Saturday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set features consistent zone conditions across all difficulty levels, with a focus on exact number requirements and equality constraints. 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 (8) zone requires a domino that totals exactly 8 - there are limited options.
Key Insight: The navy (8) zone needs four pips that sum to exactly 8, which requires careful domino combination.
Watch Out For: The teal (<5) zones adjacent to navy (8) zone create constraints - dominoes must have values under 5 while contributing to the total of 8.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Start with the purple (8) zone - you need a domino that totals exactly 8. Options are 6/2, 5/3, or 4/4. Check which works with the rest of the puzzle.
- 2.Place 3/0 horizontally in the purple (3) and pink (0) zones - this is forced since 3/0 is the only domino totaling 3.
- 3.Place 5/5 vertically in a teal (=) zone - this satisfies the equality requirement perfectly.
- 4.Place 1/0 horizontally to cover navy (>0) and green (0) zones - the 1 satisfies >0, the 0 satisfies green (0).
- 5.Place 0/4 vertically to handle pink (0) and orange (=) zones - the 0 covers pink (0), the 4 starts an orange (=) chain.
- 6.Place 5/4 horizontally to continue the orange (=) chain and cover another teal (=) zone.
- 7.Place 5/2 vertically to satisfy teal (=) and pink (=) requirements.
- 8.Place 4/2 horizontally in the remaining pink (=) zone.
- 9.Place 6/3 horizontally in the second purple (3) zone.
- 10.Place 1/1 vertically in a teal (<5) zone - both values are under 5.
- 11.Place 0/0 vertically in the orange (0) zone.
- 12.Now tackle the navy (8) zone - you need four pips totaling exactly 8. The adjacent teal (<5) zones restrict values.
- 13.Place 6/1 horizontally - the 6 goes in navy (8), the 1 in teal (<5). Running total: 7.
- 14.Place 4/4 horizontally in the green (=) zone.
- 15.Place 2/1 horizontally - the 2 goes in navy (8), the 1 in teal (<5). Total: 7+2+1=10, but wait - you need exactly 8. Adjust: the navy zone actually needs the sum of all four pips to be 8, not individual domino totals.
- 16.Place 5/3 horizontally in the purple (8) zone - this gives you 5+3=8 exactly.
- 17.Verify all zone conditions: purple (3) zones have 3, pink (0) zones have 0, navy (>0) has non-zero, green (0) has 0, teal (=) zones have equal values, orange (=) zones have equal values, orange (0) has 0, green (=) has equal values, navy (8) totals 8, teal (<5) zones have values under 5, purple (8) totals 8.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 3/0 domino horizontally in the purple (3) zone and pink (0) zone
- 2.Place the 5/5 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone
- 3.Place the 1/0 domino horizontally in the navy (>0) zone and green (0) zone
- 4.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the pink (0) zone and orange (=) zone
- 5.Place the 5/4 domino horizontally in the teal (=) zone and orange (=) zone
- 6.Place the 5/2 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone and in the pink (=) zone
- 7.Place the 4/2 domino horizontally in the pink (=) zone
- 8.Place the 6/3 domino horizontally in the purple (3) zone
- 9.Place the 1/1 domino vertically in the teal (<5) zone
- 10.Place the 0/0 domino vertically in the orange (0) zone
- 11.Place the 6/1 domino horizontally in the navy (8) zone and teal (<5) zone
- 12.Place the 4/4 domino horizontally in the green (=) zone
- 13.Place the 2/1 domino horizontally in the navy (8) zone and teal (<5) zone
- 14.Place the 5/3 domino horizontally in the purple (8) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge with consistent patterns across difficulty levels.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The navy (8) zone requires careful domino combination while respecting adjacent teal (<5) constraints, creating a tight optimization problem.
Our Take: Today's puzzles feature identical zone layouts across all difficulties, which is unusual but provides a clear progression in strategic complexity. The key challenge lies in managing the navy (8) zone's exact sum requirement while working with the teal (<5) restrictions. This set teaches valuable lessons about domino value optimization and zone interaction.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
