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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 designs today's NYT Pips easy as a study in equals regions: three of its five zones ask every cell to match, from the vertical purple pair hugging the top-left corner to the orange three-cell L on the right and the blue pair along the bottom. It's a deliberately forgiving shape, because the same question — which pip repeats? — is asked three times over, and the answer arrives through the tray's two doubles. The single pink less-than-2 cell in the top row is the one sharp edge on the whole board, and Livengood uses it beautifully: it's the hinge that decides the value of everything else.
Rodolfo Kurchan's medium takes the opposite approach — a sparse 14-cell board where every region has to pull its weight. Two free squares carry no constraint at all, which sounds generous right up until you notice the blue single-cell sum 0 on the right edge, one of the most restrictive instructions Pips can write. Around that cell Kurchan threads a chain of obligations: a sum 8 pair above it, a greater-than cell on the far left, a purple equals pair, and an 11-sum run of three across the middle that has to absorb whatever the edges leave behind.
The hard, also from Kurchan, is the widest canvas of the three: a gapped 6×6 with 18 regions and only 30 playable cells, dominated by two four-cell equals blocks in the top corners. Those twin blocks are the design signature. Each one borrows its value from a tiny single-cell neighbour — a sum 1 cell for the pink block, a sum 5 cell for the purple — so the two biggest structures on the board are dictated by the two smallest. Add a sum 15 block in the bottom-right, a sum 0 cell and a less-than-3 pair, and you get a solve that ripples outward from single cells rather than inward from the blocks.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Which constraint type speaks first
Three of the five regions here are equals regions — a vertical pair at the top-left, a three-cell L-shaped block on the right, and a horizontal pair along the bottom. The other two are a singly-capped less-than cell in the top row and a two-cell sum on the left. Equals regions collapse a whole set of cells down to one candidate value, so they are the natural place to start reading the board.
💡 The top row is the tightest edge
The pink less-than-2 cell sits in the top row immediately to the right of the purple equals pair's top cell, and one horizontal tile links them. That cap is brutal — its value must be tiny — and because the purple column has to repeat the same value twice, that tiny pip forces everything along the top edge. The tile closing the purple pair then hands a second value straight down into the left cell of the teal sum 5 pair. Follow that single thread down and the entire left side of the board collapses at once.
💡 Complete answer: how every tile lands
The 6/1 tile lies flat across the top row: 6 on the left in the purple equals pair, 1 on the right in the pink less-than-2 cell — so the purple pair reads 6 on top and 6 beneath. The 6/3 tile stands vertically under it, 6 up into the purple pair's lower cell and 3 down into the left cell of the teal sum 5 pair. The 1/2 tile stands vertically as well: 2 up into the teal pair's right cell (teal = 3 + 2 = 5), 1 down into the top-left cell of the orange equals block. The 1/1 double stands vertically inside that block, 1 in the top-right cell and 1 in the bottom-right cell, so all three orange cells read 1. Finally the 5/5 double lies flat in the blue equals pair along the bottom: 5 in the left cell, 5 in the right cell.
💡 Find the strictest single-cell targets
This board mixes sums, an equals pair and a greater-than cell, plus two completely free squares that constrain nothing at all. The single-cell sum regions are the sharpest tool Pips gives you, and one of them carries a target so tight that only a single pip value can ever satisfy it. Locate that cell first, before you look at anything else on the grid.
💡 Anchor the right edge, then the left
The blue single-cell sum on the right edge is your anchor: only one pip value fits it, and its tile stands vertically, pushing its partner straight up into the pink sum 8 pair and fixing that pair's right cell the moment you lay the tile down. The pink pair then needs exactly one more value to reach its total, and it arrives from the uncoloured free square in the top-right corner via the tile that drops down from it. Work the same way on the opposite side afterwards: the purple greater-than-1 cell near the bottom-left demands a value above 1, and it takes the larger half of its tile, leaving the smaller half in the uncoloured free square directly above it.
💡 Complete answer: the medium solved
The 0/5 tile stands vertically on the right edge — 0 down in the blue sum-0 cell, 5 up in the right cell of the pink sum 8. That forces the pink pair's left cell to 3, supplied by the 3/3 double standing vertically: 3 up in the top-right free square, 3 down in the pink pair's left cell. The purple equals pair closes with the 2/2 double lying flat, 2 in the left cell and 2 in the right cell. Across the middle the 1/4 tile lies flat — 4 on the left in the teal greater-than-2 cell, 1 on the right in the left cell of the orange sum 11 run. The 5/3 tile stands vertically into that run: 5 up in the middle cell, 3 down in the green sum 5 pair's left cell. The 5/2 tile also stands vertically: 5 up in the orange run's right cell (so the run reads 1 + 5 + 5 = 11), 2 down in the green pair's right cell, making green 3 + 2 = 5. Last is the 2/1 tile standing vertically at the bottom-left — 1 up in the free square, 2 down in the purple greater-than-1 cell.
💡 Big blocks, tiny targets
The hard board is dense: two four-cell equals blocks in the top corners, a sum 15 block in the bottom-right, a less-than-3 pair along the bottom, a greater-than-5 cell, and a scatter of single-cell sums in between. Don't start with the big shapes. The single-cell regions with the smallest targets pin themselves instantly, and because they sit against the equals blocks, each one has to lend half of its tile to a neighbour — which is exactly how the two biggest structures on the board learn their value.
💡 Two single cells hand the blocks their value
The teal sum 1 cell at the far top-right can hold only a single pip value, and its tile lies horizontally with the partner half landing in the top-right cell of the pink equals block — so all four pink cells inherit that partner's number. Mirror it at the other corner: the orange sum 5 single hangs directly below the purple equals block's top-left cell, and its tile stands vertically so the smaller half climbs up into the block, setting all four purple cells to that same value. Two one-cell regions, two four-cell blocks.
💡 Fill the two equals blocks
Inside the purple block, a horizontal double lies across the top row's two centre cells, fixing two of the four at once; the block's top-left cell takes the half climbing up from the orange sum 5 below, and its bottom-centre cell takes the half rising from the green sum 5 pair underneath. The pink block fills the same way: a vertical double runs down its left column covering two cells, while the top-right cell and the bottom-right cell are each supplied by a tile that leaves its partner half outside the block — one in the teal sum 1 cell, one in the blue sum 9 pair directly below.
💡 The right-hand tower and the sum 15 block
With the pink block finished, the blue sum 9 pair below its right column is half solved: the upper cell takes the 6 pushed across by the pink block's bottom-right tile, so the lower cell must supply the rest of the 9. That lower cell belongs to the 3/6 tile, which stands vertically and drops its 6 into the top-right corner of the sum 15 block beneath it. The 15 block then needs two more values, and only two tiles can reach it — the 5/0 tile standing up from the blue sum 0 cell in the bottom-right corner, and the 4/2 tile whose 2 exits into the green sum 2 cell at the very bottom-right of the grid.
💡 Complete answer: the hard laid out
The 2/5 tile stands vertically at the very top-left: 2 up in the purple equals block's top-left cell, 5 down in the orange sum 5 cell. The 2/2 double lies flat across the block's top row — 2 in the top-centre cell, 2 in the top-right cell — and the 2/0 tile stands vertically below it, 2 up in the block's bottom-centre cell and 0 down in the green sum 5 pair's right cell. In the pink block the 5/5 double stands vertically down the left column, 5 in the top-left cell and 5 in the bottom-left cell. The 1/5 tile lies flat along the block's top: 5 on the left in its top-right cell, 1 on the right in the teal sum 1 cell. The 5/6 tile lies flat below it: 5 on the left in the pink block's bottom-right cell, 6 on the right in the blue sum 9 pair's upper cell. The 3/6 tile stands vertically beneath that, 3 up in the blue sum 9 pair's lower cell and 6 down in the blue sum 15 block's top-right cell. On the left the 4/5 tile stands vertically: 5 up in the green sum 5 pair's left cell, 4 down in the purple sum 7 pair's upper cell. The 1/3 tile stands below it, 3 up in the purple sum 7 pair's lower cell and 1 down in the pink sum 1 cell at the bottom-left. The 3/3 double stands vertically just to the right: 3 up in the pink sum 3 cell, 3 down in the green sum 3 cell. The 1/0 tile lies flat along the bottom-left — 1 in the left cell of the teal less-than-3 pair, 0 in the right cell. The 2/3 tile lies flat in the centre: 2 on the left in the teal sum 2 cell, 3 on the right in the orange sum 3 cell. The 4/6 tile stands vertically directly below the teal sum 2 cell, 4 up in the purple sum 4 cell and 6 down in the orange greater-than-5 cell. The 5/0 tile stands vertically in the bottom-right: 5 up in the blue sum 15 block's bottom-left cell, 0 down in the blue sum 0 cell. And the 4/2 tile stands vertically beside it, 4 up in the blue sum 15 block's bottom-right cell and 2 down in the green sum 2 cell.
🎨 Pips Solver
Oct 2, 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
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Step 1: Read the three equals regions first
Three of the five regions demand that every cell match: the purple vertical pair at the top-left, the orange three-cell L on the right, and the blue pair along the bottom. Equals regions are the most restrictive shape on any Pips board, because they collapse a whole set of cells down to a single candidate value. Notice too that two of the five tiles in the tray are doubles — the 1/1 and the 5/5 — and a double is the cheapest possible way to satisfy two adjacent equals cells.
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Step 2: Why the top row must be the 6/1 tile
The pink less-than-2 cell can hold only a 0 or a 1, and only the 1/1, 1/2 and 6/1 tiles offer a pip that small. Meanwhile the orange block needs three identical pips, and the sole way to get three of a kind from this tray is three 1s — the 1/1 double plus one more 1 arriving from a neighbouring tile. That reserves the 1/1 for orange and leaves the 5/5 double for the blue pair. Now the top row must carry the small value into pink while also starting the repeated value down the purple column, and only the 6/1 tile does both: 6 on the left in purple, 1 on the right in the pink cell.
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Step 3: The 6/3 tile and the teal sum 5
The purple pair repeats, so its lower cell takes 6 as well, and the tile standing between that cell and the teal pair is the 6/3 — 6 up in the purple column, 3 down in the teal pair's left cell. That leaves the teal pair needing a 2 to reach its target of 5, and the only tile left that can supply one is the 1/2: 2 up in the teal pair's right cell, 1 down in the top-left cell of the orange block.
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Step 4: Close the orange and blue blocks
The orange L-shaped block now has a 1 in its top-left cell and needs its other two cells to match. The 1/1 double stands vertically right there — 1 in the top-right cell and 1 in the bottom-right cell — so orange reads 1/1/1. That leaves the 5/5 double for the blue pair along the bottom, where it lies flat with 5 in the left cell and 5 in the right cell. Finished board: purple 6/6, pink cell 1, teal 3 + 2, orange 1/1/1, blue 5/5.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
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Step 1: The sum-0 cell on the right edge
The blue single-cell region on the right edge targets zero, and exactly one pip value in the game satisfies that. Nothing else on the grid can be more certain, so it goes in first. The tile carrying that pip then has to place its partner somewhere, and the deduction that follows is what unlocks the entire right-hand side of the puzzle.
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Step 2: Why the pink pair is 3 + 5
The pink sum 8 pair sits directly above the blue cell. This tray's highest pip is 5, so 8 across two cells can only be 3 + 5 — there is no 4/4 double here to offer an alternative. The 3 must come from the 3/3 double, and the double cannot lie inside the pair, because that would give 6 rather than 8. So it stands vertically: 3 up in the free square at the top-right corner, 3 down in the pink pair's left cell. The pink pair's right cell now needs a 5, and the only tile that can reach it is the one whose partner sits in the blue sum-0 cell below — 0 down in blue, 5 up in pink.
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Step 3: The purple equals pair takes the 2/2
The purple equals pair just under the top edge needs both cells to match, and only a double can do that with a single tile. The tray holds exactly two doubles — the 3/3 and the 2/2 — and the 3/3 is already committed, standing in from the top-right free square. So the 2/2 lies flat across the purple pair: 2 in the left cell, 2 in the right cell.
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Step 4: The orange sum 11 run
The orange run of three cells across the middle needs 11, and it gets fed from both ends. From the left, the 1/4 tile lies flat — 4 out in the teal greater-than-2 cell, 1 in the run's left cell. From the right, the 5/2 tile stands vertically, 5 up in the run's right cell and 2 down into the green sum 5 pair. That leaves the middle cell needing 5, and the 5/3 tile supplies it standing vertically: 5 up in the middle cell, 3 down into the green pair's left cell.
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Step 5: Green, and the last two cells
Green's pair now holds 3 (from the 5/3 tile) and 2 (from the 5/2 tile), which is exactly its target of 5. One tile remains, the 2/1, standing vertically at the bottom-left: 1 up in the uncoloured free square, 2 down in the purple greater-than-1 cell — a value strictly above 1, exactly as its region demands. Final grid: teal greater-than-2 = 4, purple equals = 2/2, pink sum 8 = 3 + 5, orange sum 11 = 1 + 5 + 5, green sum 5 = 3 + 2, blue sum 0 = 0, top-right free square = 3, bottom-left free square = 1, purple greater-than-1 = 2.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: Two equals blocks frame the board
The hard grid opens with four-cell equals blocks in both top corners: the purple one spread across the top-left like a flattened T, the pink one a neat square filling the top-right corner. Equals blocks are the loudest constraint on any Pips board, but on their own they are wide open — any value from 0 to 6 could fill them. What makes them solvable is the company they keep: the teal sum 1 cell tucked against the pink block's right edge, and the orange sum 5 cell hanging below the purple block's top-left cell.
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Step 2: The smallest cells hand over the block values
The teal sum 1 cell at the far top-right can hold only one pip value, and its tile lies horizontally, putting the partner half in the pink block's top-right cell — so the pink block's value comes straight from that partner. On the other side, the orange sum 5 single sits directly beneath the purple block's top-left cell, and its tile stands vertically, the smaller half climbing into the block while the larger half stays in orange. Both four-cell blocks now know their value: one from a 1/5 tile, the other from a 2/5 tile.
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Step 3: Complete the pink block, then the purple one
In the pink block, the 5/5 double stands vertically down the left column, covering two cells; the 1/5 tile covers the top-right cell, and the 5/6 tile covers the bottom-right, its 6 crossing over into the blue sum 9 pair below. On the left the 2/2 double lies flat across the purple block's top row centre cells, the 2/5 tile fills the top-left cell, and the 2/0 tile climbs up into the bottom-centre cell, its 0 dropping down into the green sum 5 pair underneath.
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Step 4: The right-hand column cascades
The blue sum 9 pair sits under the pink block. Its upper cell already holds the 6 pushed across by the 5/6 tile, so the lower cell must supply the rest. That cell belongs to the 3/6 tile, which stands vertically and drops its 6 into the top-right corner of the sum 15 block below. The 15 block then needs two more values, and only two tiles can reach it: the 5/0 tile standing up from the blue sum-0 cell in the bottom-right corner, and the 4/2 tile whose 2 exits into the green sum 2 cell at the far bottom-right.
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Step 5: The bottom-left ladder
On the left side the 4/5 tile stands vertically — 5 up in the green sum 5 pair's left cell, 4 down in the top of the purple sum 7 pair. The 1/3 tile sits directly below it: 3 up in the bottom of that same sum 7 pair (4 + 3 = 7), 1 down in the pink sum 1 cell at the bottom-left corner. Right beside it the 3/3 double straddles two single-cell regions — 3 up in the pink sum 3 cell, 3 down in the green sum 3 cell — and the 1/0 tile lies flat along the bottom-left, filling the teal less-than-3 pair with 1 and 0.
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Step 6: The centre and the finished grid
Only the middle remains. The 2/3 tile lies flat: 2 on the left in the teal sum 2 cell, 3 on the right in the orange sum 3 cell. The 4/6 tile stands vertically directly below that teal sum 2 cell — 4 up in the purple sum 4 cell, 6 down in the orange greater-than-5 cell. The green sum 5 pair's right cell takes the 0 from the 2/0 tile, and the green sum 2 corner takes the 2 from the 4/2 tile. Final grid: purple block all 2s; pink block all 5s; teal sum 1 = 1; teal sum 2 = 2; teal less-than-3 = 1 and 0; orange sum 5 = 5; orange sum 3 = 3; orange greater-than-5 = 6; blue sum 9 = 6 + 3; blue sum 15 = 6 + 5 + 4; blue sum 0 = 0; green sum 5 = 5 + 0; green sum 3 = 3; green sum 2 = 2; purple sum 7 = 4 + 3; purple sum 4 = 4; pink sum 3 = 3; pink sum 1 = 1.
💡 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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