Thursday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. Today's board leans on exact-number totals (15) and tight less-than-3 constraints, so precision beats speed.
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 exact-total zones are the backbone. Pink (15), green (15), teal (15), purple (3), purple (5), navy (5), orange (5), and teal (5) all lock specific sums, so map which dominoes feed each total before you commit a single piece.
Key Insight: The navy (=) zone is the multiplier. Because every pip in it must match, the 6s from the 0/6 and 6/1 dominoes are effectively forced there, which in turn dictates where their partner ends land.
Watch Out For: The <3 zones hide the real trap. Teal (<3) and orange (<3) only accept 0, 1, or 2, and they share borders with the exact-total zones.
If you burn a low-value end on the wrong side, you'll strand the 15-total zones with no legal fill. Count your low pips before you place.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Open with the 4/6 placed horizontally in the purple (>3) zone and the pink (15) zone. Both values clear the greater-than-3 threshold, and the 6 is the first contributor to pink's exact 15.
- 2.Place the 5/2 vertically so the 5 joins the pink (15) zone and the 2 lands in the orange (<3) zone. Pink now reads 6 plus 5, and orange secures a legal low value.
- 3.Set the 4/2 with the 4 in the pink (15) zone and the 2 in the teal (<3) zone. This closes pink at exactly 15 while giving teal the low end it needs.
- 4.Lay the 0/6 vertically across the orange (<3) zone and the navy (=) zone. The 0 clears orange's constraint, and the 6 establishes the equal value for navy.
- 5.Place the 6/1 vertically in the navy (=) zone and the pink (<3) zone. The second 6 locks navy's equal condition, and the 1 stays under 3 for pink.
- 6.Drop the 6/6 vertically in the teal (15) zone, contributing 12 toward the exact total.
- 7.Add the 1/3 horizontally so the 1 lands in the pink (<3) zone and the 3 lands in the teal (15) zone. Teal reaches exactly 15, closing that zone.
- 8.Place the 6/3 vertically in the green (15) zone and the purple (3) zone. The 3 satisfies purple's exact total of 3, and the 6 opens green's 15 count.
- 9.Set the 4/5 vertically in the green (15) zone. Green now totals 6 plus 4 plus 5, landing exactly on 15.
- 10.Position the 0/0 vertically in the uncolored zone. With no condition, this is a free slot.
- 11.Place the 2/3 vertically in the purple (5) zone. Two plus three hits the exact total of 5.
- 12.Lay the 5/3 vertically across the navy (5) zone and the teal (5) zone. Five satisfies navy's exact total, and the 3 starts teal's 5 count.
- 13.Set the 2/2 horizontally in the orange (5) zone and the teal (5) zone. Orange takes 2, teal adds 2 to reach 5.
- 14.Finish with the 0/3 placed vertically in the orange (5) zone. Orange totals exactly 5, and every zone condition is satisfied. Board complete.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 4/6 domino horizontally in the purple (>3) zone and pink (15) zone
- 2.Place the 5/2 domino vertically in the pink (15) zone and orange (<3) zone
- 3.Place the 4/2 domino in the pink (15) zone and teal (<3) zone
- 4.Place the 0/6 domino vertically in the orange (<3) zone and navy (=) zone
- 5.Place the 6/1 domino vertically in the navy (=) zone and pink (<3) zone
- 6.Place the 6/6 domino vertically in the teal (15) zone
- 7.Place the 1/3 domino horizontally in the pink (<3) zone and teal (15) zone
- 8.Place the 6/3 domino vertically in the green (15) zone and purple (3) zone
- 9.Place the 4/5 domino vertically in the green (15) zone
- 10.Place the 0/0 domino vertically in the uncolored (no condition) zone
- 11.Place the 2/3 domino vertically in the purple (5) zone
- 12.Place the 5/3 domino vertically in the navy (5) zone and teal (5) zone
- 13.Place the 2/2 domino horizontally in the orange (5) zone and teal (5) zone
- 14.Place the 0/3 domino vertically in the orange (5) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. The three difficulty levels share the same zone layout on paper, so the climb comes from how much planning the harder boards demand, not from new mechanics.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The navy (=) zone is the pivot point. Both the 0/6 and 6/1 dominoes must feed a 6 into navy to satisfy its equal condition, which locks their partner ends into the orange (<3) and pink (<3) zones.
Get that chain wrong and the low-value ends run out before the 15-total zones close.
Our Take: Today's set rewards constraint-counting over brute force. The exact-total zones do the heavy lifting, and once you recognize that the <3 constraints effectively pre-solve the low pips, the grid unfolds fast.
Fair, tight puzzles with just enough teeth on Hard to keep you honest.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
