Monday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set runs on a single shared zone layout across all three difficulties, so the same orange, purple, teal, pink, navy, and green grid appears from Easy through Hard. 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: Zero in on the zones with the tightest constraints. The green (>10) zone and navy (=) zone are the two most restrictive spots on the board, so resolve them before anything else.
Key Insight: Track every domino as you place it. With all 15 dominoes in play across 16 zones, the trap is reusing a piece or leaving a zone short. Keep a running tally of what's still on the tray.
Watch Out For: The teal (1) zone and the pink (1) zones look identical on a quick scan, but they sit in different parts of the grid and pair with different neighbors. Don't assume the two single-value pink zones are interchangeable, and don't forget the orange (10) zone needs two separate dominoes feeding into it.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Place the 6/6 domino vertically in the green (>10) zone. This is the one forced spot on the board, so claim it first and remove a high-value piece from the tray.
- 2.Set the 3/3 double vertically inside the navy (=) zone. Both pips must match, and this is the cleanest fit that satisfies the equal-value rule.
- 3.Connect the orange (6) zone to the navy (=) zone with the 2/3 domino placed vertically. The 2 and 3 sum to 6, matching the orange target exactly.
- 4.Fill the purple (4) zone with two dominoes: the 2/0 placed horizontally into the pink (1) zone, then the 2/5 placed vertically into the green (9) zone, both summing to the 4 and 9 targets respectively.
- 5.Place the 5/4 domino horizontally between the teal (10) zone and the orange (6) zone, then the 6/5 domino horizontally between the purple (12) zone and the teal (5) zone.
- 6.Slide the 0/5 domino horizontally into the pink (1) zone and teal (10) zone, and the 1/6 domino horizontally into the pink (1) zone and purple (12) zone.
- 7.Finish the two pips feeding the orange (10) zone: the 1/4 domino horizontally in the teal (1) zone and orange (10) zone, and the 0/6 domino vertically in the purple (0) zone and orange (10) zone.
- 8.Close out the remaining pieces: the 4/4 vertically in the green (9) zone and navy (7) zone, the 3/1 vertically in the navy (7) zone and pink (1) zone, the 1/1 horizontally in the orange (3) zone, and the 0/1 vertically in the pink (0) zone and orange (3) zone.
- 9.Do a final sweep: every domino placed once, every zone condition met, no pieces left on the tray.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 6/6 domino vertically in the green (>10) zone
- 2.Place the 3/3 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone
- 3.Place the 2/3 domino vertically in the orange (6) zone and navy (=) zone
- 4.Place the 2/0 domino horizontally in the purple (4) zone and pink (1) zone
- 5.Place the 2/5 domino vertically in the purple (4) zone and green (9) zone
- 6.Place the 5/4 domino horizontally in the teal (10) zone and orange (6) zone
- 7.Place the 6/5 domino horizontally in the purple (12) zone and teal (5) zone
- 8.Place the 0/5 domino horizontally in the pink (1) zone and teal (10) zone
- 9.Place the 1/6 domino horizontally in the pink (1) zone and purple (12) zone
- 10.Place the 1/4 domino horizontally in the teal (1) zone and orange (10) zone
- 11.Place the 0/6 domino vertically in the purple (0) zone and orange (10) zone
- 12.Place the 4/4 domino vertically in the green (9) zone and navy (7) zone
- 13.Place the 3/1 domino vertically in the navy (7) zone and pink (1) zone
- 14.Place the 1/1 domino horizontally in the orange (3) zone
- 15.Place the 0/1 domino vertically in the pink (0) zone and orange (3) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Easy day.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - Because all three difficulties share the same zone layout and solution, the Hard set is less about fresh logic and more about discipline. The real trap is the two single-value pink (1) zones and the double-fed orange (10) zone, which tempt you into reusing a domino or shorting a neighbor.
Our Take: A clean, consistent grid makes today's set approachable even on Hard. When every difficulty runs the same layout, the sharpest move is to start with the forced placements-the green (>10) double-six and the navy (=) double-and let the exact-number zones fall into line. The whole board resolves like a chain reaction, which makes for a satisfying Monday solve.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
