NYT Pips Hint, Answer & Solution for January 23, 2026

Jan 23, 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

Friday, January 23, 2026 is here, and today’s domino puzzle is ready to bring the community together.

It’s a crisp winter Friday, the perfect moment to slow down, grab a coffee, and enjoy a thoughtful logic challenge before the weekend. Whether you’re a daily solver or just dropping in for some fun, today’s grid offers a satisfying mix of structure, strategy, and clever constraints.

Edited by Ian Livengood, this fresh daily challenge invites you to explore three carefully designed grids—

easy puzzle ID 512, medium puzzle ID 536, and hard puzzle ID 558—each with its own logic twist and a rewarding solution path. From approachable equals regions to more demanding sum targets, every level nudges you toward deeper analysis and smarter domino placement.

This is a great day to practice your Pips Hint instincts and sharpen your pattern recognition. Look for forced placements, track your remaining dominoes, and don’t overlook those subtle region interactions—your pips hint today might come from a single overlooked half.

Whether you’re sharing hints, swapping strategies, or posting your final solution, this puzzle is all about the joy of solving together. Jump in, enjoy the challenge, and let’s crack today’s grid as a community.

Written by Anna

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 - A piece of cake

Enjoy it

💡 Hint #1 - Identify low-pip constraints

Start by placing regions that require the lowest pips. Number 1 regions must use 0+1, immediately limiting domino placement and orientation options.

💡 Hint #2 - Use unique domino for exact sum

Red 4 can only be made with the single 4-pip domino (5-4). Placing 4-5 horizontally locks both this region and the adjacent blank space.

💡 Hint #3 - Assign high pips to equals

Light Blue Equal must use high pips. Place 6-6 to satisfy the region, and pair it with 0-6 into Purple <1 to respect low-pip constraints.

💡 Hint #4 - Chain multiple regions via pip totals

Yellow 7, Green 1, Purple Equal, and Blue 1 are interconnected. Allocate domino halves according to required totals: 6+1 for Yellow 7, 1+0 for Green 1, 5 for Purple Equal, and 1+0 for Blue 1, ensuring smooth placement across the grid.

💡 Hint #1 - Identify impossible sums

Check for sums that cannot be made with available dominoes. With no domino totaling 4, the Blue 10 region must be 5+5 and the Green 9 region must use 6+3. Spotting these early restricts placement options.

💡 Hint #2 - Place unique high pips

Use regions requiring rare high pips to lock domino positions. Only one domino has 6 pips (6-1), so it must go in Green 9. Purple 3 is forced to 3-2, securing both dominoes and their orientation.

💡 Hint #3 - Solve exact sum regions

Focus on regions with exact totals. Blue 10 needs 10 and Yellow 6 needs 6. Place 5-5 in Blue 10 and 3-3 in Yellow 6, simplifying remaining placements.

💡 Hint #4 - Complete mid-range sums

For sums like 7, identify remaining dominoes that fit. The Light Blue 7 region can only be 2-5, making this a straightforward move once other regions are accounted for.

💡 Hint #5 - Resolve complex multi-pip regions

Purple 7 requires three pips from multiple dominoes. Combine 1-1 with 5-0 to satisfy the total while aligning with remaining spaces, reducing ambiguity.

💡 Hint #6 - Close with leftover dominoes

Finish the puzzle by using remaining dominoes to satisfy Red 5 and the leftover blank. 2-2, 1-0, and 0-0 fill the last spots cleanly, completing the grid without conflicts.

🎨 Pips Solver

Jan 23, 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 23, 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 23, 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], [5-3], [5-0], [4-2], [3-0].

2

Step 2: Purple 5 + Yellow 9 + Light Blue Equal + Blue Equal + Red 9 --(Arrows ①②③)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. The domino halves in Yellow 9 region must be 3+6. The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 3. The domino halves in Blue Equal region must be 0. The domino halves in Red 9 region must be 5+4. The answer is 5-3 (5 into Purple 5 region), placed vertically; 6-3 (3 into Light Blue Equal region), placed horizontally; 3-0 (3 into Light Blue Equal region), placed vertically; 0-5, placed vertically; 4-2 (2 up into blank), placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-6], [6-3], [6-0], [5-4], [5-1], [5-0], [2-0], [1-1]. The domino halves in Number 1 regions must be 0+1.

2

Step 2: Red 4 --(Arrows ①)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 4 pips (5-4). The answer is 4-5 (4 into Red 4 region, 5 right into blank), placed horizontally.

3

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

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. The domino halves in Light Blue Equal region must be 6. The answer is 0-6 (0 into Purple <1 region), placed vertically; 6-6, placed horizontally.

4

Step 4: Yellow 7 + Green 1 + Purple Equal + Blue 1 --(Arrows ④⑤⑥⑦⑧)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (6-3, 5-1, 5-0, 2-0, 1-1). The domino halves in Yellow 7 region must be 6+1. The domino halves in Green 1 region must be 1+0. The domino halves in Purple Equal region must be 5. The domino halves in Blue 1 region must be 1+0. The answer is 3-6 (3 into blank), placed vertically; 1-1, placed horizontally; 0-5, placed vertically; 5-1, placed horizontally; 0-2 (2 up into blank), placed vertically.

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1

Step 1

Dominoes Include: [6-1], [5-5], [5-2], [5-0], [3-3], [3-2], [2-2], [1-1], [1-0], [0-0]. No domino with 4 pips, therefore, the domino halves in Blue 10 region must be 5+5, the domino halves in Green 9 region must be 6+3.

2

Step 2: Green 9 + Purple 3 --(Arrows ①②)

Confirmed by neighboring region and step 1 and relative position. Only one domino with 6 pips (6-1). The domino halves in Green 9 region must be 6+3. The domino halves in Purple 3 must be 1+2. The answer is 6-1, placed horizontally; 3-2, placed horizontally.

3

Step 3: Blue 10 + Yellow 6 --(Arrows ③④)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. Need one domino sum to be 10 placed in Blue 10 region, need one domino sum to be 6 placed in Yellow 6 region. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically; 3-3, placed vertically.

4

Step 4: Light Blue 7 --(Arrows ⑤)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes. Need one domino sum to be 7 placed in this region. The answer is 2-5, placed horizontally.

5

Step 5: Purple 7 --(Arrows ⑥⑦)

Confirmed by all left regions and remaining dominoes (5-0, 2-2, 1-1, 1-0, 0-0). The domino halves in this region must be 1+1+5. The answer is 1-1, placed horizontally; 5-0 (0 into blank), placed horizontally.

6

Step 6: Red 5 + Left Top Blank --(Arrows ⑧⑨⑩)

Confirmed by neighboring region and remaining dominoes (2-2, 1-0, 0-0). The domino halves in Red 5 region must be 2+2+1. The answer is 2-2, placed horizontally; 1-0 (0 left into blank), placed horizontally; 0-0 (whole domino into Left Top Blank), placed horizontally.

🎥 NYT Pips Hint – Friday, January 23, 2026 | Easy 512, Medium 536, Hard 558 Walkthrough

Let’s crack today’s NYT Pips puzzle together.

💡 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

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