Friday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles to close out the week. All three difficulty levels share the same grid layout today, but the challenge escalates with tighter constraints on the Hard puzzle. 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: The purple (>9) zone is your only guaranteed opening. The 5/5 domino is the unique fit here.
Key Insight: The three teal zones (0, 9, 0) and the two orange zones (=, 3) create a tight cluster of constraints. Solve these intersecting zones first to unlock the rest of the grid.
Watch Out For: The navy (=) zone appears multiple times across the grid. Each placement must use the same pip value across all navy cells, so one wrong domino breaks the entire chain. Verify navy consistency before locking in adjacent placements.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Start with the purple (>9) zone. Place the 5/5 domino horizontally -- it sums to 10, which is the only value above 9 achievable with a single domino. This is your fixed anchor.
- 2.Move to the teal (0) zone in the upper area. Place the 0/4 domino horizontally so the 0 sits in the teal (0) cell and the 4 extends into the orange (=) zone. The zero is non-negotiable here.
- 3.Work the navy (=) and teal (9) intersection. Place the 1/3 domino vertically so one pip lands in navy (=) and the other in teal (9). This starts building the teal total toward 9.
- 4.Address the orange (=) and navy (=) intersection. Place the 4/1 domino vertically. The orange (=) zone now has two 4s (from step 2 and this placement), satisfying its equality condition. The navy (=) zone gets a 1, which must be consistent across all navy cells.
- 5.Fill the teal (9) and orange (3) boundary. Place the 2/3 domino horizontally. The teal (9) zone now totals 3+3+3=9 from steps 3, 4, and this placement. The orange (3) zone gets its exact value of 3.
- 6.Connect the teal (9) and green (>9) zones. Place the 4/5 domino vertically. The 5 feeds into green's greater-than-9 requirement.
- 7.Bridge the pink (2) and green (>9) zones. Place the 2/6 domino horizontally. The 2 satisfies pink's exact value, and the 6 adds to green's total.
- 8.Link the navy (=) and green (=) zones. Place the 1/2 domino horizontally. The navy (=) zone gets another 1, maintaining consistency. The green (=) zone gets a 2.
- 9.Place the 2/2 domino vertically entirely within the green (=) zone. Both pips are 2, matching the zone's equality condition.
- 10.Place the 1/6 domino vertically across the purple (=) and navy (=) zones. The navy (=) zone gets another 1, staying consistent.
- 11.Place the 6/4 domino vertically across the navy (=) and purple (9) zones. Navy (=) gets another 1 -- consistent. Purple (9) gets a total of 9.
- 12.Place the 0/5 domino horizontally across the teal (0) and purple (9) zones. The second teal (0) zone gets its required zero.
- 13.Place the 6/3 domino vertically in the pink (9) zone. The sum is 6+3=9, matching the exact value condition.
- 14.Place the 1/5 domino horizontally across the purple (=) and pink (5) zones. The 5 satisfies pink's exact value, and the purple (=) zone gets consistent values.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the purple (>9) zone
- 2.Place the 0/4 domino horizontally in the teal (0) zone and orange (=) zone
- 3.Place the 1/3 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone and teal (9) zone
- 4.Place the 4/1 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone and navy (=) zone
- 5.Place the 2/3 domino horizontally in the teal (9) zone and orange (3) zone
- 6.Place the 4/5 domino vertically in the teal (9) zone and green (>9) zone
- 7.Place the 2/6 domino horizontally in the pink (2) zone and green (>9) zone
- 8.Place the 1/2 domino horizontally in the navy (=) zone and green (=) zone
- 9.Place the 2/2 domino vertically in the green (=) zone
- 10.Place the 1/6 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and navy (=) zone
- 11.Place the 6/4 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone and purple (9) zone
- 12.Place the 0/5 domino horizontally in the teal (0) zone and purple (9) zone
- 13.Place the 6/3 domino vertically in the pink (9) zone
- 14.Place the 1/5 domino horizontally in the purple (=) zone and pink (5) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge across the board. The shared grid layout means all three puzzles follow the same structural logic, but the tighter constraints on Hard demand more careful tracking of zone conditions.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The navy (=) zone appears in multiple locations across the grid, and every cell in that zone must contain the same pip value. One misplacement cascades through four separate dominoes, making it easy to paint yourself into a corner if you don't verify consistency early.
Our Take: Today's set rewards players who methodically satisfy exact-number and equality zones before tackling the greater-than conditions. The teal (0) zones are the real gatekeepers -- without their zeros locked in, the rest of the grid refuses to cooperate. Solid Friday workout for the brain.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
