NYT Pips Hints & Answers for May 28, 2026

Ian Livengood's easy grid for today's NYT Pips deploys a set of greater‑sum constraints, where a region's total must exceed a target rather than requiring every cell to be individually greater. The deduction graph opens with two isolated single‑cell greater‑sum regions — [0,4] (target >3) and [1,2] (target >2) — each forcing a high pip from the available pool. Their placements in turn activate an equals pair at [2,2]‑[2,3] via a shared 1, which cascades into the remaining equal‑cell regions and the final greater‑sum region at [3,4]‑[3,5].

Rodolfo Kurchan's medium puzzle weaves two unequals regions across rows 1–4, creating a web of forced distinct values. The chain begins with a sum‑4 singleton at [2,1] that locks a 4 on a double‑4 domino, while the equals pair at [3,1] and [4,1] latches onto the number 2, splitting it across two different dominoes. A sum‑5 singleton at [2,5] then fixes a double‑5, after which the unequals constraints slot the remaining dominoes into precise positions based on value exclusion.

For the hard, Kurchan constructs a grid around two massive equals clusters — a 2×2 block in the northwest and a 5‑cell equals bar on the eastern edge — with a long unequals column slicing through the center. The solve is anchored by the equal‑pip dominoes [3,3] and [3,6], which seed the top‑left block and the adjacent sum‑6 cell. From there, a greater‑1 cell forces a 2 that splits a [3,2] domino, a sum‑6 cell forces a 6 that feeds into a sum‑6 pair, and the right‑side equals row demands a synchronized cascade of [0,6], [6,6], [4,6], and [6,1] before bottom equals and a sum‑3 close the grid.

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