🚨 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 (Ian Livengood) is a three-row confidence-builder: five tiles, two single-cell thresholds and a pair of sum-9 twins. The whole solve hangs on the purple sum-1 pair tucked into the top-left corner — only one combination of pips can add to 1, and once you spot it the pink greater-2 cell next door plus the teal sum-9 column unspool almost by themselves. Expect under a minute, with no real forks.
Medium (Livengood again) grows to five rows and hands half the board to one seven-cell teal less-2 block. The bottleneck is the pink greater-4 cell at the top: it can only swallow the tray's biggest pip, and the tile it belongs to drops a zero into the teal block, which then cascades through everything else. The purple equals triple is the second giveaway. Budget a couple of minutes.
Hard (Rodolfo Kurchan) is a twelve-tile 6x8 board loaded with small constraints — a purple run that has to beat ten, a green sum-0 cell in the centre, two equals blocks, an unequal trio and a sum-5 single at each end. The bottleneck is that green sum-0 cell: only one tile can reach down into it, and every deduction on the lower half of this NYT Pips hard leans on it. Give it ten minutes and keep the equals columns in mind.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Start with the smallest sum
The tightest thing on the board is a sum region in the top-left corner chasing a total so low that only two pip values on the whole tray can possibly make it. Once you find those two halves, the two greater-than cells nearby become easy pickings.
💡 Purple sum 1 is the anchor
Pips only run 0 to 6, so the purple sum 1 pair in the very top-left corner can only be made from a 0 and a 1 — nothing else adds to 1. That tells you which tile feeds each of the two cells, and it also pins the pink greater 2 cell immediately to the right: whatever pip rides along with the purple's 0 has to clear 2.
💡 Complete layout
The 1/2 tile stands vertically in the top-left corner: 1 is the upper half in the purple sum 1 region's left cell, 2 is the lower half in the uncoloured free square below it. The 0/3 tile lies horizontally beside it: 0 is the left half in the purple sum 1 region's right cell, 3 is the right half in the pink greater 2 cell. Across the top-right, the 2/5 tile lies horizontally: 5 is the left half in the upper cell of the teal sum 9 region, 2 is the right half in the orange greater 1 cell. On the right, the 5/4 tile stands vertically: 4 is the upper half in the teal sum 9 region's lower cell, 5 is the lower half in the blue sum 9 region's right cell. Finally the 4/1 tile lies horizontally along the bottom: 1 is the left half in the uncoloured free square, 4 is the right half in the blue sum 9 region's left cell.
💡 Two constraints rule the board
One lone cell has to beat a high bar, and one seven-cell block has to stay beneath a very low one. Those two are the spine of the puzzle — everything else is bookkeeping around them.
💡 The pink cell chooses its pip
The pink greater 4 cell at the top — the single square directly right of the purple equals block — can only take the tray's biggest pip, since nothing smaller clears 4. The tile carrying it stands vertically and drops a zero straight down into the teal less 2 block, and that is the thread that unravels the rest.
💡 Complete layout
The 0/6 tile stands vertically: 6 is the upper half in the pink greater 4 cell, 0 is the lower half in the teal less 2 block. The 3/3 double stands vertically in the purple equals block, 3 upper in its top-right cell and 3 lower in its bottom-right cell; the 3/0 tile stands vertically in that block's left cell, 3 upper in the purple's bottom-left cell and 0 lower in the teal block's top-left cell. Inside the teal block the 0/0 double stands vertically down the middle (0 upper, 0 lower), the 0/1 tile stands vertically in the right column (0 upper in the top-right cell, 1 lower in the bottom-right cell), and the 4/0 tile stands vertically with 0 upper in the bottom-centre cell and 4 lower in the uncoloured free square at the bottom-centre. Last, the 1/4 tile stands vertically down the left edge, 1 upper in the uncoloured free square on the bottom-left and 4 lower in the orange sum 4 region.
💡 Look for the zero
Begin with the sum constraints rather than the greater-than runs: one single cell is chasing a total of zero, and two single cells are chasing fives. Whatever can supply a zero is the key to the whole board.
💡 The green sum 0 cell sets the chain off
The green sum 0 cell dead centre must read 0, and it can only be fed from the orange sum 6 pair directly above it — the pink sum 11 block below cannot spare a zero in any of its three cells. So a tile with a 0 as its lower half reaches down from the orange pair, which hands the orange pair its second pip. The pink sum 5 cell at the top then takes the pairing's other half.
💡 The blue equals column is all zeros
The blue equals column of three down the right edge has to show one repeated pip, and 0 is the only value the tray can supply three times over. The 0/0 double fills its middle and lower cells, and the 2/0 tile reaches down from the uncoloured free square at the top-right to plant the third 0 in the column's upper cell.
💡 The top-left run and the left column
The purple greater 10 run is three cells needing 11 between them: 3 + 6 + 2. The 3/1 tile stands vertically at the far left, 3 upper in the run's left cell and 1 lower in the teal greater 6 column beneath; the 6/2 tile lies horizontally, 6 left in the run's middle cell and 2 right in its right cell. The teal greater 6 column then closes with the 4/2 tile standing vertically — 4 upper in its middle cell, 2 lower — for a total of 7.
💡 Complete layout
Top-right: the 2/0 tile stands vertically, 2 upper in the uncoloured free square and 0 lower in the blue equals column's upper cell; the 0/0 double stands vertically below it, 0 in the middle cell and 0 in the lower cell, so the column reads 0, 0, 0. Top: the 5/1 tile stands vertically, 5 upper in the pink sum 5 cell and 1 lower in the orange sum 6 pair's upper cell; the 5/0 tile stands vertically below it, 5 upper in the orange pair's lower cell and 0 lower in the green sum 0 cell, so the orange pair reads 1 + 5 = 6. Top-left: the 6/2 tile lies horizontally, 6 left in the middle cell of the purple greater 10 run and 2 right in its right cell; the 3/1 tile stands vertically at the far left, 3 upper in the run's left cell and 1 lower in the teal greater 6 column's upper cell; the 4/2 tile stands vertically in that column, 4 upper in the middle cell and 2 lower, giving 1 + 4 + 2 = 7. Bottom-left: the 4/1 tile stands vertically in the purple unequal block, 4 upper in its top-left cell and 1 lower in its bottom-left cell; the 3/5 tile lies horizontally, 3 left in the unequal block's bottom-right cell and 5 right in the orange sum 5 cell. Bottom: the 4/3 tile stands vertically in the pink sum 11 block, 3 upper in its top-left cell and 4 lower in its bottom-left cell; the 4/6 tile lies horizontally, 4 left in the pink block's bottom-right cell and 6 right in the teal equals block's bottom-left cell; and the 6/6 double stands vertically in that teal equals block, 6 upper in its top-right cell and 6 lower in its bottom-right cell, so it reads 6, 6, 6.
🎨 Pips Solver
Oct 7, 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 sum 1 corner
Only two cells on the entire board are asked to add up to 1, and they sit side by side in the top-left purple region. With pips capped at 0 through 6, the only pair that can total 1 is a 0 and a 1 — so both halves of that region are accounted for before anything else moves.
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Step 2: Fill purple and the pink cell
The 1/2 tile stands vertically: 1 is the upper half in the purple sum 1 region's left cell, 2 is the lower half in the uncoloured free square directly below it. The 0/3 tile lies horizontally to the right of that: 0 is the left half in the purple sum 1 region's right cell, and its partner pip clears 2, so 3 is the right half sitting in the pink greater 2 cell.
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Step 3: Across the top-right
The teal sum 9 column and the orange greater 1 cell share the top-right corner. The 2/5 tile lies horizontally across them: 5 is the left half in the teal sum 9 region's upper cell and 2 is the right half in the orange greater 1 cell, which satisfies both the sum's first digit and the greater-than test.
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Step 4: Close out the two sum-9 regions
The teal sum 9 region still needs 4 under its 5. The 5/4 tile stands vertically on the right: 4 is the upper half in the teal sum 9 region's lower cell, completing 5 + 4, and 5 is the lower half in the blue sum 9 region's right cell. Then the 4/1 tile lies horizontally along the bottom: 1 is the left half in the uncoloured free square and 4 is the right half in the blue sum 9 region's left cell — 4 + 5 makes the second 9, and every constraint is satisfied.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: The pink greater 4 cell picks itself
A single cell has to hold a pip above 4, and pips top out at 6, so the pink greater 4 cell at the top takes the 6. The tile it belongs to is the 0/6, which stands vertically: 6 is the upper half in the pink greater 4 cell, 0 is the lower half landing in the teal less 2 block.
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Step 2: The purple equals block is a triple
All three cells of the purple block must show the same pip, so you need one value repeated across them. The 3/3 double stands vertically inside it: 3 upper in the purple block's top-right cell, 3 lower in its bottom-right cell. The third cell comes from the 3/0 tile, which stands vertically in the block's left cell — 3 upper in the purple block's bottom-left cell, 0 lower in the top-left cell of the teal less 2 block.
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Step 3: The teal block turns into zeros
Seven cells have to stay under 2, and only one cell can afford the single 1 available. The 0/0 double stands vertically down the middle of the block, 0 upper and 0 lower, and the 0/1 tile stands vertically in the block's right column — 0 upper in its top-right cell, 1 lower in its bottom-right cell. Six zeros and a one is the only shape that fits.
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Step 4: The bottom free square and the orange sum 4
The 4/0 tile stands vertically through the bottom of the teal block: 0 is the upper half in the teal block's bottom-centre cell — the last zero the less-2 rule needs — and 4 is the lower half in the uncoloured free square at the bottom-centre. Down the left edge the 1/4 tile stands vertically: 1 upper in the uncoloured free square on the bottom-left, 4 lower in the orange sum 4 region, which is a single cell that has to equal exactly 4.
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Step 5: Check the totals
Run the numbers: the teal less 2 block reads six zeros and a 1, comfortably under 2; the purple block reads 3, 3, 3; the pink cell holds 6 and the orange cell holds 4; the two uncoloured free squares take whatever the linking tiles give them, 1 and 4. Seven tiles, fourteen cells, every constraint met.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: Green sum 0 needs a zero from above
The green sum 0 cell in the centre of the board must read exactly 0. It can only be covered by a tile coming down from the orange sum 6 pair above it — a tile reaching up from the pink sum 11 block below would have to carry a 0 into that block, which the 11 total cannot afford. The only tile that can donate a zero downward is the 5/0, so it stands vertically: 5 upper in the orange sum 6 pair's lower cell, 0 lower in the green sum 0 cell.
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Step 2: The orange pair and the pink sum 5 cell
With 5 already in the orange pair's lower cell, the pair needs 1 above it. The 5/1 tile stands vertically: 5 is the upper half in the pink sum 5 cell at the top of the board — exactly the value that single cell demands — and 1 is the lower half in the orange sum 6 pair's upper cell, completing 1 + 5 = 6.
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Step 3: The blue equals column reads 0, 0, 0
Three cells down the right edge must all show the same pip. Only 0 can be supplied three times from the tray, so the 0/0 double stands vertically in the column's middle and lower cells, and the 2/0 tile reaches down from the uncoloured free square at the top-right — 2 upper in the free square, 0 lower in the column's upper cell.
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Step 4: The purple run and the teal column on the left
The purple greater 10 run is three cells that must total more than 10, and 3 + 6 + 2 = 11 does it. The 3/1 tile stands vertically at the far left: 3 upper in the run's left cell, 1 lower in the teal greater 6 column's upper cell. The 6/2 tile lies horizontally inside the run: 6 left in its middle cell, 2 right in its right cell. The teal column then needs 5 more from two cells, and the 4/2 tile stands vertically to finish it — 4 upper in the middle cell, 2 lower — for 1 + 4 + 2 = 7, safely past 6.
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Step 5: The two bottom corners and the pink block
Bottom-left, the purple unequal block needs three all-different pips: the 4/1 tile stands vertically with 4 upper in its top-left cell and 1 lower in its bottom-left cell, and the 3/5 tile lies horizontally so that 3 is the left half in the block's bottom-right cell and 5 is the right half in the orange sum 5 cell. Bottom, the pink sum 11 block needs 3 + 4 + 4: the 4/3 tile stands vertically with 3 upper in its top-left cell and 4 lower in its bottom-left cell, while the 4/6 tile lies horizontally with 4 left in the pink block's bottom-right cell and 6 right in the teal equals block's bottom-left cell.
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Step 6: The teal equals block seals it
That teal equals block has two of its three cells spoken for by 6s, so the last one must be a 6 as well. The 6/6 double stands vertically in it: 6 upper in the block's top-right cell, 6 lower in its bottom-right cell. The bottom-right block reads 6, 6, 6 — twelve tiles placed, every sum, equals, unequal and greater-than constraint on the board satisfied.
💡 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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