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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
Livengood's easy grid is the gentlest of the three, and it plays like a demonstration: seven small regions, five dominoes, and four one-cell clues — two of them inequalities — doing most of the early talking. The two vertical sum-10 pairs give the board its spine, and the moment you notice the tray holds no 5 at all, both the sums and the greater-4 corner become narrow questions with a single answer each. The 6/6 double then does double duty, closing out a sum-10 pair and the greater-4 square in one flat move, and the rest of the board simply falls in behind it.
Kurchan's medium asks you to count before you place. The green sum-6 square on the right of the middle row can only hold the highest pip there is, and the tray carries exactly one 6 — so that tile immediately hands a 2 to the blue pair beside it, and the greater-than-5 total does the rest. From there the puzzle becomes a chain of small surrenders: one greater-than pair pushing a value into its neighbour, a bottom sum-8 pair that can only be a double, and a three-cell unequal block that must finish with three different pips.
The hard is where the tray starts talking. Sixteen dominoes and twenty-two regions on a wide 6-by-9 board sounds intimidating, but the pip inventory is lopsided in a helpful way — a single 6, four zeros and a thick handful of 4s — so today's NYT Pips hard rewards the solver who audits the tray before laying anything down. The purple sum-0 pair at the bottom and the two equals regions are your anchors; everything else spirals outward from them.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Count the one-cell clues first
Four regions on this board are a single square — two of them carry an inequality and two are rule-free free squares. Start with the inequalities: a one-cell 'greater than' or 'less than' accepts only a handful of pips from the tray, and one of them accepts exactly one.
💡 Both sum-10 pairs want the same two pips
The two vertical pairs along the top row are both sum 10, and since pips cap at 6 and the tray holds no 5 at all, each pair has to be a 4 plus a 6. Now count the tray: only two 4s exist in the whole set, so those two tiles decide where each sum-10 pair gets its low half — and the spare 6 left over is the one the teal greater-4 corner is waiting for.
💡 The complete easy board
Full answer. The 1/0 tile lies flat along the bottom, 1 on the left in the uncoloured free square and 0 on the right in the blue less-1 cell. In the top-right corner the 6/6 double runs flat along the top row: 6 on the left in the upper cell of the pink sum 10 pair, 6 on the right in the teal greater-4 square. The 4/0 tile caps the top-left, 0 on the left in the uncoloured corner and 4 on the right in the upper cell of the purple sum 10 pair. The 3/6 tile lies flat through the middle row, 6 on the left in the lower cell of the purple sum 10 pair and 3 on the right in the orange sum 5 region's left cell; the 2/4 tile continues along the same row, 2 on the left in the orange region's right cell and 4 on the right in the lower cell of the pink sum 10 pair.
💡 Find the squares that speak plainly
Three regions here are just one cell — two carry a rule and one is a free space. A one-cell sum names its pip outright, and a one-cell greater-than leaves only the top of the range, so read those before you look at any pair or block.
💡 The only 6 in the tray
The green sum-6 square on the right edge of the middle row can only be the pip 6, and scanning the dominoes turns up exactly one tile carrying a 6: the 2/6. It has to lie flat, which drops its 2 into the right-hand cell of the blue greater-5 pair immediately to its left.
💡 The complete medium board
Full answer. The 2/6 tile lies flat on the middle row, 2 on the left in the right-hand cell of the blue greater-5 pair and 6 on the right in the green sum-6 square. One row above and to the left, the 3/4 tile lies flat, 3 on the left in the lower cell of the orange greater-7 pair and 4 on the right in the blue pair's left cell. The 1/5 tile lies flat one row higher again, 5 on the left in the orange pair's upper cell and 1 on the right in the uncoloured free square. At the top, the 2/5 tile puts 2 on the right in the top-left cell of the pink unequal block and 5 on the left in the purple greater-4 square; the 1/0 tile fills the block's bottom row, 0 on the left and 1 on the right. The 1/1 double occupies the teal equals pair on the top row, 1 in each cell, and the 4/4 double runs flat along the purple sum-8 pair at the bottom, 4 in each cell.
💡 Three kinds of clue to hunt
Read the extremes before you place anything: a pair of cells that must total nothing at all, two regions that insist on identical pips, and a long scatter of one-cell squares. Those three families of constraint set the shape of everything that follows.
💡 Zero, and the shape of an equals block
The purple sum-0 pair near the bottom of the board can only be the 0/0 double — nothing else gives you two zeros. Meanwhile the teal equals block in the top-right corner needs the same pip three times over: its two top-row cells sit side by side and must be covered by one double, while its third cell hangs below the left one and has to be lifted from the green sum-5 square underneath.
💡 Both equals regions fill in
The teal block's top row is the 4/4 double, lying flat, 4 on the left and 4 on the right. The 5/4 tile stands vertically beneath the block's left cell, sending its 4 up into the third teal cell while its 5 stays in the green sum-5 square below. That leaves the 5/5 double for the orange equals pair down the left edge, standing vertically with 5 above and 5 below.
💡 The top-left corner and the freed zeros
The purple less-3 corner square touches exactly one other cell — the green sum-2 square beneath it — so a single tile covers both: the 2/2 double stands vertically, 2 in the corner and 2 in the green cell. Just to its right, the purple less-3 vertical pair needs two pips below 3 and takes the 2/0 tile vertically, 2 upper and 0 lower. The last zero, riding on the 4/0 tile, goes into the uncoloured free square in the middle row, its 4 landing in the blue greater-0 square beside it.
💡 The complete hard board
Full answer. Bottom: the 0/0 double stands vertically in the purple sum-0 pair, 0 upper, 0 lower. Left edge: the 5/5 double stands vertically in the orange equals pair, 5 above, 5 below. Bottom-left: the 2/1 tile stands vertically, 1 in the green sum-3 pair's upper cell and 2 in its lower cell. Top-left: the 2/2 double stands vertically, 2 in the purple less-3 corner square and 2 in the green sum-2 square below; the 2/0 tile stands vertically beside it, 2 in the upper cell of the purple less-3 pair and 0 in the lower. Middle: the 4/0 tile lies flat, 0 on the left in the uncoloured free square and 4 on the right in the blue greater-0 square. Top row: the 1/4 tile stands vertically, 4 in the pink greater-3 square and 1 in the pink sum-1 square beneath; the 2/5 tile lies flat at the far right, 5 on the left in the orange sum-5 square and 2 on the right in the blue greater-1 corner. Top-right: the 4/4 double lies flat across the teal equals block's top row and the 5/4 tile stands vertically beneath its left cell, 4 in the block's third cell and 5 in the green sum-5 square below. Right column: the 3/5 tile stands vertically, 5 in the teal sum-5 square and 3 in the purple sum-3 square below it; the 4/3 tile lies flat, 3 on the left in the orange sum-3 square and 4 on the right in the upper cell of the blue unequal pair; the 1/5 tile stands vertically, 1 in the unequal pair's lower cell and 5 in the teal sum-5 square beneath. Centre: the 2/4 tile lies flat across the teal sum-7 block, 4 on the left and 2 on the right; the 1/3 tile stands vertically below the block's left cell, 1 in the block's bottom cell and 3 in the pink sum-3 square below; and the 3/6 tile lies flat across the pink sum-9 pair, 3 on the left and 6 on the right.
🎨 Pips Solver
Oct 21, 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: Take the two inequalities
The blue less-1 square at the bottom is the tightest clue on the board: a pip smaller than 1 can only be 0, so one of the tray's two zero-bearing tiles has to serve it. The teal greater-4 square in the top-right corner is nearly as tight — it will accept a 5 or a 6 — but run your eye along the tray and there is no 5 anywhere, so it must be a 6.
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Step 2: Both sum-10 pairs want the same pips
A vertical pair summing to 10 cannot use a 5, because the tray has none, so each pair has to be 4 and 6. There are exactly two 4s in the set — one riding with a 2, one riding with a 0 — and that drags their partners along: the 2 has to end up in the orange sum-5 strip, and the 0 in the uncoloured top-left corner.
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Step 3: The corner forces the double
The teal greater-4 square has only one neighbour on the whole board, the upper cell of the pink sum-10 pair, so whatever tile fills that corner puts a pip in each cell. The corner needs a 6, and the pink pair wants a 6 too (its 4 arrives from the 2/4 tile lower down the board), so the 6/6 double lies flat across them: 6 on the left, 6 on the right.
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Step 4: Close the loop
The purple sum-10 pair still owes a 4 and a 6. The 4/0 tile drops its 4 into the upper cell, its 0 sliding into the free corner on the left, and the 3/6 tile brings the 6 into the lower cell, its 3 landing in the left cell of the orange sum-5 region. That 3 means the orange's right cell must be a 2 — precisely the other half of the 2/4 tile, whose 4 slips into the lower cell of the pink pair. One tile is left: the 1/0 lies flat along the bottom, 1 in the uncoloured free square and 0 in the blue cell.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: The single 6 does the opening work
The green square on the right edge of the middle row sums to 6 in a single cell, so it can only be a 6 — the highest pip there is. Exactly one domino in the tray carries a 6, the 2/6 tile, and it must lie flat: 2 on the left in the right-hand cell of the blue greater-5 pair, 6 on the right in the green square.
2
Step 2: Blue needs more than five
The blue pair now holds a 2 and its two pips must add to more than 5, so the other cell needs at least a 4. The 3/4 tile is the fit, lying flat along that same row: 3 on the left in the lower cell of the orange greater-7 pair, 4 on the right in the remaining blue cell. Four plus two is six, which clears the test.
3
Step 3: Orange climbs past seven
The orange pair already has its 3 and needs a total above 7, so the upper cell must be a 5 or a 6 — and the only 6 is busy in the green square. The 1/5 tile lies flat one row higher: 5 on the left in the orange pair's upper cell, 1 on the right in the uncoloured free square beside it. Three plus five gives 8.
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Step 4: The bottom pair takes the double
The purple sum-8 pair at the bottom could be built as 4+4, 3+5 or 2+6, but the 6, the 5 and the 3 have all been spent above it. That leaves only the 4/4 double, lying flat with a 4 in each of the two cells.
5
Step 5: Equals, then the unequal block
Three tiles remain: the 1/1 double, the 2/5 and the 1/0. The teal equals pair on the top row demands identical pips, and the 1/1 double is the only double still in hand, so 1 goes in each of its cells. The 2/5 tile lies flat at the top-left, 5 on the left in the purple greater-4 square and 2 on the right in the block's top-left cell. The 1/0 then covers the block's two bottom cells, 0 on the left and 1 on the right, so the block reads 2, 0, 1 — three different pips, exactly as the unequal rule requires.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: The zero sum pays out first
Two cells that must total 0 can only both be zeros, and the only domino in the tray with two zeros is the 0/0 double. The purple sum-0 pair near the bottom of the board takes it standing vertically — 0 in the upper cell, 0 in the lower.
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Step 2: Read the shape of the equals regions
Both equals regions need repeated pips, but they do it differently. The orange equals pair down the left edge is two stacked cells, so one double must cover both. The teal equals block in the top-right is three cells: its two top-row cells sit side by side and are covered by a single double, while the third cell hangs below the left one and must be fed vertically — which means the block's value needs a double plus one more copy from a neighbouring tile.
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Step 3: Fill both equals regions
The teal block's top row is the 4/4 double, lying flat, 4 left and 4 right. Beneath its left cell the 5/4 tile stands vertically: the 4 rises into the block's third cell while the 5 stays in the green sum-5 square below. That frees the 5/5 double for the orange equals pair on the left edge, standing vertically with 5 above and 5 below.
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Step 4: The corner, the less-3 pair, and the last zero
The purple less-3 corner square touches only one other cell, the green sum-2 square beneath it, so one tile covers both; the 2/2 double stands vertically, 2 in the corner and 2 in the green cell. Immediately right, the purple less-3 vertical pair needs two pips under 3 and takes the 2/0 tile standing vertically, 2 upper and 0 lower. The remaining zero rides on the 4/0 tile, which lies flat through the middle of the board — 0 on the left in the uncoloured free square, 4 on the right in the blue greater-0 square.
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Step 5: The top row and the right edge
Along the top, the 1/4 tile stands vertically, 4 in the pink greater-3 square and 1 in the pink sum-1 square below it, while the 2/5 tile lies flat at the far right, 5 on the left in the orange sum-5 square and 2 on the right in the blue greater-1 corner. Down the right edge, the 3/5 tile stands vertically, 5 in the teal sum-5 square and 3 in the purple sum-3 square beneath; the 4/3 tile lies flat below that, 3 on the left in the orange sum-3 square and 4 on the right in the upper cell of the blue unequal pair; and the 1/5 tile stands vertically, 1 in the unequal pair's lower cell, 5 in the teal sum-5 square below.
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Step 6: The centre and the bottom-left corner
In the middle, the 2/4 tile lies flat across the teal sum-7 block, 4 on the left and 2 on the right, and the 1/3 tile stands vertically below the block's left cell, 1 in the block's bottom cell and 3 in the pink sum-3 square beneath it. In the bottom-left corner the 2/1 tile stands vertically, 1 in the upper cell of the green sum-3 pair and 2 in the lower. The last tile, the 3/6, lies flat across the pink sum-9 pair at 3 on the left and 6 on the right — a final check that the three plus six lands on nine.
💡 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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