Sunday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set is a well-balanced trio: the Easy puzzle gives you a clean path in, the Medium adds a couple of traps, and the Hard one punishes anyone who rushes the exact-number zones.
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
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The three puzzles share the same zone layout and solution structure, so the difficulty gap is more about pressure than new mechanics.
Easy gives you breathing room; Hard makes every pip count.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The teal (>16) and purple (>4) zones compete for the same high-value pips. If you spend your 5s and 6s in teal too fast, purple has no way to clear its bar, and you have to backtrack the whole grid.
Our Take: Today's set is a clean lesson in pip budgeting. The exact-number zones, orange (8) and green (0), are the easiest to lock, while the greater-than zones reward players who count before they place.
Solve teal and purple together as one problem and the whole grid falls into place. Nothing here punishes a slow, deliberate approach, but rushing the Hard puzzle will cost you.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
