Sunday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set offers a smooth progression from straightforward number matching to complex multi-zone 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
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Begin with the purple (6) zone - it requires exactly 6 pips total.
Key Insight: The green (=) zone needs both halves of a domino to match exactly.
Easy Pips Solution
Scroll past if you want to keep trying
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- 1.Place the 6/0 domino vertically in the purple (6) zone
- 2.Place the 5/5 domino vertically in the teal (5) zone
- 3.Place the 2/3 domino horizontally in the navy (2) zone
- 4.Place the 1/3 domino vertically in the green (=) zone
- 5.Place the 6/4 domino vertically in the orange (5) zone and pink (6) zone
Today's Medium Pips
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Look at the purple (<4) zone - it needs values less than 4.
Key Insight: The orange (=) zone requires two dominoes with matching values.
Medium Pips Solution
Scroll past if you want to keep trying
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- 1.Place the 3/2 domino vertically in the purple (<4) zone
- 2.Place the 4/2 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone
- 3.Place the 5/2 domino vertically in the pink (>4) zone
- 4.Place the 1/1 domino horizontally in the orange (=) zone
- 5.Place the 1/5 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone
- 6.Place the 6/0 domino vertically in the navy (>4) zone
- 7.Place the 0/2 domino horizontally in the purple (<2) zone
- 8.Place the 2/2 domino horizontally in the green (=) zone
Today's Hard Pips
Quick Hints (No Spoilers)
Starting Point: Begin with the purple (2) and pink (2) zones that share a domino.
Key Insight: Multiple zones require zero pips - these will help place low-value dominoes strategically.
Watch Out For: Several dominoes span multiple zones - track which conditions they need to satisfy simultaneously.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 2/2 domino vertically in the purple (2) zone and pink (2) zone
- 2.Place the 3/3 domino horizontally in the pink (3) zone and teal (3) zone
- 3.Place the 2/4 domino vertically in the orange (2) zone and navy (4) zone
- 4.Place the 0/3 domino vertically in the navy (0) zone and green (3) zone
- 5.Place the 4/3 domino vertically in the green (4) zone and purple (3) zone
- 6.Place the 1/0 domino horizontally in the orange (0) zone
- 7.Place the 3/1 domino horizontally in the teal (3) zone
- 8.Place the 0/2 domino vertically in the navy (0) zone and green (2) zone
- 9.Place the 0/0 domino horizontally in the green (0) zone and purple (0) zone
- 10.Place the 1/4 domino horizontally in the pink (4) zone
- 11.Place the 1/1 domino vertically in the uncolored (no condition) zone
- 12.Place the 2/3 domino horizontally in the pink (2) zone and orange (3) zone
- 13.Place the 0/4 domino vertically in the navy (0) zone and teal (4) zone
- 14.Place the 2/1 domino horizontally in the orange (2) zone
- 15.Place the 4/4 domino horizontally in the navy (4) zone and green (4) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge with clear progression
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - managing multiple overlapping zone conditions requires careful domino selection and placement order.
Our Take: Today's puzzles demonstrate the elegance of Pips' design. The Easy puzzle introduces basic number matching, Medium adds comparative conditions, and Hard demands spatial reasoning with dominoes spanning multiple zones. The progression feels natural, with each difficulty building on previous concepts.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
