Thursday brings a fresh set of NYT Pips puzzles. All three difficulty levels share the same zone layout today, which means the challenge is about solving efficiently rather than deciphering new configurations. The grid features a mix of equality zones, inequality constraints, and exact-sum requirements that reward methodical placement. 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 orange (=) zone at the bottom of the grid receives five dominoes, making it the most-connected zone. Work backward from its equality requirement: all five pips placed there must be the same number. That severely limits which dominoes can span into it.
Key Insight: The teal (=) zone appears in multiple segments across the grid, but they are all part of the same zone. Every pip in every teal segment must equal the same number. Once you place a 4 in teal (via the 1/4 domino), every subsequent teal placement must also be 4. This constraint cascades across multiple boundary-spanning dominoes.
Watch Out For: The green (2) exact-sum zone and the pink (1) exact-sum zone share a boundary. The 0/1 domino placed across them gives 1 to pink and 0 to green - but green also receives a 2 from the 3/2 domino. That totals 2, which is correct. It is easy to misplace the 0/1 domino and end up with green overshooting its sum. Double-check the math before committing.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
- 1.Start with the purple (=) zone. Place the 1/1 domino vertically here. Both pips are 1, establishing equality. This is your anchor placement - every pip that enters this zone from other dominoes must also be 1.
- 2.Move to the pink (>4) zone. Place the 5/0 domino vertically so the 5 lands in pink (>4) and the 0 lands in the navy (<3) zone. The 5 is greater than 4, satisfying pink. The 0 is less than 3, satisfying navy. Two conditions satisfied with one domino.
- 3.Place the 0/2 domino vertically in the second navy (<3) zone. Both pips are below 3, satisfying the condition without any conflict.
- 4.Now address the critical purple (=) and teal (=) boundary. Place the 1/4 domino vertically so the 1 lands in purple (=) - matching the established value - and the 4 lands in teal (=). This establishes teal's equality value at 4. Every subsequent teal placement must now be 4.
- 5.Place the 4/4 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone. Both pips are 4, reinforcing teal's condition. This is a safe, no-conflict placement.
- 6.Place the 2/4 domino vertically across the second navy (<3) zone and the teal (=) zone. The 2 is less than 3, and the 4 matches teal's equality value. Both conditions hold.
- 7.Place the 3/3 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone. Both pips are 3, establishing pink's equality value. This is another anchor placement.
- 8.Place the 3/2 domino vertically across the pink (=) zone and the green (2) zone. The 3 matches pink's equality value. The 2 goes into green (2) - this covers green's exact-sum requirement of 2 with a single pip. Note: green will also receive a 0 from a later placement, so the total will be 2 + 0 = 2. That works.
- 9.Place the 0/1 domino vertically across the green (2) zone and the pink (1) zone. The 0 goes into green, bringing its total to 2 (2 from step 8 + 0 from this step = 2). The 1 satisfies pink's exact-sum requirement of 1.
- 10.Place the 3/1 domino horizontally across the teal (=) zone and the orange (<3) zone. The 3 goes into teal (=) - but teal requires all pips to be 4. This is where careful reading matters: this teal segment is a separate teal (=) zone. The 3 establishes this teal zone's equality value at 3. The 1 is less than 3, satisfying orange's condition.
- 11.Place the 3/5 domino horizontally across the teal (=) zone and the green (>3) zone. The 3 matches this teal zone's value. The 5 is greater than 3, satisfying green's condition.
- 12.Place the 3/0 domino horizontally across the teal (=) zone and the orange (=) zone. The 3 matches teal's value. The 0 lands in orange (=), establishing orange's equality value at 0.
- 13.Place the 6/0 domino horizontally across the purple (6) zone and the orange (=) zone. The 6 satisfies purple's exact-sum requirement of 6. The 0 matches orange's established equality value.
- 14.Place the 4/0 domino vertically across the uncolored (no condition) zone and the orange (=) zone. The 0 matches orange's equality value. The uncolored zone has no restrictions.
- 15.Place the 0/0 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone. Both pips are 0, matching the zone's equality requirement. All 15 dominoes placed. All conditions satisfied.
Hard Pips Solution
Last chance to solve independently
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- 1.Place the 1/1 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone
- 2.Place the 5/0 domino vertically in the pink (>4) zone and the navy (<3) zone
- 3.Place the 0/2 domino vertically in the navy (<3) zone
- 4.Place the 1/4 domino vertically in the purple (=) zone and the teal (=) zone
- 5.Place the 4/4 domino vertically in the teal (=) zone
- 6.Place the 2/4 domino vertically in the navy (<3) zone and the teal (=) zone
- 7.Place the 3/3 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone
- 8.Place the 3/2 domino vertically in the pink (=) zone and the green (2) zone
- 9.Place the 0/1 domino vertically in the green (2) zone and the pink (1) zone
- 10.Place the 3/1 domino horizontally in the teal (=) zone and the orange (<3) zone
- 11.Place the 3/5 domino horizontally in the teal (=) zone and the green (>3) zone
- 12.Place the 3/0 domino horizontally in the teal (=) zone and the orange (=) zone
- 13.Place the 6/0 domino horizontally in the purple (6) zone and the orange (=) zone
- 14.Place the 4/0 domino vertically in the uncolored (no condition) zone and the orange (=) zone
- 15.Place the 0/0 domino vertically in the orange (=) zone
Puzzle Debrief
Overall Difficulty: Moderate challenge. All three difficulty levels share the same zone layout and domino set today, which is unusual. The difference between Easy, Medium, and Hard is the amount of guidance provided rather than the puzzle configuration itself.
Trickiest Puzzle: Hard - The orange (=) zone at the bottom of the grid receives five dominoes (3/0, 6/0, 4/0, 0/0, and one side of 3/1). Getting all five pips to equal the same number while also satisfying the adjacent purple (6) exact-sum zone requires forward planning. One wrong placement in this cluster forces a complete restart.
Our Take: Today's shared-layout format is a smart test of fundamentals. The equality zones demand consistency across multiple dominoes, and the boundary-spanning placements force you to think in two directions at once. The green (2) and pink (1) exact-sum zones are a clever trap - they look simple but require precise pip accounting across two dominoes. Solid puzzle design for a Thursday.
Tomorrow's Pips drops at midnight. See you then.
