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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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🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview
Ian Livengood's easy for today's NYT Pips is built like a three-line poem. Three equals pairs form the frame — one on the left, one on the right, one along the bottom-right edge — and he deliberately lets two of them be assembled from halves of different tiles rather than handing you convenient doubles. Only the teal pair at the bottom takes a whole double, and by the time you reach it that domino is the last one standing. The single greater-than square in the top-right corner is the one bit of grit: it quietly rules out every low tile for that corner and gives the puzzle its only real fork. Rodolfo Kurchan's medium is a lesson in supply and demand. The teal equals block at the bottom is oversized on purpose — four cells demanding the same pip — and Kurchan has flooded the tray with that value so the block behaves like a magnet, draining most of the 4s before anything else can be read. Around it he hangs a deliberately permissive less-10 column (repetition is allowed, so a neat triple can hide there), an unequal triple that refuses to settle, and a single free square that exists only to absorb the leftover zero from his corner domino. The hard is Kurchan at his most architectural: eighteen regions on a perforated board, most of them single cells, so it reads less like a tiling problem and more like a lattice of fixed values waiting to be stitched together. Two signature touches stand out. The three-cell equals run along the bottom-right edge can only be fed by zeros, and Kurchan has salted the tray with exactly three pip-0 halves; and at the top-right he stacks a greater-4 square directly on top of a less-2 square, a vice so tight that only one tile in the entire set can bridge it.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Sort the constraints before the tiles
Don't grab a domino yet — read the board. Equals pairs want the same pip twice; a three-cell sum block with a tiny budget locks out every big pip in the tray; and a greater-than single square cuts a whole domino down to one qualifying half. Today the equals pairs and that little sum block are where the puzzle breathes.
💡 The orange sum-4 block
The orange sum-4 block in the top-left corner spends only 4 pips across three cells, so 5s and 6s are instantly out. Two of those cells must hold 1 and 1 — nothing else buys two cells that cheaply — and the tray's single 1-carrier is the 1/1 double, so it must lie flat across the top of the block. The third cell needs a 2, and the 2/6 tile is the tray's only source of one.
💡 The complete easy layout
The 1/1 double lies flat across the top of the orange sum-4 block, 1 in each top cell. The 2/6 tile stands upright underneath its left end: 2 in the block's bottom-left cell, 6 in the left cell of the purple equals pair. The 6/3 tile lies flat beside it, 6 in the purple pair's right cell and 3 in the upper cell of the pink equals pair, so purple reads 6/6. The 5/3 tile stands upright in the top-right corner, 5 in the blue greater-4 square and 3 in the pink pair's lower cell, closing pink at 3/3. The 0/0 double lies flat along the bottom-right edge to fill the teal equals pair.
💡 Three kinds of pressure
Read the constraint types before the tray. One region demands four matching pips, one forbids any two of its cells matching, and a greater-than single square rules out almost everything you own. Find that square first — it collapses to a single domino in one move.
💡 The blue greater-4 square
The blue square in the bottom-right corner needs a pip above 4, and the tray's highest pip is only 5 — so exactly one domino can satisfy it, and its other half has to fall into the uncoloured free square immediately to its left. With that tile spent, turn to the teal equals block along the bottom: four cells begging for the same value, and the tray is stacked with exactly one candidate.
💡 The complete medium layout
The 5/0 tile lies flat in the bottom-right corner — 5 in the blue greater-4 square, 0 in the uncoloured free square to its left. With the tray's only 5 spent, the teal equals block takes four 4s: the 4/4 double stands upright on its right-hand side (4 top, 4 bottom), the 4/3 tile stands upright with its 4 in the block's top-left cell, and the 2/4 tile lies flat with 4 in the block's bottom-left cell and 2 in the bottom of the pink less-10 column. The 4/3's other half plants 3 in the purple unequal block's bottom-left cell, while the 2/0 tile stands upright in that block's right column — 2 at the top, 0 beneath it. The 2/2 double stands upright in the pink column's top two cells, so the column reads 2/2/2, and the 4/1 tile lies flat in the orange sum-5 pair, 4 on the left and 1 on the right.
💡 Find the vice
Start where two opposite constraints touch. A greater-than square sitting directly above a less-than square is a vice: one domino has to bridge both, so its upper half must clear the high bar and its lower half must duck under the low one. That pairing is the sharpest deduction on the board.
💡 Blue over green in the top-right
The vise is the blue greater-4 square in the top-right corner with the green less-2 square directly beneath it. The domino spanning them needs a top half above 4 and a bottom half below 2 — a single tile in the whole tray can do both. Once it drops in, count zeros: the tray holds exactly three 0 halves, and the blue equals run of three along the bottom-right edge is the only shape that wants three matching pips.
💡 The bottom-right edge and the greater-9 block
The blue equals run along the bottom-right edge takes all three zeros: the 0/0 double lies flat over its first two cells and the 0 from the 3/0 tile stands on the right end, sending its 3 up into the bottom-right corner of the green greater-9 block. That block now needs its two remaining cells to beat 6 between them, and the 2/5 tile lies flat across its top row — 2 on the left, 5 on the right — for a total of 10.
💡 The top-middle chain
The purple sum-6 single cell can only be a 6, so the 6/4 tile lies flat there and pushes its 4 into the top of the pink sum-6 pair, which now needs a 2. The 2/2 double lies flat to supply it, its left half landing in the pink pair and its right half spilling into the left cell of the teal unequal pair. That pair needs a different pip beside it, so the 4/4 double stands upright: 4 in the orange sum-4 single above, 4 in the teal unequal pair's right cell below.
💡 The complete hard layout
Top-right: the 5/1 tile stands upright — 5 in the blue greater-4 square, 1 in the green less-2 square beneath it. Bottom-right edge: the 0/0 double lies flat over the first two cells of the blue equals run, and the 3/0 tile stands upright on its right end, 0 in the third cell of the run and 3 in the corner of the green greater-9 block, whose top row takes the 2/5 tile flat, 2 left and 5 right. Top-middle: the 6/4 tile lies flat, 6 in the purple sum-6 single and 4 in the top of the pink sum-6 pair; the 2/2 double lies flat with its left 2 in the pink pair's lower cell and its right 2 in the left cell of the teal unequal pair; the 4/4 double stands upright with 4 in the orange sum-4 single and 4 in the teal unequal pair's right cell. Left edge: the 2/1 tile stands upright, 2 in the purple sum-2 square and 1 at the top of the teal equals pair; the 1/1 double stands upright with 1 in that pair's lower cell and 1 in the top cell of the orange sum-3 pair; the 2/3 tile stands upright with 2 in the orange pair's lower cell and 3 in the blue sum-3 square. Middle-left column: the 4/3 tile stands upright, 4 in the green sum-4 cell and 3 in the purple less-4 cell below it; the 5/4 tile stands upright, 5 in the pink sum-5 cell and 4 in the teal greater-2 cell below it. Finally the 1/4 tile lies flat in the orange sum-5 pair at the bottom left, 1 left and 4 right, and the 6/3 tile lies flat across the pink unequal pair at the top, 6 left and 3 right.
🎨 Pips Solver
Nov 6, 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
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
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: The cheap block
The orange sum-4 block spends only 4 pips across three cells, which rules out 5s and 6s at a stroke. The only workable split is 1+1+2: two 0s would leave the block needing a 4 the tray doesn't own, and a single 0 would strand its twin with no partner zero available anywhere. Both 1s have to come from one tile, so the 1/1 double lies flat across the top of the block.
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Step 2: The 2 and its shadow
The block's third cell must be a 2, and the 2/6 tile is the only tile in the tray carrying one. It has to stand upright along the left edge: 2 up in the block's bottom-left cell, 6 down in the left cell of the purple equals pair. That single placement is the hinge of the whole puzzle — the purple pair now knows exactly what it needs.
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Step 3: Finishing the purple pair
The purple equals pair lies horizontally with a 6 in its left cell, so its right cell needs a matching 6, and the 6/3 tile is the only remaining source. It lies flat with 6 in the purple pair's right cell and 3 in the upper cell of the pink equals pair, which pre-loads the pink pair for a second 3 and leaves the board almost resolved.
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Step 4: The corner and the last double
The blue greater-4 square in the top-right corner accepts only 5 or 6. Both 6s are spent, so the 5/3 tile stands upright through that corner: 5 in the blue square, 3 in the pink pair's lower cell, closing pink at 3/3 and making every equals pair consistent. The 0/0 double is the only tile left and it fits the teal equals pair exactly, lying flat along the bottom-right edge.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: The corner domino
The blue greater-4 square in the bottom-right corner needs a pip above 4, and the tray holds a single 5 with no 6 at all. So the 5/0 tile lies flat there: 5 in the blue square, 0 in the uncoloured free square immediately to its left. That free square is the board's only zero-friendly home, so it is settled at the same moment.
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Step 2: The equals block drinks the 4s
The teal block covers four cells and demands one value throughout. The tray supplies five 4s — deeper than any other pip — so the block becomes a 4-farm. The 4/4 double stands upright on its right-hand side, the 4/3 tile stands upright with its 4 in the block's top-left cell, and the 2/4 tile lies flat to put 4 in the block's bottom-left cell, dropping its 2 into the bottom of the pink column.
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Step 3: The triple that refuses to match
The purple unequal block needs three different pips. Its bottom-left cell is already claimed by the upper half of the 4/3 tile, which is a 3. The 2/0 tile then stands upright in the block's right-hand column: 2 in the top-right cell, 0 in the bottom-right. Three distinct pips, and the unequal rule is satisfied without a struggle.
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Step 4: The generous column
The pink less-10 column is the one region that welcomes repetition. The 2/2 double stands upright across its top two cells and the 2 left over on the 2/4 tile fills the bottom one, so the column reads 2, 2, 2 — a total of 6, comfortably under the 10 ceiling.
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Step 5: The last pair
Only the 4/1 tile remains, and only the orange sum-5 pair is still open. It lies flat with 4 in the left cell and 1 in the right, hitting the target exactly. Every region on the board is now satisfied, and the uncoloured square holds the 0 that started the whole chain.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: A vice in the top-right corner
The blue greater-4 square sits directly above the green less-2 square, and a single domino has to span them. Its upper half must beat 4, its lower half must duck under 2. Scanning the tray, the 5/1 tile is the only one that can do both, so it stands upright through that seam: 5 in the blue square, 1 in the green less-2 cell below.
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Step 2: Three zeros for three cells
The blue equals run of three along the bottom-right edge wants one value three times over. Count the zeros in the tray: the 0/0 double plus one half of the 3/0 tile give exactly three, and no other region on the board is asking for them. So the 0/0 double lies flat over the run's first two cells, and the 3/0 tile stands upright on the right end — 0 in the third cell, 3 up in the bottom-right corner of the green greater-9 block.
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Step 3: The greater-9 block adds up
The green greater-9 block on the right already holds that 3, so its other two cells must beat 6 between them. The 2/5 tile lies flat across the top of the block — 2 on the left, 5 on the right — and 2 + 5 + 3 = 10 clears the target. With that, the whole right-hand side of the board is locked.
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Step 4: The top-middle chain
A sum-6 single cell can only hold a 6, so the 6/4 tile lies flat there and pushes its 4 into the top of the pink sum-6 pair. That pair now needs a 2, and the 2/2 double supplies it: its left half lands in the pink pair's lower cell and its right half spills into the left cell of the teal unequal pair. Unequal demands a different pip next door, so the 4/4 double stands upright — 4 in the orange sum-4 single above, 4 in the teal unequal pair's right cell below.
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Step 5: Down the left edge
The purple sum-2 square must be a 2, so the 2/1 tile stands upright: 2 in that square, 1 down in the top cell of the teal equals pair. That pair needs a matching 1, and the 1/1 double stands upright beneath it — 1 in the pair's lower cell, 1 in the top cell of the orange sum-3 pair. The orange pair then needs a 2, so the 2/3 tile stands upright with 2 in its lower cell and 3 in the blue sum-3 square at the bottom-left.
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Step 6: The middle column and the last two pairs
In the middle-left column, the green sum-4 cell takes the 4 of the 4/3 tile with its 3 falling into the purple less-4 cell below, and the pink sum-5 cell takes the 5 of the 5/4 tile with its 4 falling into the teal greater-2 cell below. The 1/4 tile then lies flat in the orange sum-5 pair at the bottom left, 1 on the left and 4 on the right, and the 6/3 tile lies flat across the pink unequal pair at the top, 6 on the left and 3 on the right. Every one of the eighteen regions now checks out.
💡 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.
💬 Community Discussion
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