NYT Pips Hints, Answers and Walkthrough for Friday, November 13, 2026

Friday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Easy offers isolated pairs, Medium connects its clues through a three-cell equality zone, and Hard expands the challenge to sixteen dominoes. The set shifts from choosing suitable pieces to tracking how neighboring clues compete for them. We've got quick hints and full solutions for Easy, Medium, and Hard.

How to Play Pips

Pips is a domino placement puzzle where you fill a grid of condition zones. Each zone has a rule you must satisfy using the pip values on your dominoes. The twist: you must use every domino and meet every condition to win.

Zone Conditions:

• = All pips in this zone must show the same number
• Not Equal All pips must be different numbers
• > Pips must be greater than the listed number
• < Pips must be less than the listed number
• Exact Number Pips must total that exact value
• No Condition Free space, any domino value works

Click or tap dominoes to rotate them. Each puzzle has one or more valid solutions. When two zones share the same rule, we number them in reading order, top to bottom.

Today's Easy Pips

The Easy board runs five rows by six columns, with ten open cells and five dominoes to place. Its condition zones: a two-cell zone where every pip must match, a two-cell zone that must total 6, a single cell that must show more than 4, a single cell that must total 4, a single cell that must show more than 1. Any other open cell is a free space.

Quick Hint: Start with the single-cell clue greater than 4 near the bottom left. Check which pieces can supply an end above that threshold, then consider their partners before tackling the equality zone.

Today's Medium Pips

The Medium board runs three rows by six columns, with 14 open cells and seven dominoes to place. Its condition zones: a single cell that must show more than 3, a single cell that must total 0, a single cell that must show more than 4, a single cell that must show more than 1, a three-cell zone where every pip must match, two two-cell zones that must total 8, a single cell that must total 3, a single cell that must show less than 6. Any other open cell is a free space.

Quick Hint: Use the top-row zero clue as your entry point, then examine how the other end of a candidate domino could affect the three-cell equality zone below. Check that connection before committing pieces to either zone totaling 8.

Today's Hard Pips

The Hard board runs six rows by six columns, with 32 open cells and 16 dominoes to place. Its condition zones: 31 single cells that print their exact pip value. Any other open cell is a free space.

Quick Hint: Begin with the adjacent 2 clues along the bottom edge and check the pool before treating them as a pair. There is no double-two available, so those matching clues need separate dominoes.

Pips Solutions

Last chance to solve independently: full solutions below

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Easy Pips Solution

1. 1.Place the 0-4 domino horizontally with the 4 in the sum-4 cell and the 0 on a free cell.
2. 2.Place the 4-4 domino horizontally in the equals zone.
3. 3.Place the 1-5 domino horizontally with the 5 in the more-than-4 cell and the 1 on a free cell.
4. 4.Place the 1-3 domino horizontally with the 3 in the more-than-1 cell and the 1 on a free cell.
5. 5.Place the 3-3 domino horizontally in the sum-6 zone.

Medium Pips Solution

1. 1.Place the 1-3 domino vertically with the 3 in the more-than-1 cell and the 1 on a free cell.
2. 2.Place the 4-4 domino horizontally in the equals zone.
3. 3.Place the 6-5 domino vertically across the more-than-4 cell and the more-than-3 cell, with the 6 in the more-than-4 cell.
4. 4.Place the 0-4 domino vertically across the sum-0 cell and the equals zone, with the 0 in the sum-0 cell.
5. 5.Place the 5-3 domino horizontally in the second sum-8 zone.
6. 6.Place the 3-3 domino vertically across the first sum-8 zone and the sum-3 cell, with the 3 in the first sum-8 zone.
7. 7.Place the 5-4 domino vertically across the first sum-8 zone and the less-than-6 cell, with the 5 in the first sum-8 zone.

Hard Pips Solution

1. 1.Place the 0-1 domino vertically across the third sum-0 cell and the first sum-1 cell, with the 0 in the third sum-0 cell.
2. 2.Place the 0-2 domino vertically across the fourth sum-0 cell and the second sum-2 cell, with the 0 in the fourth sum-0 cell.
3. 3.Place the 0-3 domino vertically across the first sum-0 cell and the first sum-3 cell, with the 0 in the first sum-0 cell.
4. 4.Place the 0-4 domino vertically across the second sum-0 cell and the third sum-4 cell, with the 0 in the second sum-0 cell.
5. 5.Place the 0-5 domino horizontally across the fifth sum-0 cell and the fifth sum-5 cell, with the 0 in the fifth sum-0 cell.
6. 6.Place the 1-2 domino vertically across the fourth sum-1 cell and the fourth sum-2 cell, with the 1 in the fourth sum-1 cell.
7. 7.Place the 1-3 domino vertically across the fifth sum-1 cell and the fifth sum-3 cell, with the 1 in the fifth sum-1 cell.
8. 8.Place the 1-4 domino horizontally across the third sum-1 cell and the fourth sum-4 cell, with the 1 in the third sum-1 cell.
9. 9.Place the 1-5 domino horizontally across the second sum-1 cell and the fourth sum-5 cell, with the 1 in the second sum-1 cell.
10. 10.Place the 2-3 domino horizontally across the fifth sum-2 cell and the sixth sum-3 cell, with the 2 in the fifth sum-2 cell.
11. 11.Place the 2-4 domino vertically across the third sum-2 cell and the fifth sum-4 cell, with the 2 in the third sum-2 cell.
12. 12.Place the 2-5 domino horizontally across the first sum-2 cell and the first sum-5 cell, with the 2 in the first sum-2 cell.
13. 13.Place the 3-4 domino vertically across the third sum-3 cell and the second sum-4 cell, with the 3 in the third sum-3 cell.
14. 14.Place the 3-5 domino vertically across the second sum-3 cell and the third sum-5 cell, with the 3 in the second sum-3 cell.
15. 15.Place the 4-5 domino vertically across the first sum-4 cell and the second sum-5 cell, with the 4 in the first sum-4 cell.
16. 16.Place the 3-6 domino horizontally with the 3 in the fourth sum-3 cell and the 6 on a free cell.

Puzzle Debrief

Overall Difficulty: This set has a clear climb in difficulty, from Easy's five pieces to Medium's seven and Hard's sixteen. Hard demands the most bookkeeping, with a larger pool to track as each pairing removes options elsewhere.

Our Take: Our favorite touch is Medium's three-cell equality zone, completed by the four end of the blank-four and both ends of the double-four. It makes a satisfying connection between a fixed zero and a shared value across several cells.

Until Tomorrow

See you for the next set, with a fresh eye for the clues at the edges.

Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.