Thursday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's set features consistent zone patterns across all difficulty levels, with equal signs and numerical constraints creating a balanced challenge. 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 vertical domino spanning purple (=) and navy (=) zones is your anchor - solve this first to establish grid constraints.
Key Insight: Exact 3-value zones create forcing conditions - dominoes with 3s must go in specific positions, limiting your placement options significantly.
Watch Out For: The pink (<3) zone requires careful domino selection - low-value dominoes are limited, so plan their placement strategically to avoid conflicts with greater-than zones.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 2/5 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and navy (=) zone
- 2.Place the 2/6 domino horizontally in the purple (=) zone and pink (>3) zone
- 3.Place the 3/6 domino horizontally in the teal (3) zone and orange (=) zone
- 4.Place the 5/0 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone and pink (3) zone
- 5.Place the 3/4 domino vertically in the pink (3) zone and navy (>3) zone
- 6.Place the 4/4 domino horizontally in the green (>3) and purple (>3) zone
- 7.Place the 2/3 domino horizontally in the pink (<3) zone and teal (3) zone
- 8.Place the 6/0 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone and purple (3) zone
- 9.Place the 3/3 domino horizontally in the green (=) zone
- 10.Place the 3/1 domino vertically in the purple (3) zone and orange (3) zone
- 11.Place the 5/1 domino horizontally in the teal (>3) zone and orange (3) zone
- 12.Place the 1/0 domino vertically in the orange (3) zone and teal (3) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge with consistent patterns across all levels.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - the identical zone layout to Easy and Medium creates psychological difficulty; players expect increased complexity but face the same logical constraints.
Our Take: Today's puzzle set demonstrates elegant constraint design. The identical zone conditions across difficulty levels create an interesting meta-challenge: solving the same logical puzzle with increasing expectation of complexity. The key lesson is recognizing that sometimes the hardest part is overcoming assumptions about difficulty rather than the actual constraints. The pink (<3) zone provides the crucial balancing element, forcing careful allocation of low-value dominoes.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
