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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's easy grid is a short constraint graph with one clear pivot: a three-cell equals block at the top of the board whose repeated pip has to propagate outward into four sum regions — a pair of single-cell sum 1 squares at the top-left and bottom-right, a horizontal pair on the left needing 8, and a horizontal pair on the right needing 9. A single uncoloured square at the bottom-left carries no constraint at all, which makes it the natural dumping ground once the sums close. The equals block and the left-hand sum 8 pair pull from the same handful of tiles, so the whole chain collapses in three or four moves.
Medium widens the branching without adding new vocabulary. Livengood keeps the three-cell equals block — this time on the left, with a strictly-less square wedged at the centre and greater-than corners at the top-left and top-right — and scatters four separate sum 9 regions around it: two vertical pairs stacked on the right and two horizontal pairs along the bottom row. There are no empty squares and, tellingly, no zeros in the tray at all, so every region has to borrow half a tile from a neighbour; the deductions run tile-first rather than region-first.
Rodolfo Kurchan's hard board reverses the emphasis. Three equals shapes of unequal size dominate — a five-cell block in the top-left, a three-cell block in the top-right and a three-cell column hanging off the bottom — while four sum shapes (pairs totalling 8, 10 and 5, plus a three-cell run totalling 9) and eight single-cell inequality regions do the fine adjustment. The five-cell block is the choke point: it swallows five of the seven zero-halves in the tray, which starves the rim singletons and forces the long vertical chain that finishes the bottom column. This NYT Pips hard rewards counting halves before touching the grid.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Read the equals rule first
The purple block at the top of the board is an equals region: three cells that must all carry the same pip. That is a stronger clue than any of the number regions, because only a tile whose two halves match can supply two of those cells at once — so before you count anything, find the double in the tray.
💡 Two cells of the block, one tile
The purple equals block has three cells, and only one of the five tiles in the tray is a double. Lay that tile vertically inside the block so its pip sits in the top-left cell and repeats directly below it in the bottom-left cell; because all three cells must match, the block's third cell — the one hanging off to the right of the bottom-left cell — is now forced to the same value.
💡 Full answer
The 0/0 double stands vertically inside the purple equals block — 0 in the top-left cell, 0 in the bottom-left cell — so the block's third cell must read 0 as well, and the only other tile carrying a 0 is the 6/0: it stands vertically under that corner, 0 up into the block and 6 down into the left cell of the orange sum 9 pair. The orange pair's right cell then takes the 3 from the 3/1 tile, whose 1 drops into the blue sum 1 square at the bottom-right. On the left, the teal sum 8 pair has to be 4 and 4: the 4/1 stands vertically, 4 in the pair's right cell and 1 up in the pink sum 1 cell at the top-left, while the 2/4 stands vertically with 4 in the pair's left cell and 2 down in the uncoloured square at the bottom-left.
💡 Find the singletons
Begin with the one-cell regions: two corners demand pips strictly greater than 3, and a single square at the centre of the board demands a pip strictly less than 3. Those ranges are the cheapest place to start because they trim the tray before any arithmetic — and each of those cells can only be covered by a tile that also pokes into a neighbouring region.
💡 The lone 1 has only one legal home
Only one tile in this tray carries a 1, and only one region on the board can legally hold a 1: the green less 3 square at the centre. A sum 9 pair would need an 8 beside it, and the teal equals block beside it would need three 1s the tray cannot supply, so the centre square takes that 1 and the tile's 6 escapes to the right into the orange sum 9 pair.
💡 Full answer
The 1/6 tile lies flat at the centre: 1 in the green less 3 square, 6 in the lower cell of the orange sum 9 vertical pair, so the pair's upper cell is 3 and the 2/3 tile lies flat across the top of the teal equals block — 2 on the left in the block's top-right cell, 3 on the right in the orange pair's upper cell. The block's other two cells now read 2: the 4/2 lies flat at the top-left, 4 in the pink greater 3 corner cell and 2 in the block's top-left cell, and the 2/5 stands vertically, 2 up in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 down in the purple sum 9 pair along the bottom row. On the right, the 5/6 stands vertically, 6 up in the purple greater 3 corner and 5 down in the blue pair's upper cell; the 4/4 double stands under it, 4 up in the blue pair's lower cell and 4 down in the right-hand cell of the pink sum 9 pair. The 5/4 lies flat to finish: 4 on the left in the purple sum 9 pair, 5 on the right in the pink sum 9 pair.
💡 Three constraint families
Three shapes here want identical pips rather than a total — a long block, a three-cell block and a three-cell column — and four more want a fixed sum. The rim is where I would start reading: eight single-cell regions spell out their inequalities, and they trim the tray faster than any sum you can add up.
💡 The five-cell block and the zeros
The blue equals block in the top-left is five cells, so one pip has to appear five times. Count halves in the tray: 0 appears seven times, 2 six times, 5 five times — and the rest of the board eats every 2 and every 5, so the block has to be filled with 0s. The 1/0 stands vertically top-left, 1 up into the purple less 3 corner and 0 down into the block; the 0/0 double stands vertically through the block's middle; the 0/4 stands vertically below-left, 0 up into the block and 4 down into the teal greater 3 cell on the left edge; and the 0/6 lies flat at the block's bottom-right, 0 in the block, 6 escaping right into the green sum 8 pair.
💡 The green pair completes itself
The green sum 8 pair has just taken the 6 in its lower cell, so its upper cell must be 2. Only the 5/2 can supply it: stand it vertically at the top, 2 down into the pair and 5 up into the pink greater 3 cell at the top of the board, which happily accepts anything above 3.
💡 The bridge into the teal column
The purple sum 9 run of three across the centre has the top cell of the teal equals column sitting directly below its middle cell, so one tile covers both. The run's other two cells need a 1 and a 2, and the 6 for the middle must come from the 2/6, since the 0/6's 6 is already committed to the green pair. Stand the 2/6 vertically: 6 up in the middle of the run, 2 down at the head of the column — so the column repeats 2 three times, and the 2/2 double stands below the 2/6 in the column's second and third cells. While you are in the area: the orange sum 10 pair in the centre can only be built from the 5/5 double, laid flat with 5 in each cell.
💡 Full layout
Top-left: 1/0 vertical — 1 up in the purple less 3 corner, 0 down in the blue equals block; 0/0 vertical beside it in the block's middle; 0/4 vertical below-left — 0 up in the block, 4 down in the teal greater 3 cell on the left edge; 0/6 flat at the block's bottom-right — 0 in the block, 6 right into the green sum 8 pair. Top: 5/2 vertical — 5 up in the pink greater 3 cell at the top, 2 down completing the green pair. Top-right: 5/0 vertical — 0 up in the teal less 2 cell, 5 down in the purple greater 4 cell; 4/1 vertical — 1 up in the orange equals block's bottom-left cell, 4 down in the pink greater 3 cell in the upper right; 1/1 vertical in the block's right-hand column. Centre: 5/5 flat, 5 in each cell of the orange sum 10 pair. Right edge: 3/2 vertical, 3 upper and 2 lower in the blue sum 5 pair. Bottom band: 5/1 flat — 5 left in the green greater 4 cell, 1 right in the purple sum 9 run; 2/6 vertical — 6 up in the run's middle cell, 2 down into the teal equals column's top cell; 2/2 vertical below it in the column's middle and lower cells; 2/0 flat at the right — 2 left in the run's right cell, 0 right in the pink less 2 cell.
🎨 Pips Solver
Sep 20, 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
1
Step 1: The equals block picks its pip
Everything starts at the purple equals block at the top of the board. Its three cells must all read the same, and only one tile in the tray has two matching halves — the 0/0 double. Stand it vertically inside the block so 0 lands in the top-left cell and 0 lands directly below it in the bottom-left cell. Two cells down, one to go.
2
Step 2: The block's third cell
The block's third cell is the one hanging off the bottom-right of the shape, and it has to match the other two. Scan the tray for another tile carrying the same pip: the 6/0 is the last one with a 0. Stand it vertically with 0 up in that equals cell and 6 down in the left-hand cell of the orange sum 9 pair directly below — the only place that 6 can go.
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Step 3: The left-hand pair and the pink square
Now the numbers. With the 6/0's 6 already committed to the orange pair, the teal sum 8 pair on the left can only be 4 and 4, and the tray's two 4s sit on the 4/1 and the 2/4 — so both tiles must land in that pair. Stand the 4/1 vertically: 4 down in the pair's right-hand cell and 1 up in the pink sum 1 square at the top-left, exactly the pip that single cell demands. Stand the 2/4 vertically: 4 up in the pair's left-hand cell and 2 down in the uncoloured square at the bottom-left, which is free to take whatever is left over.
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Step 4: Closing the right-hand column
Two cells on the right are still open. The orange sum 9 pair already holds a 6 in its left-hand cell, so its right-hand cell must be 3 — and the only tile left carrying a 3 is the 3/1. Place it vertically at the right edge: 3 up in the orange pair's right-hand cell and 1 down in the blue sum 1 square at the bottom-right, the last single-cell constraint on the board. Every region closes and all five tiles are down.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
1
Step 1: Which pips can repeat three times
The pivot here is the teal equals block on the left: three cells that must all match. Count how many halves of each pip the tray offers — only 2s, 4s and 5s come in threes, so the block is one of those. Meanwhile the green less 3 square at the centre of the board can only be a 1 or a 2, because this tray contains no 0 at all.
2
Step 2: The lone 1 finds its only home
Only one tile carries a 1, and only one region can legally hold it. A sum 9 pair would need an 8 alongside a 1, and the equals block would need three 1s the tray cannot provide, so the 1 belongs in the green centre square. The 1/6 tile therefore lies flat: 1 on the left in the green cell, 6 on the right in the lower cell of the orange sum 9 vertical pair.
3
Step 3: The orange pair and the top of the block
A sum 9 pair holding a 6 needs a 3 in its other cell, and the only 3 in the tray is on the 2/3 tile. Its only legal orientation is flat across the top of the board: 2 on the left into the teal equals block's top-right cell, 3 on the right into the orange pair's upper cell. That single move simultaneously closes the orange pair and fixes the block's value at 2.
4
Step 4: Filling the block and the top-left corner
The block's remaining two cells now need 2s as well. The 4/2 lies flat at the top-left: 4 on the left in the pink greater 3 corner cell, which satisfies that region immediately, and 2 on the right in the block's top-left cell. The 2/5 then stands vertically, 2 up in the block's bottom-left cell and 5 down into the purple sum 9 pair along the bottom row.
5
Step 5: The right-hand column and the bottom row
Two vertical problems are left on the right. The 5/6 stands vertically in the top-right column: 6 up in the purple greater 3 corner cell and 5 down in the blue sum 9 pair's upper cell. The 4/4 double stands directly below it, 4 up in the pair's lower cell and 4 down in the right-hand cell of the pink sum 9 pair at the bottom-right. That leaves the 5/4 to lie flat and finish the bottom row: 4 on the left in the purple sum 9 pair, 5 on the right in the pink sum 9 pair.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: Chart the constraint types
Fifteen regions in three flavours. Three equals shapes want identical pips — the five-cell blue block in the top-left, the three-cell orange block in the top-right and the teal column of three hanging down at the bottom centre. Four sum shapes want totals: a green pair summing to 8 near the top, an orange pair summing to 10 in the centre, a blue pair summing to 5 on the right edge and a purple run of three summing to 9 across the middle. The remaining eight regions are single cells, six greater-than and two less-than, and they ring the outside of the shape, trimming the tray before you commit anything.
2
Step 2: The five-cell block reads 0
The blue equals block must repeat one pip five times. Counting halves: 0 appears seven times, 2 six times, 5 five times, and the rest of the board consumes every 2 and every 5, so the block takes the 0s. Four tiles supply them. The 1/0 stands vertically at the block's top-left, 1 up in the purple less 3 corner and 0 down in the block. The 0/0 double stands vertically through the block's middle. The 0/4 stands vertically at the block's bottom-left, 0 up and 4 down in the teal greater 3 cell on the left edge. The 0/6 lies flat at the block's bottom-right, 0 in the block, 6 escaping right into the green sum 8 pair.
3
Step 3: The green pair completes itself
The green sum 8 vertical pair now holds a 6 in its lower cell, so its upper cell must be 2. The only tile that can supply it is the 5/2, standing vertically at the top of the board: 2 down into the pair, 5 up into the pink greater 3 cell directly above, which accepts any pip above 3.
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Step 4: The orange sum 10 pair
Drop to the centre of the board. The orange sum 10 pair is a closed two-cell problem, and when you scan the tray no tile's halves add to ten except the 5/5 double. Lay it flat with 5 in each cell and the region is finished in one move.
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Step 5: The bridge into the teal column
Now the vertical spine. The purple sum 9 run of three sits across the centre, and its middle cell has the top cell of the teal equals column directly below it, so one tile covers both. The run's other two cells must be 1 and 2, and the 6 for the middle has to come from the 2/6, since the 0/6's 6 is already committed to the green pair. Stand the 2/6 vertically: 6 up in the middle of the run, 2 down at the head of the column. The column therefore repeats 2 three times, so the 2/2 double stands below the 2/6, filling the column's second and third cells. The run's left cell takes the 1 from the 5/1 tile, which lies flat with its 5 out to the left in the green greater 4 cell on the left edge.
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Step 6: The last four tiles
The orange equals block in the top-right takes 1s: the 1/1 double stands vertically in its right-hand column, 1 upper and 1 lower, and the 4/1 stands vertically to the left of that, 1 up in the block's bottom-left cell and 4 down in the pink greater 3 cell in the upper right. On the top-right edge the 5/0 stands vertically, 0 up in the teal less 2 cell and 5 down in the purple greater 4 cell, satisfying both inequalities at once. On the right edge the 3/2 stands vertically in the blue sum 5 pair, 3 upper and 2 lower. Finally the 2/0 lies flat at the right-hand end of the bottom band, 2 on the left completing the purple sum 9 run and 0 on the right in the pink less 2 cell.
💡 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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