Sunday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. All three boards share the same zone architecture, so the real challenge is sequencing: nail the exact-number zones first and the greater-than conditions stop fighting you.
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. All three boards share the same zone layout and the same fifteen-domino solution, so the difficulty gap is really about pressure and timing, not new mechanics.
Easy walks you through; Hard makes you earn every placement.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The teal (>16) and purple (>4) zones compete for the same high-value pips. Pour too many 5s and 6s into teal and the purple zone has no legal way to clear its bar, forcing a full-grid backtrack.
Our Take: Today's set is a masterclass in pip budgeting. The exact-number zones, orange (8) and green (0), resolve fast, but the greater-than zones punish reckless spending.
Treat teal and purple as one shared pool of big pips and the whole grid clicks. Nothing here rewards speed; everything rewards counting twice.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
