NYT Pips Hints & Answers for July 24, 2026

Jul 24, 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.

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🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview

Ian Livengood's easy NYT Pips grid deploys a triple-equals region across the top row as the primary deduction anchor. This forces the only domino with duplicate pips—the double-zero—to occupy two of the three cells, while the third cell couples with an adjacent empty cell to maintain the equal-value requirement. The right-side sum-9 region then resolves with the remaining mid-value domino, and a greater-than-5 singleton locks the highest pip in place, closing a linear chain.

Rodolfo Kurchan's medium layout features a two-cell region with a high greater-than constraint (target 7) that immediately restricts the domino pool to exactly one candidate: the double-six. That placement seeds a branching deduction: an adjacent equals pair forces a 1 onto two cells, which feeds a greater-than-3 single-cell region that demands a 4, and the left-side sum-3 region pairs a 2 and 1 by process of elimination. The top left remains flexible until the final zero-domino settles the empties.

Kurchan's hardest puzzle builds a dependency graph around a sum-1 single-cell region in the grid's core, which forces that cell to be a 1. This single assignment triggers a cascade: an equals region in the same row then fixes a 3, which interlocks with a three-cell equals column on the left that all become zero via a cross-linked domino satisfying a sum-5. The upper corners resolve through greater-than singles and a top-right triple-equals, before the bottom-row sum-6 pairs lock in the final placements. The entire solve is one continuous chain from that central 1.

💡 Progressive Hints

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

💡 Hint 1
Look for a region that demands all its cells share the same value—this will dictate the choice of domino with matching pips.
💡 Hint 2
The triple-equals region sits along the top row. The only domino that can supply two identical values is the double-zero, so it must cover two of those cells. The third equal cell then requires a domino that matches that same value on the other end.
💡 Hint 3
Place the [0,0] domino across cells [0,1] and [0,2]. Then use the [5,0] domino on [0,4] and [0,3] to give 5 and 0, completing the equals. The sum-9 region now needs a 4 in [1,4], so the [4,2] domino goes on [1,4]/[1,5]. The greater-5 cell at [1,1] must be 6, so place [6,2] on [1,1]/[1,0]. Finally, the [3,2] domino on [2,3]/[2,2] satisfies the sum-2 at [2,2].
💡 Hint 1
Identify a region whose constraint drastically limits the total sum of its cells, making only one domino possible.
💡 Hint 2
The two-cell region in the lower right has a greater-7 rule; the only domino whose sum exceeds 7 is the double-six. So that domino must sit on [1,3] and [2,3].
💡 Hint 3
Place [6,6] on [1,3]/[2,3]. Next, the equals pair at [1,2]/[2,2] must match; the [3,1] domino on [1,1]/[1,2] gives a 1 in [1,2] (and 3 in [1,1] to satisfy greater-1), forcing [2,2]=1. Then the greater-3 cell [2,1] needs a 4, so place [4,1] on [2,1]/[2,2]. For the sum-3 cells [2,0] and [3,0], set [2,0]=2 via the [2,3] domino on [2,0]/[1,0], and [3,0]=1 via the [1,6] domino on [3,0]/[3,1]. The top empty cells [0,0]/[0,1] take [0,0] (0,0); the greater-0 pair [0,3]/[0,4] takes [0,1] (0,1).
💡 Hint 1
Focus on a single-cell sum region with a very small target—this will directly give you the cell's pip value.
💡 Hint 2
The cell at [2,3] has a sum-1 constraint, meaning it must be exactly 1. This cell is part of a domino that connects to the adjacent cell [2,2], which belongs to an equals pair.
💡 Hint 3
Since the domino covering [2,3] and [2,2] must have pips 1 and X, and the equals region forces [1,2] to also be X, the only available domino with a 1 that fits later constraints is [1,3] — so X=3. This locks [1,2] and [2,2] to 3. Now note the three-cell equals column on the left (cells [0,1], [1,1], [2,1]).
💡 Hint 4
The left column equals forces all three to the same value. The cell [2,1] must be covered by a domino that also satisfies the sum-5 at [2,0]. The [0,5] domino fits perfectly: 0 on [2,1] and 5 on [2,0]. This makes the column all zeros, so [0,1]=0 and [1,1]=0 via the [0,3] domino (0 and 3) on [1,1]/[1,2].
💡 Hint 5
Now fill the top: the greater-4 at [0,2] needs a 6, use [0,6] on [0,1]/[0,2]. The greater-2 at [0,8] takes 4, so place [4,0] on [0,8]/[1,8] (4,0), making the corner equals region [1,8]/[2,7]/[2,8] all 0—use [0,0] on [2,7]/[2,8]. In the bottom, the sum-6 pair [4,3]/[5,3] gets [4,1] on [4,3]/[3,3] (4,1) and [2,0] on [5,3]/[5,2] (2,0), giving 4+2 and a 0 in [5,2]. The other sum-6 pair [4,7]/[5,7] uses [5,3] on [4,7]/[3,7] (5,3) and [2,1] on [5,6]/[5,7] (2,1), providing 5+1. Middle: [2,5]/[3,5] get [4,3] (4,3) for greater-3 and sum-3; [2,4]/[3,4] take [2,3] (2,3) for sum-2 and greater-2; [2,6]/[3,6] take [4,5] (4,5) for sum-4 and greater-4.

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Jul 24, 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 July 24, 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 July 24, 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: Lock the triple-equals
The triple-equals region on [0,1],[0,2],[0,3] demands identical pips. Since only one domino has repeated pips—the [0,0]—it must cover two of these three cells. Cover [0,1] and [0,2] with domino index 0 ([0,0]).
2
Step 2: Extend the equals chain
The third equal cell [0,3] still needs a 0. The [5,0] domino (index 2) can put a 0 on [0,3] while placing a 5 on the adjacent sum-9 region cell [0,4].
3
Step 3: Satisfy the sum-9
With [0,4]=5, the sum-9 region requires [1,4]=4. The only remaining domino with a 4 is [4,2] (index 3), so place it on [1,4] and [1,5] giving 4 and 2.
4
Step 4: Finish with high and low constraints
The greater-5 cell [1,1] must be 6. The [6,2] domino (index 1) fits: 6 on [1,1] and 2 on the empty [1,0]. Finally, the sum-2 cell [2,2] needs a 2; the last domino [3,2] (index 4) goes on [2,3] and [2,2] giving 3 and 2, satisfying the empty [2,3].

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level

1
Step 1: High-threshold lock
The two-cell region [1,3] and [2,3] has a greater-7 constraint, meaning the sum must exceed 7. The only domino with a sum >7 is the double-six [6,6] (index 1), so place it there.
2
Step 2: Equals cascade from greater-1
Now look at the equals pair [1,2] and [2,2]. Cell [1,1] has a greater-1 constraint, so it must be at least 2. The [3,1] domino (index 0) can fit [1,1] and [1,2] with 3 and 1. This sets [1,2]=1, forcing [2,2]=1 via equals.
3
Step 3: Force the greater-3 cell
Cell [2,1] has a greater-3 constraint, so it needs a pip >3. The [4,1] domino (index 4) can cover [2,1] and [2,2] with 4 and 1, satisfying both the greater-3 and the equals value of 1.
4
Step 4: Resolve sum-3 and adjacent gaps
The sum-3 region [2,0] and [3,0] must total 3. Place the [2,3] domino (index 2) on [2,0] and the empty [1,0] giving 2 and 3—this gives [2,0]=2. Then to get a 1 on [3,0], use the [1,6] domino (index 6) on [3,0] and [3,1], yielding 1 and 6 (and satisfying greater-4 at [3,1]).
5
Step 5: Top empties and the final greater-0
The top empties: [0,0] and [0,1] take the [0,0] domino (index 3). The greater-0 region [0,3] and [0,4] gets the [0,1] domino (index 5) with 0 and 1 (sum 1 > 0).

🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level

1
Step 1: The sum-1 cornerstone
A sum-1 single-cell region at [2,3] forces that cell to be exactly 1. This cell must pair with [2,2] via a domino; the only available domino containing a 1 that fits later constraints is [1,3] (index 8), so place it on [2,3] and [2,2] giving 1 and 3.
2
Step 2: Left column zeros and sum-5
The equals region at [1,2] and [2,2] forces them to match, so [1,2] becomes 3. Meanwhile, the three-cell equals column at [0,1],[1,1],[2,1] must all be the same value. The sum-5 region at [2,0] constrains its partner cell: a domino covering [2,1] and [2,0] must sum to 5 with [2,0]. The [0,5] domino (index 3) fits perfectly, placing 0 on [2,1] and 5 on [2,0]. This sets the entire column to 0.
3
Step 3: Fill the top row
With the column zeros, the domino covering [1,1] and [1,2] must provide a 0 on [1,1] and a 3 on [1,2]; the [0,3] domino (index 11) does exactly that. The top equal pair [0,1] now must be 0, and the greater-4 cell [0,2] demands a value >4—the [0,6] domino (index 9) placed on [0,1]/[0,2] delivers 0 and 6.
4
Step 4: Top-right corner zero cascade
The greater-2 cell [0,8] needs a pip >2. The [4,0] domino (index 7) on [0,8]/[1,8] gives 4 and 0, making [1,8]=0. The equals group [1,8],[2,7],[2,8] then all must be 0; use the [0,0] domino (index 5) on [2,7]/[2,8] to fulfill the 0 requirement.
5
Step 5: Bottom sum-6 pairs and mid-row details
On the bottom, the sum-6 pair [4,3] and [5,3] needs two cells that total 6. Place the [4,1] domino (index 10) on [4,3]/[3,3] giving 4 and 1, which sets [4,3]=4. Then [5,3] must be 2, so use the [2,0] domino (index 0) on [5,3]/[5,2] (2 and 0), satisfying the sum-0 at [5,2].
6
Step 6: Right sum-6 and final mid-row regions
The other sum-6 pair [4,7] and [5,7] resolves with the [5,3] domino (index 1) on [4,7]/[3,7] giving 5 and 3, setting [4,7]=5. Then [5,7] needs 1, covered by the [2,1] domino (index 2) on [5,6]/[5,7] (2 and 1). Finally, fill the mid-row: [2,5] greater-3 and [3,5] sum-3 get [4,3] (index 4) on [2,5]/[3,5] (4,3); the sum-2 cell [2,4] pairs with greater-2 cell [3,4] via [2,3] (index 12) giving 2 and 3; and sum-4 cell [2,6] pairs with greater-4 cell [3,6] via [4,5] (index 6) giving 4 and 5.

💡 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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