Monday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles built on a 16-zone grid packed with exact-number and comparison constraints. Eight zones demand exact totals, four demand specific inequality rules, and the zero-pip traps in teal, navy, purple, and orange will punish careless first moves.
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: Anchor the board with the three exact-zero zones. Four separate zero-bearing dominoes (4/0, 2/0, 3/0, 6/0) are fighting for teal (0), navy (0), purple (0), and orange (0), and that allocation decides the entire grid.
Key Insight: Lock the 4/4 double in the two greater-than zones early. Because teal (>3) and navy (>3) sit adjacent, the double resolves both constraints at once and removes the biggest piece of uncertainty from the solve.
Watch Out For: Do not start by planting zeros. The zero-bearing dominoes must be placed only after you fix their partner zones' exact totals.
Placing a 0 first in teal (0), for example, strands the 4/0 before orange (9) is confirmed, and orange (9) needs that exact 4 to close. Sequence the exact-number zones before the zero zones.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Set the 6/3 horizontal domino across the purple (12) and pink (4) zones. The 6 in purple and the 3 in pink start both exact totals.
- 2.Add the 6/5 vertical domino to purple (12) and green (>2). This is the only way to push purple to 12 (6 + 6) while dropping a 5 into the green zone, which clears the greater-than condition.
- 3.Play the 1/5 vertical domino into pink (4) and orange (9). The 1 drives pink to its total of 4; the 5 opens orange.
- 4.Complete orange (9) with the 4/0 vertical domino, routing the 4 into orange (5 + 4 = 9) and parking the 0 in teal (0). This is your first confirmed zero placement.
- 5.Drop the 2/5 horizontal domino in the isolated pink (7) zone. It sits alone, so 2 + 5 = 7 is the only valid fill.
- 6.Satisfy both greater-than zones with the 4/4 vertical domino across teal (>3) and navy (>3). Both zones clear with a 4 each.
- 7.Place the 3/5 vertical domino so the 3 lands in purple (3) and the 5 lands in orange (7), starting the second orange total.
- 8.Close orange (7) with the 2/0 horizontal domino, adding the 2 to reach 7 and sending the 0 into navy (0). Second zero locked.
- 9.Fill green (6) and purple (0) with the 3/0 horizontal domino, dropping 3 into green (6) and the 0 into purple (0). Third zero locked.
- 10.Bridge green (6) to teal (10) with the 3/4 vertical domino. The 3 brings green to 6; the 4 moves into teal (10).
- 11.Complete teal (10) with the 6/0 horizontal domino. The 6 raises teal to 10 (4 + 6) and the 0 lands in orange (0), the final zero.
- 12.Finish with the 6/2 vertical domino in pink (8), reaching 6 + 2 = 8 and clearing the last zone.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 6/3 domino horizontally in the purple (12) zone and pink (4) zone
- 2.Place the 6/5 domino vertically in the purple (12) zone and green (>2) zone
- 3.Place the 1/5 domino vertically in the pink (4) zone and orange (9) zone
- 4.Place the 4/0 domino vertically in the orange (9) zone and teal (0) zone
- 5.Place the 2/5 domino horizontally in the pink (7) zone
- 6.Place the 4/4 domino vertically in the teal (>3) zone and navy (>3) zone
- 7.Place the 3/5 domino vertically in the purple (3) zone and orange (7) zone
- 8.Place the 2/0 domino horizontally in the orange (7) zone and navy (0) zone
- 9.Place the 3/0 domino horizontally in the green (6) zone and purple (0) zone
- 10.Place the 3/4 domino vertically in the green (6) zone and teal (10) zone
- 11.Place the 6/0 domino horizontally in the teal (10) zone and orange (0) zone
- 12.Place the 6/2 domino vertically in the pink (8) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The grid holds eight exact-number zones, four greater-than rules, and four zero traps, but the forced 4/4 double and the shared-domino clusters keep the solve moving once you see the pattern.
This is a straightforward Monday set with clean logic chains.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The zero-zone allocation is the real trap. Four zeros must spread across teal (0), navy (0), purple (0), and orange (0), but each rides on a domino whose partner end must satisfy an exact total first.
Solve the totals before you touch the zeros or you'll lock yourself out.
Our Take: Today's three levels share the same grid and solution, so the real test is pacing, not variety. The elegant part is how every exact-number zone chains into the next: purple feeds pink, pink feeds orange, green feeds teal.
Follow the chain and the whole board falls in place. Clean, satisfying, and quick once you see the cascade.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
