🚨 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.
🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview
Ian Livengood designs today's easy as a lesson in economy: five tiles, five regions, and one deliberately free square tucked into the top-right corner. The architecture is a quiet conversation between equals — the purple pair on the left and the teal trio on the right — with the pink sum 9 squeezed between them to supply the only real arithmetic on the board and the orange less-6 pair pinning down the bottom. Nothing is decorative; every region feeds a neighbour, which is exactly why a five-tile tray still feels like a puzzle rather than a formality.
The medium keeps Livengood's palette but escalates the dialogue. Two equals pairs run along the top row, a greater-3 marker sits directly above a less-3 marker on the left edge to fence in the extremes, and the bottom-right corner is handed over to a three-cell sum-8 block that has to absorb two of the tray's biggest pips. The centre equals pair is the hinge: read it wrong and the whole top row collapses with it. This is a designer's puzzle in the truest sense — the difficulty comes from interlock, not from size.
Rodolfo Kurchan takes the opposite approach for the hard: fourteen tiles on a nine-row board, opening with a rare unequal block that outlaws repetition instead of demanding a total. From that corner he stacks a sum 0 square against a sum 14 run, drives a three-cell sum-9 column down the middle, and scatters single-cell markers from less 4 up to greater 4, so the top half bristles with interlocking regions while the lower stretch relaxes into lone markers and a pair. That pacing is today's NYT Pips hard at its best — every constraint is a promise, and the board keeps them.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Start with repetition
Two regions on this board insist that every cell inside them shows the same pip. Begin there — equals constraints resolve far faster than any arithmetic, and one of those two regions is three cells long.
💡 The teal block needs a tripled value
The teal equals block on the right is three cells that must all match. Scan the tray and count how many pip values appear on more than one tile — only one value does — so that value is what fills the whole block. The tile that carries two copies of it goes in the block's right-hand column.
💡 The complete easy layout
Fill it like this. The 1/5 tile stands vertically where the pink sum 9 touches the teal block: 5 is the upper half in the pink pair's left cell, 1 the lower half in the teal block's top-left cell. The 1/1 double stands vertically down the teal block's right-hand column, 1 upper in the top-right teal cell and 1 lower in the bottom-right one. The 3/3 double stands vertically in the purple equals pair on the left, 3 upper and 3 lower. The pink region's missing half is 4, so the 2/4 tile stands vertically at the top-right corner: 2 upper in the uncoloured free square, 4 lower in the pink pair's right cell. The 0/0 double stands vertically in the orange less-6 pair at the bottom, 0 upper and 0 lower.
💡 Follow the matching pairs
Half of today's regions are equals pairs, and each pair carries a value no other pair uses. Work the matching constraints first and leave the single-cell markers and the three-cell sum until the end.
💡 The green pair is the crux
The green equals pair in the centre of the board runs flat between the blue equals pair below-left and the purple sum 8 block to its right. Its shared value has to be delivered by two different tiles, and only one pip value above five appears on two separate dominoes in the tray.
💡 The complete medium layout
The 4/4 double stands vertically in the purple sum 8 block at the bottom-right, 4 upper in its top-right square and 4 lower in its bottom-right square. The 0/6 tile stands vertically with 6 upper in the green pair's right cell and 0 lower in the sum-8 block's bottom-left square; the 6/3 tile stands vertically alongside it, 3 upper in the pink equals pair's right cell and 6 lower in the green pair's left cell. The 3/4 tile lies flat at the top-left, 3 on its right half in the pink pair's left cell, 4 on its left half in the purple greater-3 square; the 0/0 double lies flat across the teal pair in the top-right corner, 0 left and 0 right. Then the 1/0 tile lies flat with 1 on its right half in the blue pair's upper cell and 0 on its left half in the orange less-3 square, and the 5/1 tile lies flat directly beneath it — 1 on its left half in the blue pair's lower cell, 5 on its right half in the pink greater-4 square.
💡 Begin with the single-cell totals
Several regions here are one square carrying an exact total, which pins that square to a single pip before anything else moves. The unequal block in the top-left corner is the other early target — it forbids repetition rather than demanding a sum.
💡 The teal sum 4 square
The teal sum 4 square near the top of the board is the best foothold because it has only one neighbour in the entire grid — the top cell of the green sum 9 column directly beneath it. Whatever tile lands there has to serve both regions at once.
💡 One tile, two regions
That lone neighbour forces the tile over the teal square to stand vertically, and because the teal square holds an exact total, both halves of that tile carry the same pip — it is a double. Its lower half drops that same value into the top of the green sum 9 column, so the column's last two squares must total five between them. The 0/5 tile handles that: 5 upper in the middle green square, 0 lower in the bottom one.
💡 The pink sum 0 cell
Beside the purple unequal block sits a single pink square whose total is zero, so its pip must be 0. That 0 arrives from a horizontal neighbour: the 4/0 tile lies flat along the top, 4 on its left half in the purple unequal block's top-right square and 0 on its right half in the pink square.
💡 The complete hard layout
Top cluster: the 6/1 tile stands vertically in the purple unequal block, 1 upper in its top-left square and 6 lower in the square beneath it; the 4/0 tile lies flat alongside, 4 left in the block and 0 right in the pink sum 0 cell. The 4/4 double stands vertically, 4 upper in the teal sum 4 square and 4 lower in the top of the green sum 9 column; the 0/5 tile continues that column, 5 upper in the middle square, 0 lower in the bottom one. The 3/3 double stands vertically in the blue equals pair directly beneath the pink sum 0 square, 3 upper and 3 lower. The 2/6 tile stands vertically in the orange greater-7 pair at the top-right corner, 2 upper and 6 lower. The 1/1 double stands vertically in the purple equals block, 1 upper and 1 lower down its left side, and the 1/3 tile lies flat off its bottom-right corner, 1 left in the block and 3 right in the teal sum 3 square. The 2/4 tile stands vertically with 4 upper in the pink sum 4 square and 2 lower in the right cell of the orange sum 14 run.
Bottom cluster: the 6/6 double lies flat in that orange sum 14 run, 6 left and 6 middle, so with the 2 already sitting at the run's right cell the total lands on 14. The 2/3 tile lies flat with 3 left in the blue less-4 square and 2 right in the left cell of the green less-3 pair; the 0/6 tile stands vertically from that pair's right cell down into the uncoloured square, 0 upper and 6 lower. The 5/6 tile lies flat with 5 left in the purple greater-4 square and 6 right in the pink sum 6 square, and the 5/1 tile stands vertically in the teal sum 6 pair at the very bottom, 5 upper and 1 lower.
🎨 Pips Solver
Oct 14, 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
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: Hunt the only repeated pip value
The teal equals block on the right spans three cells that must all show the same pip. Check the five tiles in the tray: the value 1 is the only pip that appears on two different dominoes — the 1/5 and the 1/1 — while 0, 2, 3, 4 and 5 each live on a single tile. So the teal block has to be all 1s.
2
Step 2: The 1/1 double takes the block's right column
Two of the teal cells are stacked vertically at the block's right edge, which is exactly where the 1/1 double belongs — 1 upper in the top-right teal cell and 1 lower in the bottom-right one. That leaves the third teal cell, the one tucked in at the top-left of the L, waiting for the other 1 in the tray.
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Step 3: The 1/5 tile feeds the pink sum 9
The 1/5 tile is the only remaining source of a 1, so it must stand vertically with its 1 in the teal block's top-left cell. Its other half therefore sits in the pink region above: 5 is the upper half in the pink pair's left cell, pushing the pink sum 9 to four pips short. The 2/4 tile closes that gap — 2 upper in the uncoloured free square at the top-right corner, 4 lower in the pink pair's right cell.
4
Step 4: The final two doubles
The purple equals pair on the left needs a matched value in two cells, and only a double does that cleanly: the 3/3 stands vertically, 3 upper and 3 lower. The last region is the orange less-6 pair at the bottom, where both pips must stay under six — the 0/0 double satisfies that with room to spare, 0 upper and 0 lower. Note that this tray holds three doubles in all, and each of them earned its place.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: The sum-8 block anchors the bottom-right
The purple sum 8 block has three cells to total 8, and two of them are vertically adjacent — a single double can cover both. The 4/4 is the only tile big enough to matter here: 4 upper in the block's top-right square and 4 lower in the bottom-right square, which uses up the entire total.
2
Step 2: The third sum-8 square must be 0
With 4 + 4 already reaching 8, the block's remaining square — the bottom-left one — can only hold 0. The 0/6 tile delivers it, standing vertically with 0 lower in that square and 6 upper in the green equals pair's right cell. Since the green pair must match, its other half is now committed to 6 as well.
3
Step 3: Green fixes pink
The 6/3 tile stands vertically to supply that second 6 — 6 lower in the green pair's left cell, which puts its 3 upper in the pink equals pair's right cell. So the pink pair along the top is a pair of 3s, and its left cell is still empty.
4
Step 4: The 3/4 tile and the top-right pair
Only one tile left can put a 3 in the pink pair's left cell: the 3/4, lying flat with its right half in the pink pair and its left half in the purple greater-3 square, where a 4 comfortably clears the greater-3 test. Meanwhile the teal equals pair in the top-right corner takes the 0/0 double, lying flat with 0 left and 0 right.
5
Step 5: The blue pair and the lone markers
The blue equals pair under the left edge still needs matching pips; the 1/0 and 5/1 tiles provide them. The 1/0 lies flat with 1 on its right half in the blue pair's upper cell and 0 on its left half in the orange less-3 square, which passes. The 5/1 lies flat directly beneath it — 1 on its left half in the blue pair's lower cell, 5 on its right half in the pink greater-4 square, comfortably above the target.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: Five single-cell totals give you five values
Scan the lone squares first. Each one names an exact total, so its pip is settled before any tile moves: the pink square beside the top-left corner, the teal square near the top, the pink square at the top-right, the teal square on the left, and the pink square on the right. That is five of the fourteen tiles half-solved, and the unequal block in the top-left corner tells you those three cells must all differ.
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Step 2: The teal sum 4 square has one neighbour
The teal sum 4 square near the top of the board borders exactly one other cell in the whole grid — the top cell of the green sum 9 column directly beneath it. Everything else around it is empty space, so the tile there must be vertical, with one half in the teal square and the other half in the top of the green column.
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Step 3: The double, then the rest of the green column
Because the teal square is a single-cell exact total, both halves of that vertical tile carry the same pip — it is a double, and its lower half copies the teal value into the top of the green sum 9 column. That leaves the column's middle and bottom squares owing five pips between them, and the 0/5 tile fills the bill: 5 upper in the middle green square, 0 lower in the bottom one.
4
Step 4: The pink zero square
The single pink square beside the purple unequal block carries a total of 0, so its pip is 0, and it can only receive that pip from a horizontal neighbour. The 4/0 tile lies flat along the top: 4 on its left half in the purple unequal block's top-right square, 0 on its right half in the pink square.
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Step 5: Closing the top cluster
The unequal block still needs its two other cells filled, and the 6/1 tile stands vertically inside it — 1 upper in the top-left square in the corner, 6 lower in the square beneath. The blue equals pair directly beneath the pink sum 0 square takes the 3/3 double, 3 upper and 3 lower. The orange greater-7 pair at the top-right corner needs a combined total above seven, which the 2/6 tile supplies standing vertically, 2 upper and 6 lower. The purple equals block takes the 1/1 double down its left side — 1 upper, 1 lower — and the 1/3 tile lies flat off its bottom-right corner, 1 left in the block completing the trio of 1s, 3 right in the teal sum 3 square. Finally the 2/4 tile stands vertically with 4 upper in the pink sum 4 square and 2 lower in the right cell of the orange sum 14 run.
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Step 6: The bottom cluster
The orange sum 14 run is two-thirds filled by the 6/6 double lying flat — 6 left, 6 middle — which, with the 2 already at the run's right cell, lands exactly on 14. The 2/3 tile lies flat with 3 left in the blue less-4 square and 2 right in the left cell of the green less-3 pair; the 0/6 tile stands vertically out of that pair's right cell and down into the uncoloured square, 0 upper and 6 lower, keeping both less-3 pips under three. The 5/6 tile lies flat with 5 left in the purple greater-4 square and 6 right in the pink sum 6 square, and the 5/1 tile stands vertically in the teal sum 6 pair at the very bottom of the board, 5 upper and 1 lower.
💡 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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