧)

Confirmed by all left regions and remaining dominoes (3-1, 3-0, 2-0). The domino halves in Top Yellow Equal region must be 0. The answer is 3-0 (3 into Red >1 region), placed vertically; 0-2 (2 into Blue Not Equal region), placed vertically.

6

Step 6: Blue Not Equal + Green Not Equal --(Arrows ⑨)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (3-1). The domino halves in Blue Not Equal must be 2+3 (2 already come from Arrows ⑧). The domino halves in Green Not Equal must be 1+3 (3 already come from Arrows ⑥). The answer is 3-1 (3 into Blue Not Equal region, 1 into Green Not Equal region), placed vertically.

🎥 NYT Pips January 15, 2026 Solution Walkthrough | Easy–Hard Logic Breakdown & Pips Hints Today

Help you think more clearly, place dominoes with confidence, and enjoy the puzzle at a deeper level.

💡 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.

🎓 Keep Learning & Improve

🧠 Strategy Guide

Master the core techniques to solve any Pips puzzle, no matter the difficulty.

🎮 How to Play

New to Pips? Learn all the rules and conditional regions in minutes.

📖 More to Read

NYT Pips Hints & Answers for January 14, 2026

View Answer →

NYT Pips Hints & Answers for January 13, 2026

View Answer →

NYT Pips Hints & Answers for January 12, 2026

View Answer →

💬 Community Discussion

Leave your comment