🚨 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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🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview
Easy is a confidence-builder, and today's NYT Pips easy is about as gentle as they come: five dominoes over a three-row strip, with the two sum-2 corners doing most of the pointing. Ian Livengood makes each corner a single cell that can only hold one pip, which commits both of the tray's 2-carrying tiles before you have guessed at anything. The two equals pairs then settle themselves by elimination. Expect minutes, not hours — no forks, no dead ends. Medium, from Rodolfo Kurchan, is a seven-domino board with one real bottleneck. The single-cell constraints do the early work — the teal less-1 square at the top right can only hold a 0, and the blue sum-4 square toward the bottom left can only be filled from the tray's lone pair of 4s. Nail those two and the green sum-7 pair and the pink greater-7 pair follow in quick succession; miss them and you will be shuffling for a while. A comfortable step up, solvable in one sitting. Hard is the marathon: thirteen dominoes, twelve regions, and a pink sum-15 column down the left that eats four tiles on its own. Kurchan spreads the pressure — a green equals block up top, an orange equals block dead centre, and a cluster of less/greater singles along the bottom that leave almost no slack. The hinge is that centre equals block: deciding whether it reads as small pips or as 4s is what unlocks the second half. Budget real time and work corner-first.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Fence yourself in first
Begin with the four single-cell boxes that pin a value down — the purple less cell, the blue greater cell and the two sum corners along the bottom. A one-cell region has no room to hedge, so those tiny squares set the agenda long before the two equals pairs get a say.
💡 The sum corners spend both 2s
Look at the orange sum-2 corner and the green sum-2 corner in the bottom row. Between them they account for both 2s in the tray, so each of those tiles sends its other half straight upward — one into the teal equals pair on the right, one into the uncoloured square on the left.
💡 Full solution
Complete answer: the 1/0 stands vertically with 0 up in the purple less-2 cell and 1 down in the left half of the pink pair; the 5/1 also stands vertically, 1 up in the pink pair's right half and 5 down in the blue greater-2 cell. The teal pair reads 3 and 3 — the 2/3 runs vertically with 3 up in teal's right cell and 2 down in the green sum-2 corner, while the 4/3 puts 4 up in the top-right uncoloured square and 3 down in teal's left cell. Finish with the 2/6: 6 up in the left uncoloured square, 2 down in the orange sum-2 corner.
💡 Start with the ceilings
Lean on the small gates first: the teal less cell and the orange less cell stacked at the top right, and the single blue sum square near the bottom left. Single-cell constraints never have wiggle room, and they tell you which tiles the rest of the board is not allowed to use.
💡 One tile, one sum
The green sum-7 vertical pair in the bottom-right corner is the cleanest door in — both its cells sit under one domino, so scan the tray for a tile whose two pips add to exactly seven. There is only one such tile, and once it lands the two cells beneath it stop arguing.
💡 Full solution
Complete answer: the 1/6 fills the green sum-7 pair, 1 in the upper cell and 6 in the lower. The 4/4 double stands vertically just left of centre — 4 in the left uncoloured square and 4 down in the blue sum-4 cell. The 2/3 sits one column right: 2 up in the bottom uncoloured square, 3 down in the purple greater-2 cell. Along the left edge the 2/6 puts 2 in the upper half of the pink greater-7 pair and 6 in the lower half. The 6/0 runs vertically through the centre, 0 up in the purple less-4 block's right-hand cell and 6 down in the centre uncoloured square; the 2/0 puts 0 in the teal less-1 cell with 2 below it in the orange less-3 cell; and the 0/3 finishes at the top of the purple block, 0 in the highest cell, 3 in the one below.
💡 Corners before corridors
Survey the three constraint types on the board — the single-cell sums, the less/greater singles, and the two equals blocks. The sums and the caps are where exact values live; the equals blocks are where values get repeated. Start where a cap and a sum touch.
💡 The bottom-left stack
The blue sum-5 cell in the very bottom-left corner has exactly one neighbour — the teal less-4 cell directly above it — so the two are a single domino. It needs a 5 underneath and something small on top, and only one tile in the tray manages both.
💡 The 6 at the top names the block
The purple sum-6 cell at the top must hold a 6, and its only neighbour is the top-right cell of the green equals block. The tray's two 6s are on the 2/6 and the 6/1; the 2/6 would drag a 2 into the block, but only three 2s exist in the whole tray, and the block needs four matching cells. So the 6/1 goes in, 6 up in purple and 1 down in green.
💡 Green's 1s finish themselves
With the block fixed on 1s, the top-left corner cell can only reach right, so the 1/1 double lies flat across that pair. The block's remaining cell reaches right into the teal greater-3 square, so its tile must carry a 1 plus a pip larger than 3 — the 1/4 is the only tile that fits, 1 in the block and 4 in teal.
💡 Full solution
Complete layout: 5/3 vertical in the bottom-left stack, 5 in the blue sum-5 cell and 3 above it in teal less-4; 6/1 vertical at the top, 6 in the purple sum-6 cell and 1 below in the green block; 1/1 flat across the block's top-left pair; 1/4 horizontal with 1 in the block's bottom cell and 4 in teal greater-3. The pink column splits — top cell pairs down, bottom cell pairs up, and its third cell reaches right into the equals block. That block is all 4s: the 2/4 puts 2 in the column and 4 in the block's top-left, the 4/4 lies flat with 4 in the block's top-right and 4 in the blue sum-7's left cell, the 4/0 puts 4 in the block's bottom-left with 0 heading right into the purple sum-4 block. Then the 1/3 stands vertically in that purple block (1 up, 3 down); the 0/3 lies flat, 3 in the blue sum-7's right cell and 0 at the top of the green unequal column; the 1/2 fills the column's lower two cells, 1 above 2; the 0/1 fills the orange less-2 pair, 0 up and 1 down; and the pink column closes with the 5/5 (5 in the column, 5 in the pink greater-4 cell) and the 2/6 (2 up, 6 down) for a total of 15.
🎨 Pips Solver
Oct 27, 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 sum-2 corners claim both 2s
The orange sum-2 cell in the bottom-left corner and the green sum-2 cell in the bottom-right each hold a single pip, and that pip can only be a 2. The tray carries precisely two 2s — on the 2/6 and the 2/3 — so both tiles are locked into the bottom row, and their partners must travel upward.
2
Step 2: Teal's equals pair settles on 3
The green corner's 2 belongs to the 2/3, so that tile's other half, a 3, sits directly above it in the right-hand cell of the teal equals pair. The pair must match, so the cell to its left reads 3 as well, and the only tile that can deliver one from above is the 4/3 — 4 up in the top-right uncoloured square, 3 down into teal.
3
Step 3: The pink pair inherits both 1s
The pink equals pair at the centre of the board needs two matching pips, and the 2s and 3s are already spent, leaving 1 as the only repeated value. So the 1/0 stands with 1 in the pink pair's left cell and 0 in the purple less-2 cell above it; the 5/1 stands with 1 in the pink pair's right cell and 5 in the blue greater-2 cell below.
4
Step 4: The last tile fills the left column
Only the 2/6 is left unplaced. It runs vertically on the left, 6 up in the uncoloured square and 2 down in the orange sum-2 corner — the final cell on the board, and the one that makes the whole bottom row agree with itself.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: Green's pair is one domino summing to seven
The green sum-7 pair in the bottom-right corner is two vertically stacked cells, so a single tile covers both of them. Walk the tray: 2/0 is 2, 0/3 is 3, 2/3 is 5, 6/0 is 6, and both 2/6 and 4/4 are 8 — only the 1/6 makes exactly 7. Place it 1 in the upper cell and 6 in the lower.
2
Step 2: Blue's 4 drags the double into place
The blue sum-4 square toward the bottom left must hold a 4, and the tray's only 4s are the two halves of the 4/4 double. It has to stand vertically with one 4 in the blue cell — and if it lay the other way, the purple greater-2 cell below the neighbouring square would be left with no partner at all. So it goes 4 up in the left uncoloured square and 4 down in blue.
3
Step 3: Purple's greater-2 cell reaches up
The bottom purple greater-2 cell has two neighbours: the blue cell to its left, now taken, and the bottom uncoloured square above it. It must pair upward, and its pip has to be 3 or more. The 2/3 fits — 2 up in the uncoloured square, 3 down in the purple cell.
4
Step 4: Pink's greater-7 pair wants a heavy tile
Both pink cells on the left edge are covered by one vertical domino, and their pips must add up to more than 7. With the 4/4 already spent, the only tile that clears the bar is the 2/6, which totals 8. It stands with 2 in the upper cell and 6 in the lower.
5
Step 5: The centre and the top-right corner resolve
Six cells and three tiles remain: the 6/0, the 2/0 and the 0/3. The 6 cannot sit anywhere inside the purple less-4 block, so it lands in the centre uncoloured square with its 0 just above in the block's right-hand cell. Teal's less-1 square can only be a 0 and its only free neighbour is the orange less-3 cell below, so the 2/0 puts 0 up in teal and 2 down in orange. The 0/3 takes the last two cells at the top of the purple block: 0 in the highest one, 3 in the one beneath it.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: The bottom-left stack gives itself away
The blue sum-5 square in the very bottom-left corner has exactly one neighbour — the teal less-4 cell directly above it — so those two cells form a single domino. The lower half must be a 5 and the upper half must be under 4; the 5/3 is the only tile that does both, since the 5/5 would leave a 5 where a small pip is required. 5 in blue, 3 above in teal.
2
Step 2: The purple sum-6 cell names the green block
A single cell summing to 6 can only hold a 6, and the purple cell at the top has just one neighbour: the top-right cell of the green equals block. Only the 2/6 and the 6/1 carry a 6, and the 2/6 would push a 2 into the block — but the tray holds just three 2s, far short of four matching cells. So the 6/1 goes in, 6 up in purple and 1 down in green.
3
Step 3: The green block fills itself with 1s
The block reads 1s throughout. Its top-left corner cell can only reach right, so the 1/1 double lies flat across that pair. The block's remaining cell reaches right into the teal greater-3 square, so its tile needs a 1 plus a pip above 3 — the 1/4 is the only candidate. 1 in the block, 4 in teal.
4
Step 4: The pink column splits into two dominoes and an arm
The column's top cell has the filled teal greater-3 square above it, so it must pair downward. At the bottom, the pink greater-4 cell has the filled teal less-4 square below it, so it must pair upward. That strands the column's third cell, whose only remaining neighbour is the orange equals block to its right — so it reaches sideways into the block.
5
Step 5: The equals block is built from 4s
Three block cells must match, and each of their dominoes also feeds a neighbour. Small pips are in heavy demand elsewhere — the orange less-2 pair needs two pips under 2, the purple sum-4 block needs a 0, a 1 and a 3 — so only the 4s have enough copies left to do the block's job. Play the 2/4 with 2 in the column and 4 in the block's top-left; the 4/4 flat across the block's top-right cell and the blue sum-7's left cell; the 4/0 with 4 in the block's bottom-left and 0 heading right into the purple sum-4 block.
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Step 6: The bottom-right corner and the finish
The purple sum-4 block already owns a 0, so its last two cells want 1 and 3 — the 1/3 stands vertically, 1 up and 3 down. The blue sum-7 pair now has a 4 on its left, so its right cell must be a 3; the 0/3 lies flat, 3 on the left in blue and 0 on the right at the head of the green unequal column. The orange less-2 pair takes the 0/1 (0 up, 1 down), the unequal column's lower two cells take the 1/2 (1 above 2, keeping all three different), and the pink column closes with the 5/5 — 5 in the pink greater-4 cell, 5 in the column — and the 2/6, 2 up and 6 down, bringing the column total to 15.
💡 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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