🚨 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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Want hints instead? Scroll down for progressive clues that won't spoil the fun.
🎲 Today's Puzzle Overview
Ian Livengood's easy board is a five-tile warm-up that practically solves itself if you read the two single cells first — one sum square and one greater-than square, each of which can only accept a single pip. Because the grid is so small, the tile covering a clamp square immediately hands a value to the region next door, and the equals blocks fall into line one after another. Expect to finish the easy grid in a couple of minutes, but take a moment to notice how much work the equals constraints do once a single anchor value is on the board.
The medium grid grows to a fourth row and seven tiles, and Livengood swaps the friendly single cells for thresholds: two greater-than singletons plus a greater-than pair in the bottom-right that wants the heaviest pips you hold. Your first real decision is where to spend the biggest double in the tray, and everything downstream depends on getting that corner right. After that it is a relay around the rim — a sum pair at the top, an equals pair tucked into the centre, and two more equals pairs waiting to be closed on the right.
Rodolfo Kurchan's hard grid is the real thing: a wide board with eleven sum regions, four equals regions and a lone less-than square squeezed onto the left. Nothing is labelled for you here — instead the puzzle strings together the tightest targets it can and dares you to work out which regions live on the smallest pips and which ones can only be written one way. This NYT Pips hard rewards patience: every region you close seems to hand you the next two, and the three-cell equals runs along the bottom are the payoff at the end.
💡 Progressive Hints
Try these hints one at a time. Each hint becomes more specific to help you solve it yourself!
💡 Read the clamp cells first
Two regions on this board answer themselves before you place anything: a lone sum square and a lone greater-than square, both sitting out on the outer edges. Fill those two cells first — the tiles that cover them each have their other half pointing straight into an equals region, so you get two clues for the price of one.
💡 Each clamp has only one way out
The pink sum 1 square on the left edge touches just one other square on the board, the top-left cell of the teal equals block, so its tile must run sideways and hand a generous pip to teal. The blue greater 5 square on the right is the same story: only one pip in the whole set is big enough, and its partner drops into the upper cell of the orange equals pair.
💡 Complete layout
Lay the 1/1 double flat across the purple equals pair at the very top, one pip in each cell. The 1/5 tile lies flat from the left edge: 1 in the pink sum 1 square, 5 in the top-left cell of the teal block. The 5/5 double finishes teal along its bottom row, 5 on the left and 5 on the right. On the right side the 6/1 tile lies flat with 1 in the upper cell of the orange pair and 6 in the blue greater 5 square, then the 1/0 tile lies flat beneath it: 0 in the uncoloured square at the bottom, 1 in the orange pair's lower cell.
💡 Feed the hungriest region
Start with the region that small pips cannot satisfy. One pair of cells on this board demands more than any other, and the only sensible way to fill it is with the heaviest tile you hold. Put that down first — every other region on the grid is sized around it.
💡 The corner that writes itself
Now swing to the top-left corner, where the uncoloured free square touches exactly one other square on the board — the upper cell of the purple equals pair. Whatever pip parks on the free square has to be repeated one row down, so its tile runs sideways and the purple pair's lower cell must match it. The tile that provides that match also carries a 1, and that 1 slides right into the upper cell of the centre orange equals pair.
💡 Complete layout
The 5/5 double stands vertically in the bottom-right pink greater 7 pair, 5 in the upper cell and 5 in the lower. The 0/0 double lies flat across the top-left corner: 0 in the uncoloured free square and 0 in the upper cell of the purple equals pair. The 1/0 tile lies flat beside it, 0 in the purple pair's lower cell and 1 in the upper cell of the centre orange equals pair. That leaves the 4/1 tile flat across the bottom of the orange pair — 1 on the left in the orange pair's lower cell, 4 on the right in the purple greater 3 square. Up top, the 6/2 tile lies flat with 6 in the pink greater 4 square and 2 in the upper cell of the teal sum 6 pair, and the 4/4 double lies flat just below, 4 in the teal pair's lower cell and 4 in the blue greater 3 square. Finishing move: the 2/2 double stands vertically in the green equals pair on the right, 2 in the upper cell and 2 in the lower.
💡 Hunt the one-pip squares
Ignore the big sums for a moment and find the single-cell regions that can accept only one value. The tightest of them sit in the top-right corner as a pair of neighbouring squares, and the whole solve starts there — the equals regions nearby, the pair in the centre and the two runs along the bottom, only become readable once those tiny targets are filled.
💡 The blue sum 0 square
The blue sum 0 and green sum 0 squares sit side by side in the top-right, and they cannot share one domino — the tray holds no tile with two zeros on it. So each zero has to borrow a neighbour's other half. The blue square has just one other neighbour to reach, the orange sum 4 square to its left, which means a single tile has to serve them both.
💡 Four zeros, four partners
Count the tray: four tiles carry a zero, and four cells on this board need one. Each of those zeros drags a partner into the region next door — the blue sum 0 square's partner completes the orange sum 4 square; the green sum 0 square's partner takes the left cell of the purple sum 6 pair across the top-right; and the two zeros left over belong to the centre orange equals pair, whose partners fill the blue sum 6 square and the pink sum 1 square on the right.
💡 Work down the right edge
The green sum 12 pair can only be two sixes, so both of its cells ready a 6: the upper one takes the 6 from the 1/6 tile whose 1 tops off the purple sum 6 pair, since a 5 has already landed in that pair's left cell; the lower one takes the 6 from the 4/6 tile whose 4 finishes the right-hand cell of the bottom-right orange equals run. Those two bottom runs, orange and teal, are your last shapes, and a double plus a shared 6 close them.
💡 Complete layout
Top-left corner: the 5/6 tile stands vertically, 6 in the purple sum 6 square and 5 below in the upper cell of the pink sum 10 pair. The 1/5 tile lies flat to its right, 1 in the pink sum 1 square and 5 in the top cell of the teal equals column. The 5/5 double stands vertically beneath that, 5 in the column's middle cell and 5 in its bottom cell. Across the top: the 0/4 tile lies flat with 4 in the orange sum 4 square and 0 in the blue sum 0 square; the 0/5 tile lies flat with 0 in the green sum 0 square and 5 in the left cell of the purple sum 6 pair; the 1/6 tile stands vertically with 1 in that pair's right cell and 6 in the top of the green sum 12 pair. On the left edge the 2/5 tile lies flat, 5 in the lower cell of the pink sum 10 pair and 2 in the purple less 3 square. In the centre the 0/6 tile lies flat with 0 in the upper cell of the orange equals pair and 6 in the blue sum 6 square, and the 0/1 tile lies flat below it, 0 in the orange pair's lower cell and 1 in the pink sum 1 square on the right. Along the bottom: the 3/3 double stands vertically at the top of the teal sum 9 column, the 3/6 tile lies flat below it with 3 in the column's bottom cell and 6 in the left cell of the teal equals run, and the 6/6 double lies flat through that run's middle and right cells. The 4/4 double lies flat through the left and middle cells of the orange equals run, and the 4/6 tile stands vertically at its right end, 4 in the run's right cell and 6 in the bottom cell of the green sum 12 pair.
🎨 Pips Solver
Sep 21, 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: Two cells answer themselves
The pink sum 1 square on the left edge can only hold a pip worth 1, and the blue greater 5 square on the right can only be satisfied by the biggest pip in the set. Neither cell needs any cross-checking, so mark them in first: 1 on the left edge, 6 on the right edge.
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Step 2: Both clamp tiles run sideways
Each of those squares has exactly one neighbour on the board: the pink square touches the top-left cell of the teal equals block, and the blue square touches the upper cell of the orange equals pair. So the 1/5 tile lies flat from pink into teal's top-left cell (1 left, 5 right), and the 6/1 tile lies flat from orange's upper cell into blue (1 left, 6 right).
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Step 3: The equals blocks close
Teal now holds a 5 in its top-left cell, and an equals region wants every cell identical, so the block's remaining two cells are 5 as well — the 5/5 double covers them, 5 in the bottom-left cell and 5 in the bottom-right cell. Orange holds a 1 in its upper cell, so its lower cell must be 1 too: the 1/0 tile lies flat with 0 in the uncoloured free square at the bottom and 1 in orange's lower cell.
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Step 4: One tile left
The only domino still in the tray is the 1/1 double, and the only empty cells are the purple equals pair at the top of the board. Lay it flat with 1 in each cell — the pair is equal, every region is satisfied, and the grid is done.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Medium Level
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Step 1: Spend the biggest double
The pink greater 7 pair in the bottom-right corner is the greediest clue on the board — no pair of small pips can reach it — so the heaviest tile in the tray, the 5/5 double, stands vertically there: 5 in the upper cell, 5 in the lower cell.
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Step 2: The top-left corner runs sideways
The uncoloured free square has exactly one neighbour on the board, the upper cell of the purple equals pair, so its tile must lie flat across that corner. The 0/0 double is the fit: 0 in the free square and 0 in the purple pair's upper cell, which means the pair's lower cell needs a 0 as well. The 1/0 tile supplies it, 0 on the left in the purple pair's lower cell, and carries a 1 to the right into the upper cell of the centre orange equals pair.
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Step 3: The orange pair is finished
The orange equals pair now reads 1 in its upper cell, so its lower cell must be 1 as well. The 4/1 tile lies flat across the bottom of the pair: 1 on the left in orange's lower cell, 4 on the right in the purple greater 3 square at the centre of the board.
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Step 4: The top row fills in
The pink greater 4 square at the top is a one-cell region that wants a big pip, and the tray's only 6 goes there. The 6/2 tile lies flat with 6 on the left in the pink square and 2 on the right in the upper cell of the teal sum 6 pair. Teal's two cells must total 6, so the lower cell is 4 — and it is filled by the 4/4 double, which lies flat with 4 on the left in teal's lower cell and 4 on the right in the blue greater 3 square.
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Step 5: Close the right-hand pair
Only the 2/2 double is left, and only the green equals pair on the right is unfilled. It stands vertically with 2 in the upper cell and 2 in the lower cell — equal pips, and the medium grid is complete.
🔧 Step-by-Step Answer Walkthrough For Hard Level
1
Step 1: The blue sum 0 square
Two single squares in the top-right corner must total zero, so both read 0. The tray has no tile with two zeros on it, so they cannot share a domino. The blue sum 0 square has only one other neighbour on the board, the orange sum 4 square to its left, so one tile has to satisfy both: the 0/4 tile lies flat with 4 on the left in the orange sum 4 square and 0 on the right in the blue sum 0 square.
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Step 2: The green sum 0 square
The green sum 0 square sits immediately to the right of the blue one. Now that the blue square is covered, the green square's partner has to run right into the purple sum 6 pair across the top-right: the 0/5 tile lies flat with 0 on the left in the green square and 5 on the right in the pair's left cell. The pair now stands at 5, so its right-hand cell must be 1.
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Step 3: The pair of twelve
The green sum 12 pair down the right edge cannot be anything but two 6s. The 1/6 tile stands vertically between the purple sum 6 pair and the top of that green pair: 1 above in the purple pair's right cell, finishing the pair at 5 + 1, and 6 below in the green pair's upper cell. The green pair's other 6 comes from the 4/6 tile standing vertically beneath it, with 4 below in the right-hand cell of the orange equals run along the bottom.
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Step 4: The centre orange pair
The orange equals pair in the centre of the board has to be two equal pips, and the two zeros still in the tray belong to it. The 0/6 tile lies flat with 0 in the pair's upper cell and 6 in the blue sum 6 square, and the 0/1 tile lies flat beneath with 0 in the pair's lower cell and 1 in the pink sum 1 square on the right.
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Step 5: The left edge
The purple sum 6 square in the top-left corner is a one-cell target, and the 5/6 tile feeds it: 6 above in the corner and 5 below in the upper cell of the pink sum 10 pair on the left edge. The second 5 in that pair comes from the 2/5 tile lying flat beneath it — 5 on the left in the pink sum 10 pair's lower cell, 2 on the right in the purple less 3 square. Pink's total of 10 and purple's low ceiling are both satisfied.
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Step 6: Two teal shapes and the last run
The 1/5 tile lies flat from the pink sum 1 square into the top of the teal equals column, 1 on the left and 5 on the right, and the 5/5 double stands vertically below it — 5 in the column's middle cell and 5 in its bottom cell. The other teal shape is the sum 9 column on the left: the 3/3 double stands vertically in its top two cells, 3 upper and 3 lower, and the 3/6 tile lies flat below, 3 on the left in the column's bottom cell and 6 on the right in the left cell of the teal equals run along the bottom. The 6/6 double lies flat through that run's middle and right cells, and the 4/4 double lies flat through the left and middle cells of the bottom-right orange equals run, with the 4/6 tile's 4 already sitting in its right-hand 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.
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