Need some help with the NYT Pips today? Unlike the other NYT Games, Pips is one of the few that focuses on numbers and logical placement. No worries, though, we've got you covered.
Below, we've compiled hints and solutions for the Easy and Medium puzzles, along with a comprehensive guide for the Hard Pips. You can play along here.
Pips tips — how to play Pips
Pips is a domino placement game featuring a grid of multicolored boxes that gets more complicated and larger as you go up in difficulty. Each colored zone represents a condition you have to meet.
You select dominoes and place dominoes into the grid to meet those conditions. You must use every domino to achieve each condition and win the game. Clicking or tapping on the dominoes rotates them so you can position the tiles.
In the above example from a medium puzzle, there are four colored zones. Your placed dominoes must total 12 in the purple zone. In the teal and orange sectors, the number of domino pips must be greater than 3.
In the hard mode, the zones and symbols get more complicated. For example, you could see a crossed-out equal sign, meaning that the three squares you place must be different numbers.
Here are the various symbols you might see:
- = All pips must be the same in this group
- ≠ All pips must not be the same number in this group
- > The pips in the tile must be greater than the listed number
- < The pips in this tile must be less than the listed number
- A number [like 12], the pips must equal that exact number
- Tiles with no color can be anything; think of this as a free space
To win a game of Pips, you must fulfill every condition and fill every square. In some puzzles, there is only one correct solution. In others, usually the harder ones, there can be multiple solutions.
Today's Pips answers — hints to help you solve it
Below are the solutions for the Easy and Medium-level Pips. After that, you can find a fuller walkthrough for the Hard level. Spoilers below.
Today's Easy Pips solution
Today's Medium Pips solution
Today's Hard Pips walkthrough and solution
Today's puzzle spells the word 'All' with each letter making up a portion of the puzzle.
I started in the middle with the >5 square and the >8 olive duo. You need a six there and we have a 6/5 and 6/2. I chose the 6/5, though I think you could make the 6/2 work. The 6/2 goes vertically from there into the dark blue = zone. And we can end the middle "L" with the 3/2 tile in the dark blue zone and the teal 3 square.
I found the "A" still tricky so I moved over to the right "L". We have a 4/2, 2/0 and 2/1 left to attempt the orange 2 square. I thought I needed the 4/0 and 4/2 for the "A" so I used the 2/1 in that section. Looking at the "A" I didn't think ther was space for the remaining 3 tiles. So, the 4/3 closes out the purple 5 set. And the 5/3 can be used to end the olive not equal zone.
Finally, on to the A. It took a few tries here because I wasn't using the double 0/0 tile correctly. I started with the 4/1 in the bottom right of the A to fill the pink 4 square and start the teal 1 duo.
After trial and error with the blanks, I went with the 0/5 vertically to fill the teal zone and start the pink 9 zone. This means the 4/2 goes next and leaves the 4/0 leading down into the orange 0 zone.
The 0/2 closes the orange zone and fills the purple >1 purple square.
Finally, the 0/0 can go in the <7 dark blue zone to finish the puzzle.
Here's how it looks:
Hard Pips solution
