🚨 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 NYT Pips easy like a sponge: one five-cell sum region soaks up nearly every small pip in the tray, so the entire opening is really a single question — what can be built across five cells when the tray carries no zero at all? Everything around it is trim: two single-cell regions that settle their own value outright, an orange vertical pair at the bottom that has to split two very different pips, and a free corner square happy to absorb the leftover. Elegant, and about as gentle as this format ever gets. Rodolfo Kurchan's medium is a study in constraint variety. An equals block in the centre acts as the board's value-setter, a lone less-than cell in the top-right corner is the key that cracks it open, and a four-cell unequal block down the left side insists on four different pips — a neat way to make the solver keep a running ledger of what has already been spent. The absence of a zero in the tray quietly promotes one innocuous corner cell into the most powerful clue on the sheet. Kurchan's hard stretches that same grammar across a much airier grid. Two equals regions echo each other — a tall equals column at the top and a square equals block over on the right — while a scatter of free squares gives the board breathing room and the solver a few decompression valves. He also leans on the two smallest sums on the sheet, a two-cell sum at the top-left corner and a two-cell sum at the bottom-right, which between them have to swallow both of the tray's zeroes. That makes them the natural place to start.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Start with the biggest sum region
Scan the sum constraints first. One of them covers far more cells than any other, and a total that has to be shared across that many cells leaves almost no room to manoeuvre — that region is the whole puzzle.
💡 The purple block sets the tone
The purple sum 5 block in the middle of the board has five cells but only five pips to spend, and the tray contains no 0 at all. That pins every cell in the block to the same tiny value, and it decides where the 1/1 double has to lie. Meanwhile the teal sum-5 single cell just to its left can only be one thing.
💡 Full easy solution
Purple sum 5: all five cells read 1 — lay the 1/1 double flat across the block's two bottom cells, 1 on the left and 1 on the right. Teal sum 5: the lone cell on the left edge is 5, so the 1/5 tile lies flat with 5 on the left in the teal cell and 1 on the right in the block's middle-centre cell. Orange sum 9: the 6/1 tile stands upright, 1 as the upper half in the block's middle-right cell and 6 as the lower half in the orange pair's upper cell, which forces 3 into the lower orange cell. The 4/3 tile lies flat along the bottom row, 3 on the left in that lower orange cell and 4 on the right in the uncoloured corner square. The 4/1 tile lies flat along the top row, 1 on the left in the block's top-right cell and 4 on the right in the pink greater-3 cell.
💡 Hunt the less-than cells first
Begin with the single-cell less-than constraints. A one-cell region with a low target can host only a tiny pip, and that pip has to come out of the tray — so inventory the smallest pips before you touch anything else.
💡 The blue cell unlocks the equals block
The blue less-2 cell up in the top-right must be 0 or 1, and the tray holds no 0 at all, so it is 1. Only the 2/1 tile carries a 1, and it lies flat with 1 on the right in the blue cell and 2 on the left in the orange equals block's top-right cell — which fixes the value of that entire equals block.
💡 Full medium solution
Blue less 2 = 1, from the 2/1 tile lying flat: 1 on the right in the blue cell, 2 on the left in the orange equals block's top-right cell. That makes the block all 2s, and the tray's other two 2s go with it — the 2/5 tile stands vertically with 2 as the lower half in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 as the upper half in the teal unequal block, while the 4/2 tile lies flat with 2 on the left in the block's bottom-right cell and 4 on the right in the purple less-5 cell on the right. The pink sum-4 single cell near the top-left simply holds 4, so the 4/4 double stands vertically, 4 as the upper half in pink and 4 as the lower half in the teal block's top-left cell. The teal unequal block's last two pips come from the 6/3 tile standing upright, 3 as the upper half in its middle-left cell and 6 as the lower half in its bottom-left cell. Finally the 5/3 tile stands in the purple greater-7 pair at the top-left, 5 as the upper half and 3 as the lower half for 8; and the 6/4 tile stands in the green sum-10 pair on the right, 6 as the upper half and 4 as the lower half.
💡 Begin with the less-than regions
Start with the single-cell less-than constraints. When a lone cell must sit below a small target, the tray itself limits the answer to one or two candidates, and that is where the whole solve begins.
💡 Both less-2 cells read 1
The orange less-2 single cell at the top-left and the pink less-2 single cell out on the right can each only hold 0 or 1. Both of the tray's 0s are claimed elsewhere — one by the two-cell sum region at the very top-left corner, one by the two-cell sum region at the bottom-right corner — so both of these cells come out as 1.
💡 The tiny sum pairs take the zeroes
A tile's two pips have to fit the region they land in. The 2/0 tile sums to 2, so it belongs in the only two-cell region that sums to 2 — the purple pair across the top-left corner, laid flat with 2 on the left and 0 on the right. The 0/3 tile sums to 3, so it belongs in the green sum-3 pair at the bottom-right, standing with 3 as the upper half and 0 as the lower half.
💡 The equals column wears the 6/6 double
The pink equals column running down from the top needs three identical pips, and the 6/6 double covers two of them: 6 as the upper half and 6 as the lower half. The third comes from the 6/2 tile lying flat, 6 on the left in the column's bottom cell and 2 on the right in the blue equals block's top-left cell — which fixes that whole block at 2, ready to absorb every remaining 2 in the tray.
💡 Full hard solution
Purple sum 2 across the top-left corner: the 2/0 tile flat, 2 left, 0 right. Pink equals column: the 6/6 double standing, 6 upper and 6 lower, with the 6/2 tile flat beneath it, 6 on the left in the column's bottom cell and 2 on the right in the blue equals block's top-left cell. Teal sum 12 column at the top-right: the 4/6 tile standing, 4 upper in the top cell and 6 lower in the middle, then the 2/2 double flat with 2 on the left in the blue block's top-right cell and 2 on the right in the teal column's bottom cell. Orange less 2: 1 from the 1/4 tile standing with 1 upper in the orange cell and 4 lower in the free square straight below it on the left edge. The other two free squares — the one in the orange cell's row, off to its right, and the one directly below that — take the 3/4 tile standing, 4 upper, 3 lower. Blue equals block: all 2s, from the 6/2 and the 2/2, plus the 2/5 tile standing with 2 upper in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 lower in the teal greater-4 cell, and the 2/1 tile standing with 2 upper in the block's bottom-right cell and 1 lower in the pink less-2 cell. Green less-9 block on the left: the 3/2 tile flat along the top of the block, 2 left and 3 right, plus the 5/3 tile standing with 3 upper in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 lower in the orange sum-5 cell at the bottom-left. Purple less-5 pair: the 1/3 tile standing, 1 upper, 3 lower. Blue less-7 pair at the bottom-right: the 2/4 tile standing, 2 upper, 4 lower. Green sum-3 pair at the bottom-right: the 0/3 tile standing, 3 upper, 0 lower. Purple sum-9 pair along the bottom-left: the 6/3 tile flat, 6 on the left, 3 on the right.
🎨 Pips Solver
Oct 18, 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 purple block can only be ones
The purple sum 5 region in the centre of the board has five cells but only five pips to spend, and the tray holds no 0 whatsoever — so nothing in it can rise above 1 without pushing another cell below zero. All five cells are 1. The 1/1 double therefore lies flat across the block's two bottom cells, 1 on the left and 1 on the right.
2
Step 2: The teal single cell takes the 5
A single cell whose total is 5 is simply 5, and the only 5 in the tray rides with a 1. So the 1/5 tile lies flat: 5 on the left in the teal sum-5 cell on the left edge, and 1 on the right in the purple block's middle-centre cell.
3
Step 3: The orange pair splits 6 and 3
The orange sum 9 region at the bottom is a vertical pair, and the tray's only 6 sits in the 6/1 tile. Stand that tile upright: 1 as the upper half in the purple block's middle-right cell, 6 as the lower half in the orange pair's upper cell. Nine minus six leaves 3 for the lower orange cell.
4
Step 4: The 4/3 and 4/1 tiles close the edges
The 4/3 tile lies flat along the bottom row, 3 on the left in the lower orange cell and 4 on the right in the uncoloured square in the bottom-right corner. The 4/1 tile then lies flat along the top row, 1 on the left in the purple block's top-right cell and 4 on the right in the pink greater-3 cell, which satisfies 'greater than 3' with room to spare.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: The blue cell is forced to 1
The blue less-2 cell up in the top-right must hold 0 or 1, but the tray contains no 0 at all — so it is 1. Only the 2/1 tile carries a 1, and it lies flat with 1 on the right in the blue cell and 2 on the left in the orange equals block's top-right cell. An equals block only ever holds one value, so that single placement sets the block at 2.
2
Step 2: Every remaining 2 joins the block
With the block fixed at 2, every tile in the tray carrying a 2 must spend it there. The 2/5 tile stands vertically, 5 as the upper half in the teal unequal block and 2 as the lower half in the orange block's bottom-left cell. The 4/2 tile lies flat, 2 on the left in the block's bottom-right cell and 4 on the right in the purple less-5 cell on the right.
3
Step 3: The pink sum-4 cell and the 4/4 double
The pink single cell near the top-left sums to 4, so it holds 4 — and the 4/4 double fits it perfectly, standing vertically with 4 as the upper half in pink and 4 as the lower half in the teal block's top-left cell. Teal now owns a 4 and a 5.
4
Step 4: The unequal block finishes with 3 and 6
The teal unequal block still needs two more pips, and they must differ from 4, from 5 and from each other. The 6/3 tile supplies both at once, standing upright with 3 as the upper half in the block's middle-left cell and 6 as the lower half in its bottom-left cell.
5
Step 5: The two remaining pairs
The purple greater-7 pair at the top-left takes the 5/3 tile standing vertically — 5 as the upper half on top, 3 as the lower half below it, for 8. The green sum-10 pair on the right takes the 6/4 tile, also standing, 6 as the upper half and 4 as the lower half, which totals exactly 10.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: Both less-2 cells read 1
The orange less-2 single cell at the top-left and the pink less-2 single cell out on the right can only hold 0 or 1. Both 0s in the tray are needed elsewhere — one for a two-cell region summing to 2 at the top-left corner, one for a two-cell region summing to 3 at the bottom-right — so both of these cells are 1.
2
Step 2: The 2/0 and 0/3 tiles find their homes
Each tile's two pips must fit the region it lands in. The 2/0 tile totals 2, so it goes to the only two-cell region that sums to 2: the purple pair across the top-left corner, laid flat with 2 on the left and 0 on the right. The 0/3 tile totals 3, so it goes to the green sum-3 pair at the bottom-right, standing with 3 as the upper half and 0 as the lower half.
3
Step 3: The equals column builds on the 6/6 double
The pink equals column descending from the top needs three matching pips. The 6/6 double provides two of them, standing with 6 as the upper half and 6 as the lower half. The 6/2 tile lies flat underneath: 6 on the left in the column's bottom cell, and 2 on the right in the blue equals block's top-left cell, which sets that block to 2.
4
Step 4: The blue equals block completes at 2
Three more 2s finish the blue block. The 2/2 double lies flat across its top, 2 on the left in the block's top-right cell and 2 on the right in the teal sum-12 column's bottom cell. The 2/5 tile stands with 2 as the upper half in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 as the lower half in the teal greater-4 cell, and the 2/1 tile stands with 2 as the upper half in the block's bottom-right cell and 1 as the lower half in the pink less-2 cell.
5
Step 5: The teal sum-12 column
The teal column at the top-right already ends with the 2 donated by the 2/2 double. The 4/6 tile stands upright above it, 4 as the upper half in the top cell and 6 as the lower half in the middle cell, so the column reads 4, 6 and 2 — exactly 12.
6
Step 6: The left side and the bottom row
Orange less 2 takes 1 from the 1/4 tile standing with 1 upper in the orange cell and 4 lower in the free square straight below it on the left edge. The 3/4 tile stands between the other two free squares — the one in the orange cell's row, off to its right, and the one directly below that — 4 upper, 3 lower. The green less-9 block on the left takes the 3/2 tile flat along its top, 2 left and 3 right, plus the 5/3 tile standing with 3 upper in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 lower in the orange sum-5 cell at the bottom-left. The purple less-5 pair takes the 1/3 tile standing, 1 upper and 3 lower. The blue less-7 pair at the bottom-right takes the 2/4 tile standing, 2 upper and 4 lower. The purple sum-9 pair along the bottom-left takes the 6/3 tile flat, 6 on the left and 3 on the right.
💡 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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