Friday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's board leans on exact-match and single-value conditions, with a few free spaces sprinkled in to keep the flow moving.
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
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Lock the 3/6 domino first to pin the purple (3) zone, then work outward through the single-value pairs, saving the free spaces for your most flexible 0-ends.
Key Insight: Every constrained zone on this board wants an exact single value, so there is zero room for approximation. If a domino end can't match its zone exactly, it doesn't belong there.
Use the four free cells to offload any end that would otherwise break a condition.
Watch Out For: The orange (>0) zone is the trap. A 0-end will fail it instantly, so the final domino must carry a nonzero value into that cell.
Also, don't get greedy with the 0-ends early - you only have four free spaces, so ration them or you'll strand a 0 with no valid landing zone.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Anchor with 3/6 vertically: the 3-end locks the purple (3) zone, and the 6 parks in free space. This is the highest-stakes domino on the board, so commit it first and eliminate the risk.
- 2.Place 0/2 horizontally across pink (0) and teal (2). Both single-value conditions hit exactly. This is your first time spending a 0-end, and it's a clean one.
- 3.Drop 2/1 vertically in the orange (2) and purple (1) zones. Two exact matches in a single move.
- 4.Lay 1/0 vertically with the 1 in navy (1) and the 0 in free space. Navy is cleared, and you've spent a second free cell.
- 5.Set 5/0 vertically with the 5 in green (5) and the 0 in free space. Green (5) is done; that's free cell number three.
- 6.Place 0/4 vertically with the 4 in teal (4) and the 0 in free space. That's the fourth and final free cell - don't waste the rest.
- 7.Run 3/4 horizontally: 3 into orange (3), 4 into navy (4). Two exact matches, no free space involved.
- 8.Drop 1/3 vertically with the 1 in pink (1) and the 3 in green (3). Both match.
- 9.Place 0/3 vertically with the 0 in purple (0) and the 3 in navy (3). The 0 lands in a zero-value zone, so it's legal.
- 10.Lay 2/3 vertically: 2 into pink (2), 3 into green (3). Both exact.
- 11.Set 4/5 horizontally across teal (4) and orange (5). Clean double.
- 12.Place 4/1 horizontally across purple (4) and pink (1). Two more locked.
- 13.Drop 1/5 vertically with the 1 in teal (1) and the 5 in purple (5). Both match.
- 14.Run 2/4 horizontally: 2 into orange (2), 4 into navy (4). Both exact.
- 15.Lay 5/3 horizontally across pink (5) and teal (3). Two more cleared.
- 16.Finish with 5/2 vertically: 5 into green (5), 2 into the orange (>0) zone. The nonzero 2 clears the greater-than-zero condition, and the board is complete.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 3/6 domino vertically in the purple (3) zone and uncolored (no condition) zone
- 2.Place the 0/2 domino horizontally in the pink (0) zone and teal (2) zone
- 3.Place the 2/1 domino vertically in the orange (2) zone and purple (1) zone
- 4.Place the 1/0 domino vertically in the navy (1) zone and uncolored (no condition) zone
- 5.Place the 5/0 domino vertically in the green (5) zone and uncolored (no condition) zone
- 6.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the uncolored (no condition) zone and teal (4) zone
- 7.Place the 3/4 domino horizontally in the orange (3) zone and navy (4) zone
- 8.Place the 1/3 domino vertically in the pink (1) zone and green (3) zone
- 9.Place the 0/3 domino vertically in the purple (0) zone and navy (3) zone
- 10.Place the 2/3 domino vertically in the pink (2) zone and green (3) zone
- 11.Place the 4/5 domino horizontally in the teal (4) zone and orange (5) zone
- 12.Place the 4/1 domino horizontally in the purple (4) zone and pink (1) zone
- 13.Place the 1/5 domino vertically in the teal (1) zone and purple (5) zone
- 14.Place the 2/4 domino horizontally in the orange (2) zone and navy (4) zone
- 15.Place the 5/3 domino horizontally in the pink (5) zone and teal (3) zone
- 16.Place the 5/2 domino vertically in the green (5) zone and orange (>0) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate day across the board. The three difficulties share the same zone layout, so the gap between levels comes down to pace and pressure rather than genuinely new mechanics.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The orange (>0) zone is the real hazard. Plenty of solvers will instinctively drop a 0-end there to burn a flexible piece, only to realize they've failed the condition and have to rework half the board.
The four free spaces also run out fast if you're not rationing them from the start.
Our Take: A clean, single-value-heavy set that rewards exact-match discipline over creative problem-solving. The 3/6 open is the single best move you can make, and if you lock that one early, the rest of the board falls into place.
The only real decision point is managing your 0-ends - spend them wisely and this one's a smooth Friday solve.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
