Monday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's lineup features the same grid layout across all three difficulty levels, with a dense mix of equality zones, not-equal constraints, exact totals, and a threshold condition. It's a solid Monday workout that tests your ability to juggle multiple zone conditions simultaneously. 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 teal (0) zone is the most restrictive condition on the board. It requires an exact total of zero, meaning the only domino half that can go there is a 0. Find the 0/6 domino and place it to lock in teal while contributing to green (12).
Key Insight: There are two orange (=) zones and one pink (=) zone, each with a different equality value. The 1/3 domino bridges pink and orange simultaneously, which means pink must equal 1 and the adjacent orange must equal 3. Use that cross-zone domino to lock in both equality values at once.
Watch Out For: The purple (≠) zone has five cells and must contain all distinct values. Since you're placing multiple dominoes there, track every value you use. Doubles like 4/4 and 6/6 cannot enter the not-equal zone because they repeat a number. Save those doubles for the purple (=) zone and the exact-total zones instead.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Start with the purple (≠) zone. Place the 3/2 domino horizontally. This zone requires all values to be unique, and 3 and 2 give you a clean start. Every subsequent placement in purple must use numbers not already present.
- 2.Place the 4/0 domino vertically in the purple (≠) zone. Adds 4 and 0, both new to the set. Now purple contains {3, 2, 4, 0} with two more cells to fill.
- 3.Place the 6/1 domino horizontally across purple (≠) and pink (=). Adds 6 and 1 to purple, completing the not-equal set with six distinct values: {3, 2, 4, 0, 6, 1}. The 1 enters pink, which requires all values to be equal. This hints that pink's equality value will be 1.
- 4.Confirm pink's equality by placing the 1/1 domino horizontally in the pink (=) zone. Both halves are 1, locking in pink's equality value. Every cell in pink must now be 1.
- 5.Move to the first orange (=) zone. Place the 3/3 domino horizontally inside it. This sets this orange zone's equality value to 3. Every cell here must now be 3.
- 6.Place the 3/5 domino horizontally across the first orange (=) zone and navy (5). The 3 stays in orange, matching the equality value. The 5 enters navy, where the exact total is 5. Since navy only has one cell, a single 5 satisfies it completely.
- 7.Address the teal (0) zone. Place the 0/6 domino vertically across teal (0) and green (12). The 0 is the only value that can satisfy teal's exact-zero requirement. The 6 enters green and contributes to its 12 total.
- 8.Place the 1/3 domino horizontally across pink (=) and the first orange (=) zone. The 1 matches pink's equality. The 3 matches orange's equality. This domino proves the logic: pink=1 and orange=3 were the only values that could work here.
- 9.Move to the purple (=) zone. Place the 4/4 domino horizontally inside it. Sets purple's equality value to 4. Every cell in this zone must now be 4.
- 10.Place the 4/6 domino horizontally across purple (=) and green (12). The 4 stays in purple, matching its equality. The 6 enters green, bringing the total to 6 + 6 = 12. Green's exact total is satisfied.
- 11.Place the 6/6 domino horizontally in the pink (12) zone. 6 + 6 = 12. This exact-total zone is satisfied with one domino.
- 12.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the teal (10) zone. 5 + 5 = 10. Teal's exact total is satisfied.
- 13.Place the 2/2 domino horizontally in the second orange (=) zone. This sets this orange zone's equality value to 2. Every cell here must be 2.
- 14.Place the 4/2 domino horizontally across navy (<6) and the second orange (=) zone. The 4 and 2 are both below 6, satisfying the less-than condition. The 2 matches the second orange zone's equality value. All 14 dominoes placed, all conditions satisfied.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 3/2 domino horizontally in the purple (≠) zone
- 2.Place the 4/0 domino vertically in the purple (≠) zone
- 3.Place the 6/1 domino horizontally in the purple (≠) zone and pink (=) zone
- 4.Place the 1/1 domino horizontally in the pink (=) zone
- 5.Place the 3/3 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
- 6.Place the 3/5 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone and navy (5) zone
- 7.Place the 0/6 domino vertically in the teal (0) zone and green (12) zone
- 8.Place the 1/3 domino horizontally in the pink (=) zone and orange (=) zone
- 9.Place the 4/4 domino horizontally in the purple (=) zone
- 10.Place the 4/6 domino horizontally in the purple (=) zone and green (12) zone
- 11.Place the 6/6 domino horizontally in the pink (12) zone
- 12.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the teal (10) zone
- 13.Place the 2/2 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
- 14.Place the 4/2 domino horizontally in the navy (<6) zone and orange (=) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The grid is the same across all three levels, and the logic chain is consistent. The real difficulty ramp comes from how much scaffolding each level removes Easy gives you more visual guidance, Hard forces you to deduce every constraint from scratch.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard. The double orange (=) zones with different equality values (3 and 2) are easy to confuse. Mixing up which orange zone gets the 3s versus the 2s breaks the entire solution. The purple (≠) zone also requires careful tracking of five distinct values across three domino placements, and one mistake there cascades into the pink (=) zone.
Our Take: Monday's set is a clean, logical warm-up that rewards systematic thinking. The teal (0) zone is the standout constraint it forces a specific domino placement that then ripples through green (12) and purple (=). The navys (5 and <6) are both single-domino zones that resolve quickly once you see the 3/5 and 4/2 bridges. Solid puzzle design, satisfying to crack.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
