Friday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. All three boards share the same zone layout, so the day is a test of clean sequencing rather than raw novelty, with the Hard puzzle demanding discipline on the teal and navy equal-value zones.
We've got hints, step-by-step walkthroughs, and full solutions for Easy, Medium, and Hard difficulty levels.
How to Play Pips
Pips is a domino placement puzzle where you fill a grid of color-coded zones. Each zone has a condition 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 equal 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 Color Free space, any domino value works
Click or tap dominoes to rotate them. Each puzzle has one or more valid solutions.
Today's Easy Pips
Today's Medium Pips
Today's Hard Pips
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. All three puzzles share the same board layout, so the day favors clean sequencing and disciplined pip accounting over raw discovery.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The twin equal-value zones are the trap. Navy (=) and teal (=) both demand uniform pips, and the teal zone in particular hides a triple-domino dependency that unravels if you place the 6/6 anywhere except the pink (=) zone.
The two exact-zero zones, green and navy, are a close second, since they hinge on reserving your 0 sides for the closing moves.
Our Take: Today's set is a study in order of operations. The identical boards across all three difficulties mean the difference is speed and confidence, not strategy, and once you commit to resolving the equal-value zones before the exact-number totals, the rest of the board falls into place.
The teal (>16) zone is the quiet star, locking in 17 pips across just two dominoes and taking the board's scariest requirement off the table early. Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight.
See you then.
