Saturday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set features a balanced progression from straightforward placements to complex zone interactions, with the Hard puzzle delivering a satisfying challenge for weekend solvers. 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
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Begin with the pink (10) and green (10) zones, these exact number requirements give you immediate constraints to work with.
Key Insight: The teal (=) zone needs identical numbers, which will help you place the double domino efficiently.
Easy Pips Solution
Scroll past if you want to keep trying
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- 1.Place the 2/6 domino horizontally in the purple (>1) zone and pink (10) zone
- 2.Place the 4/3 domino vertically in the pink (10) zone and orange (3) zone
- 3.Place the 6/6 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone
- 4.Place the 0/5 domino horizontally in the green (10) zone
- 5.Place the 3/5 domino vertically in the navy (>1) zone and green (10) zone
Today's Medium Pips
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Focus on the navy (5) zone first, it's the only exact number requirement and will anchor your placements.
Key Insight: The green (<4) zone restricts you to low numbers, which helps eliminate placement options for several dominoes.
Medium Pips Solution
Scroll past if you want to keep trying
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- 1.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone
- 2.Place the 0/1 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and teal (=) zone
- 3.Place the 3/1 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone and teal (=) zone
- 4.Place the 3/3 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone
- 5.Place the 4/2 domino vertically in the green (<4) zone
- 6.Place the 6/1 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone and teal (=) zone
- 7.Place the 6/3 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone and purple (=) zone
- 8.Place the 5/3 domino vertically in the navy (5) zone and purple (=) zone
Today's Hard Pips
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Tackle the purple (11) and navy (11) zones first, these high exact numbers will dictate your high-value domino placements.
Key Insight: The multiple purple (=) and orange (=) zones create interconnected equal-value constraints that propagate through the puzzle.
Watch Out For: The pink (5) zones appear twice with different neighboring conditions, don't assume they can be solved identically.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 5/1 domino horizontally in the purple (11) zone and pink (5) zone
- 2.Place the 4/1 domino horizontally in the pink (5) zone and teal (4) zone
- 3.Place the 3/2 domino horizontally in the teal (4) zone and orange (=) zone
- 4.Place the 2/0 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone and purple (=) zone
- 5.Place the 6/5 domino vertically in the purple (11) zone and navy (11) zone
- 6.Place the 6/3 domino vertically in the navy (11) zone and teal (5) zone
- 7.Place the 2/4 domino vertically in the teal (5) zone and green (10) zone
- 8.Place the 6/1 domino horizontally in the green (10) zone and purple (2) zone
- 9.Place the 1/2 domino horizontally in the purple (2) zone and pink (5) zone
- 10.Place the 4/3 domino vertically in the navy (8) zone and pink (5) zone
- 11.Place the 6/0 domino horizontally in the green (6) zone and purple (=) zone
- 12.Place the 3/3 domino horizontally in the pink (=) zone
- 13.Place the 5/5 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
- 14.Place the 0/3 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and pink (=) zone
- 15.Place the 5/4 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone and navy (8) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge with clear progression, Easy introduces exact numbers, Medium adds equal-value constraints, and Hard combines both with multiple interconnected zones.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The dual pink (5) zones with different neighboring conditions create subtle placement constraints that aren't immediately obvious.
Our Take: Today's puzzles showcase excellent design progression. The Hard puzzle's interconnected equal-value zones force careful domino sequencing, while the Medium puzzle's green (<4) restriction provides a clever constraint. The Easy puzzle serves as a perfect warm-up with its clear exact number requirements.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
